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Friday, July 3, 2009

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Car dealer experiencing 15% growth By INDERIA SAUNDERS ~ Guardian Business Reporter ~ Inderia@nasguard.com: A local auto dealer is reporting a steady 15 percent increase in sales month over month, what he hopes signals an end to industry car troubles. "I did a study and we saw every month got 12 to 15 percent better than the month before," said Ben Albury, operations manager at Bahamas Bus and Truck Co. "To me that shows a strengthening in the economy. "And when you see the hard hit markets start to improve that's a good sign." His statement is inspired by an apparent correction of a downward sales trend over the last year. It's a shift Albury says began in the last quarter. The glimmer of good news comes as many car lots in the U.S. still grapple with declining sales. A new report is pointing to a more than 20 percent decrease overall in June from the same year-ago period. That's a decline that came despite dramatic price cuts, but wasn't as steep as May's sales slip. While local car lots have largely resisted the move to slash prices as dramatic as their U.S. counterparts, Albury said there has been some price lowering. "I would say the maximum would be about $1500 off," he told Guardian Business, referring to his lot's particular deals offered in the last two years. By way of contrast, it's worth noting that an edmunds.com report suggests U.S. dealers were offering just under $3,000 in incentives on the average car last month. "It (our price drop) hasn't been anything drastic but we work on a very slim market, being as it is under government price control, so we don't have the excessive mark ups like they do in the states as well as huge kickbacks from manufacturers." Instead, Albury said incentives are taking the form of $1,000 cash backs on some new and used vehicles, among other offers. He does note, however, that his car lot stands a little bit above the others in the variety of low to mid range priced cars it offers. They sell everything from Mitsubishis and Chrysler cars to Jeep and Dodge vehicles, as well as three economical Chinese brands. That same edmunds report also suggests American buyers, while just now returning to dealerships, aren't yet prepared to look at the larger more expensive vehicles. Their primary concern isn't necessarily sticker prices but gas ones. "We have been a little more fortunate that other dealerships because we have a very wide range," Albury adds. "I think that's what saved us from absorbing as much of the effect as some of the other dealers. "We're fortunate that a lot of the vehicles that we purchase are already given to us at very good prices." It's a statement he sticks by, even with one of his major automaker suppliers, Chrysler, just now emerging from bankruptcy. Albury is reiterating, once again, his company's willingness to honor warranties offered on any of those vehicles, although the company — under Fiat management — is expected to regain ground lost over the last several years. While the automaker has cut loose thousands of dealerships during its restructuring, Bahamas Bus and Truck remains a bonafide Chrysler dealer. Friday, July 3, 2009