# A Sad Day For Car Dealers



## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

Watching the news, this AM, and they are showing auto dealers that got the ax, yesterday (Chrysler), and some of the GM dealers that are waiting to hear. One Chrysler dealership had been in business over 90 years......how sad.








Darlene


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Yes, it's yet another blow to local economies.







I understand that not all dealers can make it in this market, but I really hate to see a company shutting down profitable dealerships (that are privately owned) just because they can. I feel fortunate that Ford isn't doing this because I use a small dealer (and like to) because I like the relaxed atmosphere and more personal experience. They can often provide flexibility that larger dealerships are not able to.


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## joy-rick (Jan 27, 2008)

There is something I'm missing about this business of closing down automobile dealerships. I don't understand why it is beneficial to the manufacturer to close down so-called "under performing" dealers. How is it that these dealers cost the manufacturers money? Isn't anything they sell just incremental to the total picture? I know the manufacturers aren't doing this arbitrarily; there must be some benefit for them. So, what am I missing here?


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## tdvffjohn (Mar 10, 2005)

The big move in recent years at least around here was to get all the dealers in prime highway locations. Many small dealers fought moving there business because of the local service and business environment served them well. Also the cost of highway space was much higher than where they had been for years and most owned the property. It seems that these are the dealers being closed around here, that I have heard of, including the Chevy dealership my brother worked at until the doors closed for good on Fri.

John

Losing a job is bad enough, losing medical coverage could be catastrophic is a major illness happens during the time between jobs.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

My understanding joy-rick, is that it is an effort to protect the dealership network from total collapse. The market is way down, and if a town has two dealerships, but there's only enough business for one, then they both will suffer and may ultimately fail. Eliminate one of the dealers (obviously the weaker of the two), and you increase the business to the remaining dealer, which in turn puts it on a much healthier footing.

Of course, that's bad news for the dealer that gets the axe, but by making the remaining dealer healthier, it will hopefully regain some of the public confidence that is so sadly lacking right now. And that, ultimately helps Chrysler at the corporate level.

Here in the Portland area, there are three dealerships slated for closure, including one that we have done business with twice in the past. We went back, because they offered by far the best dealership experience in the city. I will be sad to see them go.

It's pretty cold hearted, but that's business sometimes.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Here's an article from CNN on it (It's 4 days old, so some info is now outdated). Very questionable logic if you ask me.









Auto dealer cuts


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## mountainlady56 (Feb 13, 2006)

I think the worse thing about it is the manufacturer won't buy the inventory back, yet they only have until a certain cut-off date to continue business as a Dodge/GM dealership, authorized to SELL the inventory. That stinks! On Good Morning America, this old man that had obviously owned a dealership forever was fighting back tears. His daughter was like hysterical, crying.......so sad!
Darlene


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Definately a major bummer for all invloved. But unfortunately needed. Here's an excerpt that summarizes Chrysler's position on the dealer closings:

"Chrysler said in its filing that dealers are not competitive enough with foreign brands. Chrysler sold an average of 303 vehicles per dealer in 2008, according to its filing. By contrast, Honda Motor Co. sold about 1,200 vehicles per dealer, while Toyota Motor Corp. sold nearly 1,300 per dealer.

Chrysler said its dealer network "needs to be reduced and reconfigured in a targeted manner to strengthen the network and dealer profitability and to achieve optimal results for the dealers and consumers."


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## Carey (Mar 6, 2012)

Yes it is... Very strange logic on there decisions to close dealerships that were profitable..

We lost a bunch in the Denver Metro and many in the small towns of Colorado..

I was listening to CNBC this morning and GM has sent out like 800 leters today and will send another 1600 out soon, for a total of 2600 dealers closed down..

They are slashing 42% of there dealers...

Incredibly sad...

I cant see how our economy is gonna get better..

We have sent all our manufacturing away, and manufacturing is the soul of an economy..

We are in for a long down time is my opinion...

If we see parts supplies go out of biz, all carmakers will struggle to make it including imports..

Carey


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## 'Ohana (May 20, 2007)

Just read that Chrysler has published a list of their dealer closings and that GM is leaving it up to the dealers as to weather they want the information disclosed









IMO It would be totally not right if I purchased a new vehicle from someone only to return for service the next day/week/month to find them out of business









Ed


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

'Ohana said:


> Just read that Chrysler has published a list of their dealer closings and that GM is leaving it up to the dealers as to weather they want the information disclosed
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GM is going to be interesting to watch. They have said that they will not renew the franchises in the fall of 2010. However, I don't think they can legally do that outside of Bankruptcy. I suspect that issue will be resolved in 2 weeks, but for right now, it's an interesting move, and that is why I think the names are a secret.

Remember, you can get service at an dealer that sells those cars. The warranties all transfer.


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

'Ohana said:


> ...IMO It would be totally not right if I purchased a new vehicle from someone only to return for service the next day/week/month to find them out of business
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RIP Showcase Chevrolet. The dealer I bought the Burb from is already a gonner.


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## Collinsfam_WY (Nov 9, 2006)

I spoke with a dealer here that is a customer of ours and I was very surprised to hear that they are nervous. I say that because they are possibly the nations largest GM parts dealer and a huge Chevy/Buick/Saab/Hummer shop along with it. The shop Foreman was telling me that they fear that GM will shut down other local dealerships and then move franchises around. For example - across the street is a big Pontiac/GMC shop. Because Pontiac is going away, they are concerned that GM will pull the Buick franchise from them and give it to the other shop. He mentioned that they prefer GMC and Buick to be paired together anyway. They think GM might be considering this because it would help "balance" the dealership number because they think that another large Chevy shop across town will be shut down because they have been in trouble for GM for some time and just got audited for possible fraudulent warranty work. Then he started in on what the possible situation might be with the Caddy/Lexus/BMW/Mercedes dealer. It was not a happy story to listen to. None of it was.

-CC


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