I own a Small Used Car Dealership...looking for ideas!

[LloydsMotorCars]

Hello All!

My name is Anthony, and my brother and I opened a small used car dealership in Staten Island, NY back in May. We did really well our first few months and now, due to the economy, we are not doing well. The website is Lloydsmotorcars.com

We are looking for ideas on a direction to take the business, but we can only hold out for 3-4 more months if business stays the way it is. We just put 1 year warranties on all the vehicles we're selling, and that hasn't seemed to help any. Our next plan is to double our inventory and stock cars that we can retail from $2000-$5000. We figure that less expensive items may sell in more volume. The dealer auctions are currently populated with exporters that are sending cars to places like Russia and Africa, so that is driving prices up. We would consider entering the export market, but we have absolutely no connections in that area. Is there anyone out there that wants to get involved in that?

We are not tied to the car business though. We have a lot that will hold 18 automobiles outdoors, and a small office as well. So, we were brainstorming other possible businesses that could be run out of our location, and are open to any good ideas for utilization of our space.

Thanks for any input,

Anthony

[ZingerIntl]

Man listen... You went through all the struggle of getting started. You can not shut it down in your first hard time. Do you love cars? Cars Sales? If you do not then that is your first problem. This is the reason why many wealthy people say that you need to do what you love. You need to be passionate about the business you are getting into. If you are not you will just look somewhere else as soon as it gets tough. The dealers that make it through this will make it through anything. Either that or go get a job because everything you start right now will be tough to get started. So as an entrepreneur you need to deal with these stresses. This is what most are not willing to do and the reason why most never become rich. Good luck man. I am in the exotic car end. If you have the credit already or the floor plan financing set up, you can get into mercedes and BMWs. This market is still doing ok because people that can afford them can still afford them.

[codysweet02]

I agree with Zinger. If you dont love it, its going to be hard to put in much effort. Maybe you could hire a couple very good used car salesmen to help you make sales and to teach you how to make sales. Even if you have to pay them good, the more they make, the more you are making.

I also really dont like the name of your business. It doesnt stand out, it doesnt tell me what you sell, it isnt catchy, and it isnt memorable. It doesnt set you apart from your competition at all.

Maybe you could send out some business cards to your old clients and encourage them to tell friends about your business via a referral system? Maybe offer them $100 everytime someone buys a car and mentins their name. This way when their freinds car breaks down they will say "Oh, check out Lloyd over at Lloyds Motor Cars. They will take care of you."

[FUN-GUYZ!]

Maybe you could send out some business cards to your old clients and encourage them to tell friends about your business via a referral system? Maybe offer them $100 everytime someone buys a car and mentins their name. This way when their freinds car breaks down they will say "Oh, check out Lloyd over at Lloyds Motor Cars. They will take care of you."

This is a great idea that works in all forms of business! If you take care of your clients, they will be the most valuable sales people you will ever find. Offer them a nice incentive to refer a friend and they'll work hard for you. This is used really well around military towns and colleges where younger people are buying their first car on their own and have a lot of friends in the same boat.

[brianaaron]

private message me, i have been in the car industry as as general manager for years. i think i have some ideas for you to try, i just do not want to waste me time arguing here with a bunch of people who have never been in car industry.,

[Gator]

My buddy imports cars from US, however best money is to be made with cars who had an accident. If you get ahold of those we can connect. By the way exporting should decrease a little to some areas because dollar vallue increased a lot - about 20-25% if we speak about Euro. That means vehicles imported from US cost about 25% more than it was 3 months ago. Thats a lot when you think about it

[codysweet02]

No one here is arguing. This forum is for people to learn and to help each other. I for one would appreciate hearing your insight, it may be useful in other areas of business.

private message me, i have been in the car industry as as general manager for years. i think i have some ideas for you to try, i just do not want to waste me time arguing here with a bunch of people who have never been in car industry.,

[maziy300]

The automobile industry is very rich. If I were you I'd stay in it. Don't let the economy stop you from doing something you love. Things might look bad now, but it's not as bad as everyone says it is. The media focus on the economy way too much. I think it's all bullshit. The media looks at the economy and all they see is a story. The politicians look at the economy and see something to talk about. I'm a businessman, I look at the economy and I see piles of money waiting for me.

[Gator]

I aggree. Media makes things worse. Econnomy is not good thats fact, but media makes it worse. I mean there are many people who still live same life as usual, but since media says its bad ecoonomy those people stop buying stuff not because they can't but because everybody says its bad econnomy. And since they stop buying econommy is going worse. The ball is rolling

[LloydsMotorCars]

Thanks for all the input fellas. I will pm a few of you to get more details. We're going to give staying alive in the business a shot.

Anthony

[Fire_Tiger]

Go and talk to driving schools. Have them take their students to your dealership to learn how best to buy a car. Give a kick-back to the school for each student (or their parents) that then buys a car from you.

Do the same with your local public school driver education teachers. However, the kick-back should be cash and under the table.

[rogercbryan]

I'll sell a little over 10,000 cars this year....

Open a detail shop?
Consignment Internet Sales (sell peoples cars on ebay)?
Can you do services?
Are you set-up to do buy here pay here?
Have you ever tried selling cars for non-profits?
Have you ever tried buying junk cars and fixing them / sending them to a scrap yard?

There are a ton of ancillary businesses you can do to shore up the bottom line. It's not easy... but if you can get a few of these going you'll be able to survive this recession.

[nocci01]

Or do what the top car salesman (Joe Girard) did...he sent greeting cards to everyone he knew...friends family clients and prospects.

Appreciation beats self promotion every time...

Developing a thank you note habit will give you the competitive advantage over others.