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

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Tony Wilkerson, executive director of the , said his organizationn has begun to lend assistance to dealersw lost in thebankruptcy shuffle. “Our national organizatiob has already sent letters to them to let them know aboutf our organization and I plan to do the same thing forour state,” Wilkerson “They were in the used car businesws anyway – but if you’re stuck like many of them are, the overhead costs for a used car dealership is nothinv compared to a franchise.” However, the expansion of the local used car market comes as prices are increasing and the availability of late-mode used cars is pinched, he said.
But according to Morgabn Murphy, president of motorpool.com, the initial increasse in prices should be looked at as merelha short-term hurdle. “Art first glance, that woulx strike the community as bad but in thelong run, it’d good for resale values,” Murphy said. When local consumers buy cars, they will be able to demanfd more when they choose tosell it, he said. In the higher resale values might actually revive American car dealerd inthe area. “American manufacturing has been similare and just as good as Japanesre andKorean manufacturing, but the problemk has been re-sale value and initia prices,” Murphy said.
In the Birmingham dealers affected can capitalize on the unique landscape of the local market on the usedcar side, he Many are family-owned and have been staplea in the community for many decades. They are also encouragef by the fact that local used car sales have seen an uptick amid the recession as buyere are more inclined to look for a bargaihn as a means tospenc less. “Birmingham has a long and distinguished history ofreputabled dealers,” Murphy said. “Don Drennen has been in businesassince 1908. That’s 101 years of serving our community, so there’es a culture around businesseslike that.
” Their long-standingt history could make local buyers more inclined to buy used cars from he said. Ward Drennen, president of Don Drennen Buickm Chryslerand Jeep, said after learning that his dealer agreemen had been canceled with expanding his used car sales seemed like a real possibility. “We are going to expand our used cardepartmentx drastically,” said Drennen, who was left with more than $2 million in Chrysleer parts and merchandise. “We want to offer a great valuw to peoplewho can’t afford a new car.
” Although he hasn’ty stopped looking into becoming a franchisee for other automotive he is open to the idea of makinyg the switch to stay in “It is possible that we couldx become a used car superstore,” said Drennen, who also learneed that GM will seek to cancel the dealershiop agreement he has for his Buicok dealership. “We’ve been in Birmingham long enough that our reputatiomn can keepus afloat.
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