Local former Chrysler, GM dealers look to sell used cars - Houston Business Journal:

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Tony Wilkerson, executive director of the , said his organization has begun to lend assistance to dealers lost in thebankruptcyu shuffle. “Our national organizatiojn has already sent letters to them to let them know aboutr our organization and I plan to do the same thinbg forour state,” Wilkerson said. “They were in the used car businesssanyway – but if you’res stuck like many of them are, the overheard costs for a used car dealership is nothin g compared to a However, the expansion of the local used car market comees as prices are increasing and the availabilitty of late-model used cars is he said. But according to Morgan presidentof motorpool.
com, the initial increase in pricesw should be looked at as merelh a short-term hurdle. “At first that would strike the community as bad but in thelong run, it’sa good for resale values,” Murphy When local consumers buy cars, they will be able to demanfd more when they choose to sell it, he said. In the higher resale values might actuallyg revive American car dealers inthe “American manufacturing has been similar and just as good as Japanesew and Korean manufacturing, but the problejm has been re-sale value and initial prices,” Murphuy said.
In the Birmingham dealers affected can capitalizew on the unique landscape of the local market on the usedcar side, he said. Many are family-owne d and have been staples in the community for many They are also encourage by the fact that local used car salezs have seen an uptick amid the recessiom as buyers are more inclined to look for a bargaih as a means tospend less. “Birminghanm has a long and distinguished history ofreputabled dealers,” Murphy said. “Don Drennen has been in businesssince 1908.
That’s 101 years of serving our so there’s a culture around businesses like Their long-standing history could make local buyers more inclinefd to buy used cars from he said. Ward president of Don Drennen Buick Chrysler and said after learning that his dealef agreement had been canceledwith Chrysler, expandingh his used car sales seemed like a real possibility. “Wr are going to expand our used cardepartmentxs drastically,” said Drennen, who was left with more than $2 million in Chryslee parts and merchandise. “We want to offerd a great value to peoplewho can’tg afford a new car.
” Although he hasn’g stopped looking into becoming a franchises for other automotive manufacturers, he is open to the idea of makinfg the switch to stay in business. “It is possiblee that we could become a used car said Drennen, who also learnedc that GM will seek to cancelo the dealership agreement he has for his Buicmk dealership. “We’ve been in Birmingham long enough that our reputatiob can keepus afloat.
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