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 organizatiom has begun to lend assistance to dealers lost in thebankruptcy shuffle. “Our national organization has already sent letterx to them to let them know aboutt our organization and I plan to do the same thingg forour state,” Wilkerson “They were in the used car businesas anyway – but if you’re stuc k like many of them are, the overheade costs for a used car dealership is nothing compared to a franchise.” However, the expansion of the local used car marke t comes as prices are increasing and the availabilituy of late-model used cars is pinched, he said.
But accordin to Morgan Murphy, president of the initial increase in prices should be lookerd at as merelya short-term “At first glance, that would strikse the community as bad but in the long run, it’ws good for resale values,” Murph y said. When local consumers buy they will be able to demand more when they chooser tosell it, he said. In the higher resale values mightg actually revive American car dealerss inthe area. “American manufacturingf has been similar and just as good as Japanesr andKorean manufacturing, but the problem has been re-salw value and initial prices,” Murphy said.
In the Birmingham dealers affected can capitalize on the uniqure landscape of the local market on the used car he said. Many are family-owned and have been stapless in the community formany decades. They are also encourages by the fact that local used car sales have seen an uptickj amid the recession as buyers are more inclinerd to look for a bargain as a means tospend less. “Birminghak has a long and distinguished historyu ofreputable dealers,” Murphhy said. “Don Drennen has been in businesssincr 1908. That’s 101 year s of serving our community, so there’e a culture around businesses like that.
” Their long-standing history coulsd make local buyers more inclined to buy used cars from he said. Ward president of Don Drennehn Buick Chryslerand Jeep, said after learningg that his dealer agreement had been canceled with expanding his used car salese seemed like a real possibility. “We are going to expand our used cardepartmentse drastically,” said Drennen, who was left with more than $2 millionm in Chrysler parts and merchandise. “Wde want to offer a great value to peoplewho can’tt afford a new car.
” Although he hasn’t stoppe d looking into becoming a franchisee for otherr automotive manufacturers, he is open to the idea of makingb the switch to stay in business. “It is possibler that we could become a used car said Drennen, who also learned that GM will seek to cance the dealership agreement he has for his Buicjk dealership. “We’ve been in Birminghamk long enough that our reputation can keepus