What are they thinking?
#1
02-20-2010, 10:43 AM
What are they thinking?
I don't know where else to post this so here it goes.(rant again)
We live in a town of less than 8,000 people and have 4 car dealerships. The biggest is a GM dealer selling Chevy, Buick, Cadillac (lots of volume and along with a local transmission shop, had input for an article in Hot Rod magazine on a '10 Camaro build up). Next is a Ford dealer selling Ford, Mercury (again lots of volume and very strong Ford Motorsports connection with a DYNO and their own "branded" aftermarket parts). Then a Dodge/GMC dealership (who used to have Olds and Pontiac). Lastly a Chrysler/Jeep that is very small but stays in business because of good customer service and a loyal customer base.
Of course my rant is about the Dodge dealership. I know the owner personally and he has even contacted me to "test drive" some of the high performance models he gets in. He often gets SRT8 models which he knows are beyond my reach. However I have told him that I would be interested in a Challenger R/T without all the geegaws and hoopteedoo crap attached. I let him know that if he got some base (or close) R/Ts he'd probably stand a better chance of selling them over the top of the line models. In the past year he has probably had 30 or more SRT-R/T cars of different varieties and the only one I can remember below $30,000 was a program 08 Charger R/T. Of the new cars he has gotten, none have been below $36,400. Yesterday was the real kicker though. He took in 1 Challenger R/T Classic and 3 Challenger SRT8s adding to the 1 Classic he already has had for 2 months and another SRT8 that has been there longer.
30 high performance models in 1 year is probably pretty good sales for a small town dealer you say, BUT he is not selling. He is trading these (along with some mighty expensive Rams) to other dealers for models he can move more easily, instead of earning a reputation as a high performance car dealer with some more reasonably priced performance cars. Row after row of program Caravans, Durangos, Avengers, hell even (gasp) Camrys have been traded for.
In the meantime, I can walk right across the highway and plunk down $28,000 for a new Mustang G/T and become one of the many in town driving one. The Camaro, I don't know as I never drive on a Chevy lot but I'm guessing by the amount of their Camaros I'm seeing in town and the surrounding area that they are dealing right across the highway also. There is one SE Challenger in town and that one was purchased out of town.
I don't get it?
We live in a town of less than 8,000 people and have 4 car dealerships. The biggest is a GM dealer selling Chevy, Buick, Cadillac (lots of volume and along with a local transmission shop, had input for an article in Hot Rod magazine on a '10 Camaro build up). Next is a Ford dealer selling Ford, Mercury (again lots of volume and very strong Ford Motorsports connection with a DYNO and their own "branded" aftermarket parts). Then a Dodge/GMC dealership (who used to have Olds and Pontiac). Lastly a Chrysler/Jeep that is very small but stays in business because of good customer service and a loyal customer base.
Of course my rant is about the Dodge dealership. I know the owner personally and he has even contacted me to "test drive" some of the high performance models he gets in. He often gets SRT8 models which he knows are beyond my reach. However I have told him that I would be interested in a Challenger R/T without all the geegaws and hoopteedoo crap attached. I let him know that if he got some base (or close) R/Ts he'd probably stand a better chance of selling them over the top of the line models. In the past year he has probably had 30 or more SRT-R/T cars of different varieties and the only one I can remember below $30,000 was a program 08 Charger R/T. Of the new cars he has gotten, none have been below $36,400. Yesterday was the real kicker though. He took in 1 Challenger R/T Classic and 3 Challenger SRT8s adding to the 1 Classic he already has had for 2 months and another SRT8 that has been there longer.
30 high performance models in 1 year is probably pretty good sales for a small town dealer you say, BUT he is not selling. He is trading these (along with some mighty expensive Rams) to other dealers for models he can move more easily, instead of earning a reputation as a high performance car dealer with some more reasonably priced performance cars. Row after row of program Caravans, Durangos, Avengers, hell even (gasp) Camrys have been traded for.
In the meantime, I can walk right across the highway and plunk down $28,000 for a new Mustang G/T and become one of the many in town driving one. The Camaro, I don't know as I never drive on a Chevy lot but I'm guessing by the amount of their Camaros I'm seeing in town and the surrounding area that they are dealing right across the highway also. There is one SE Challenger in town and that one was purchased out of town.
I don't get it?
