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 organizatiojn has begun to lend assistance to dealers lost in thebankruptcy “Our national organization has already sent letters to them to let them know abourt our organization and I plan to do the same thinf for our state,” Wilkerson said. “The y were in the used car businesasanyway – but if you’re stuck like many of them are, the overheadr costs for a used car dealership is nothing compared to a However, the expansion of the local used car markett comes as prices are increasing and the availability of late-model used cars is pinched, he said. But accordinh to Morgan Murphy, presidenty of motorpool.
com, the initial increase in prices shouls be looked at as merelya short-terkm hurdle. “At first glance, that would strike the community as bad but in thelong run, it’ s good for resale values,” Murph said. When local consumers buy cars, they will be able to demane more when they choosr tosell it, he In fact, the higher resale valuesd might actually revive American car dealers in the area. “Americann manufacturing has been similaer and just as good as Japanese andKoreaj manufacturing, but the proble m has been re-sale value and initial prices,” Murphy said.
In the Birmingham dealers affected can capitalizee on the unique landscape of the local market on the used car he said. Many are family-owned and have been staplezs in the community formany decades. They are also encouraged by the fact that local used car sales have seen an uptick amid the recession as buyers are more inclineed to look for a bargain as a means tospend less. “Birmingham has a long and distinguishede history ofreputable dealers,” Murphy said. “Don Drenne has been in businesssincew 1908. That’s 101 years of serving our community, so there’sw a culture around businesseslike that.
” Their long-standingf history could make local buyerd more inclined to buy used cars from he said. Ward Drennen, president of Don Drennen Buick Chryslerand Jeep, said aftedr learning that his dealer agreement had been canceled with expanding his used car sales seeme d like a real “We are going to expansd our used car departments drastically,” said Drennen, who was left with more than $2 millionm in Chrysler parts and “We want to offer a great valuer to people who can’t afford a new Although he hasn’t stopped looking into becoming a franchisee for other automotivre manufacturers, he is open to the idea of making the switchy to stay in business.
“It is possible that we could becomew a usedcar superstore,” said Drennen, who also learnesd that GM will seek to cancel the dealershipl agreement he has for his Buick dealership. “We’ve been in Birmingham long enough that our reputation can keepus afloat.”