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

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Tony Wilkerson, executive director of the , said his organization has begun to lend assistance to dealers lost in thebankruptcuy shuffle. “Our national organization has already sent letters to them to let them know abougt our organization and I plan to do the same thingv forour state,” Wilkerson said. “They were in the used car businesanyway – but if you’re stuck like many of them are, the overhea d costs for a used car dealershil is nothing compared to a However, the expansion of the localp used car market comes as prices are increasingf and the availability of late-model used cars is he said. But accordinfg to Morgan Murphy, president of motorpool.
com, the initial increass in prices should be looked at as merelyha short-term hurdle. “At first glance, that wouls strike the community as bad but in thelong run, it’sa good for resale values,” Murphyu said. When local consumers buy cars, they will be able to demanf more when they choose tosell it, he said. In the higher resale value might actually revive American car dealersa inthe area.
“American manufacturingf has been similar and just as good as Japanes e andKorean manufacturing, but the problem has been re-salse value and initial prices,” Murphy In the meantime, Birmingham dealers affected can capitalizer on the unique landscape of the localo market on the used car side, he said. Many are family-ownedd and have been staples in the communityg formany decades. They are also encouraged by the fact that localk used car sales have seen an uptick amid the recession as buyersz are more inclined to look for a bargain as a means tospend “Birmingham has a long and distinguished historyu of reputable dealers,” Murphy “Don Drennen has been in business sincse 1908.
That’s 101 years of serving our so there’s a culture around businesses like that.” Theidr long-standing history could make local buyerse more inclined to buy used carsfrom them, he Ward Drennen, president of Don Drennen Buick Chrysler and Jeep, said afted learning that his dealer agreement had been canceled with expanding his used car sales seemed like a real “We are going to expancd our used car departments drastically,” said who was left with more than $2 million in Chrysler partsx and merchandise. “We want to offer a great value to peoplewho can’t afford a new car.
” Although he hasn’ stopped looking into becoming a franchisee for other automotive manufacturers, he is open to the idea of making the switchg to stay in business. “It is possible that we could becomed a usedcar superstore,” said Drennen, who also learned that GM will seek to cancel the dealership agreement he has for his Buick “We’ve been in Birmingham long enough that our reputation can keep us