Local former Chrysler, GM dealers look to sell used cars - Los Angeles Business from bizjournals:

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Tony Wilkerson, executive director of the , said his organizatio has begun to lend assistance to dealeras lost in thebankruptcy shuffle. “Our national organizatioh has already sent lettersw to them to let them know about our organizatio n and I plan to do the same thing for our Wilkerson said. “They were in the used car businesswanyway – but if you’re stuck like many of them are, the overheads costs for a used car dealershi p is nothing compared to a franchise.
” the expansion of the local used car markert comes as prices are increasing and the availabilitgy of late-model used cars is pinched, he But according to Morgan Murphy, president of the initial increase in prices should be looked at as merelh a short-term hurdle. “At firsty glance, that would strike the community as bad but in thelong run, it’sw good for resale values,” Murphy said. When local consumerw buy cars, they will be able to demaned more when they chooses tosell it, he said. In fact, the highetr resale values might actually revive American car dealerds inthe area.
“American manufacturing has been similaer and just as good as Japanese andKorean manufacturing, but the problej has been re-sale value and initial prices,” Murphg said. In the meantime, Birmingham dealers affected can capitalized on the unique landscape of the local market on the usedcar side, he said. Many are family-ownef and have been staples in the communitty formany decades. They are also encouraged by the fact that locao used car sales have seen an uptick amid the recessionn as buyers are more inclined to look for a bargai as a means tospend “Birmingham has a long and distinguished history of reputable dealers,” Murphy said.
“Don Drennemn has been in businesssince 1908. That’s 101 yearx of serving our community, so there’sz a culture around businesseslike that.” Their long-standing history could make local buyers more inclined to buy used cars from he said. Ward Drennen, president of Don Drennenb Buick Chryslerand Jeep, said aftet learning that his dealer agreement had been canceled with Chrysler, expanding his used car sales seemesd like a real possibility. “We are goinb to expand our used cardepartments drastically,” said who was left with more than $2 million in Chrysler parts and merchandise.
“We want to offetr a great value to peoplewho can’t affor d a new car.” Although he hasn’t stopped looking into becominhg a franchisee for otheer automotive manufacturers, he is open to the idea of makin the switch to stay in business. “It is possiblw that we could become a usedcar superstore,” said who also learned that GM will seek to cance l the dealership agreement he has for his Buick “We’ve been in Birmingham long enough that our reputation can keep us