Directory
The termination doesn't matter; just reimburse us
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the dealer rights bill with hopes, from my understanding, that the manufacturers will work with the dealer body in resolving the pending issues before the bill makes it to the Senate.
From my many discussions with other dealers of terminated franchises, I think we are all singing the same song. Our concerns lie not in our desires to be somewhere where we are not wanted. We just want a reinstatement of our dealer rights as per our signed dealer agreement.
Let's face it: As a franchised dealer, you can be profitable and have stellar customer service scores, but if the manufacturer doesn't want you, there are enough contract clauses to allow the company to terminate you with enough notice. Likewise, the dealer benefits from those contract clauses as well. But if a manufacturer chooses not to keep a dealer, it needs to properly reimburse that dealer for the equipment and supplies and pa ... Continue reading "The termination doesn't matter; just reimburse us" »
Jul 21 12:27 pm U.S. ET
What Congress should enact
Recently in the news is word of a dealer rights bill gaining significant momentum in congress. If passed, this law would strengthen and reinforce the rights of all dealers.
This IS a good thing and definitely needed. However, what it doesn't address -- nor should it in its current form -- are the rules that give manufacturers latitude enough to ignore such laws while in bankruptcy.
I say this from experience, having lost not only my Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises but also my Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises, in two separate locations.
As reflected earlier, GM deserves kudos for doing the right thing -- even in bankruptcy -- by not completely alienating their dealers who are losing their franchises. Chrysler, on the other hand, used bankruptcy to shield themselves from liability and leave 789 dealers hanging in the wind.
Many who did not have other CJD franchises now have parts inventory with a signifi ... Continue reading "What Congress should enact" »
Jul 14 9:34 am U.S. ET
Closing dealerships an all-American problem
Our GM wind-down has been nothing less than challenging. As I mentioned in earlier blogs, we have elected to shut down our GM point completely, as we joined GM in having concerns of the market viability in the area that we represent. (This differs from our strategy with the CJD point, which we are continuing as a used-vehicle store.)
Our largest challenge has been the inventory sell down. As we have worked diligently to retail all our remaining inventory, we worked with other dealers to reassign some as well. That was harder than expected, and it made me truly realize the impact of what is going on in the franchised automotive world.
I came to understand this challenge even more as I took a mini-vacation over this past weekend. I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta with my family to visit a few of my relatives as we took all of our children to Six Flags and Stone Mountain. Most of my several-hour drive to Atlanta was on the i ... Continue reading "Closing dealerships an all-American problem" »
Jun 29 12:35 pm U.S. ET
Doing what needs to be done now, and looking to the future
Friday was the day that General Motors set as my voluntary termination date for my four GM franchises.
In late May, I received a certified letter of confirmation with detailed instructions on the buy-back of vehicles, parts and special tools. Since the bankruptcy filing, I had developed many reservations about the termination process of my GM franchises, especially since I'm a terminated Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealer and had just experienced Chrysler's disastrous wind-down. Nonetheless,
after a multitude of telephone calls of confirmation, we proceeded with our plans for franchise elimination.
In this preparation, we have considered the feasibility of continuing our GM dealership's operations as a preowned store, similar to what we did with our CJD point. For our former CJD point, this has certainly enhanced our profitability. For our GM point in Lake City, S.C., I'm not sure it is feasible to continue, since that market cu ... Continue reading "Doing what needs to be done now, and looking to the future" »
Jun 21 11:26 am U.S. ET
Losing 7 of 8 brands, and making money
As the dust begins to settle on the Chrysler saga, I focus my attention on my GM store, where, as I noted earlier, I voluntarily resigned as a dealer.
I did this for two reasons:
• First, the market where our GM store is located I feel is no longer viable, and that concurs with GM's assessment.
• Finally, I knew that bankruptcy was imminent and I wasn't expecting a positive outcome.
With my resignation from the four GM brands we carry being filed and accepted before the June 1st filing date, I was fortunate enough to be included in the buy-back program of new inventory, parts and special tools. As expected, the wind-down process offer wasn't nearly as generous. However, fair is fair and it must be noted that, though not as good as an early termination, it would have been a much better deal than the one received from Chrysler after its bankruptcy filing.
Our former Chrysler location, without the three Chrysler br ... Continue reading "Losing 7 of 8 brands, and making money" »
Jun 18 10:01 am U.S. ET
Goodbye Chrysler, we're going it alone
Almost a week has passed since our involuntary termination of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises in our Hartsville, S.C., dealership.
When we initially found out about the termination, we (including all employees of the dealership), as a team, voted to move forward without them and continue operations as a non-franchised store.
When looking at profitability, we knew if we just kept on track and removed the variable expenses of the new car franchises at this location, we would finish our year more profitable. This still doesn't take away from the sting of how it all took place.
Nonetheless, we've committed to survive through it all. Today, we note that last week ended up actually being one of our best. Sales had a strong finish along with service and parts. Our customer base is strong and they seem committed to us for the service we have provided.
For General Motors and our Lake City, S.C., facility it starts all over ... Continue reading "Goodbye Chrysler, we're going it alone" »
Jun 15 3:08 pm U.S. ET
Did Chrysler really achieve its end goal correctly?
Here we are, two days after the termination that affected us, the 789 Chrysler dealers, and we all can't help but sit back and reflect about what has actually transpired over the past month.
Within 30 days, we've gone from "a unified team" struggling to keep Chrysler "alive" through sales and increased allocation allotments to the dealers on "the list" who are simply no longer needed. Chrysler has essentially dumped its inventory on us with limited to no recourse.
Recently, there's even been news about Chrysler's not adding to the pain of the terminated dealers. Chrysler says it won't charge us for the holdback, finance credit and two additional advertising credits (which the dealers never actually received) when it redistributes our inventory. After all, most, if not all, of that had been "eaten up" by floorplan charges and expenses.
But all of that, I think, is a marketing game. When I've mentioned the redistribution pla ... Continue reading "Did Chrysler really achieve its end goal correctly? " »
Jun 11 3:45 pm U.S. ET
Posted 12:27 pm U.S. ET, July 21
 |
From my many discussions with other dealers of terminated franchises, I think we are all singing the same song. Our concerns lie not in our desires to be somewhere where we are not wanted. We just want a reinstatement of our dealer rights as per our signed dealer agreement.
Let's face it: As a franchised dealer, you can be profitable and have stellar customer service scores, but if the manufacturer doesn't want you, there are enough contract clauses to allow the company to terminate you with enough notice. Likewise, the dealer benefits from those contract clauses as well. But if a manufacturer chooses not to keep a dealer, it needs to properly reimburse that dealer for the equipment and supplies and pa ... Continue reading "The termination doesn't matter; just reimburse us" »
Jul 21 12:27 pm U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
What Congress should enact
Posted 9:34 am U.S. ET, July 14
|
This IS a good thing and definitely needed. However, what it doesn't address -- nor should it in its current form -- are the rules that give manufacturers latitude enough to ignore such laws while in bankruptcy.
I say this from experience, having lost not only my Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge franchises but also my Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises, in two separate locations.
As reflected earlier, GM deserves kudos for doing the right thing -- even in bankruptcy -- by not completely alienating their dealers who are losing their franchises. Chrysler, on the other hand, used bankruptcy to shield themselves from liability and leave 789 dealers hanging in the wind.
Many who did not have other CJD franchises now have parts inventory with a signifi ... Continue reading "What Congress should enact" »
Jul 14 9:34 am U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
Closing dealerships an all-American problem
Posted 12:35 pm U.S. ET, June 29
|
Our largest challenge has been the inventory sell down. As we have worked diligently to retail all our remaining inventory, we worked with other dealers to reassign some as well. That was harder than expected, and it made me truly realize the impact of what is going on in the franchised automotive world.
I came to understand this challenge even more as I took a mini-vacation over this past weekend. I had the opportunity to travel to Atlanta with my family to visit a few of my relatives as we took all of our children to Six Flags and Stone Mountain. Most of my several-hour drive to Atlanta was on the i ... Continue reading "Closing dealerships an all-American problem" »
Jun 29 12:35 pm U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
Doing what needs to be done now, and looking to the future
Posted 11:26 am U.S. ET, June 21
|
In late May, I received a certified letter of confirmation with detailed instructions on the buy-back of vehicles, parts and special tools. Since the bankruptcy filing, I had developed many reservations about the termination process of my GM franchises, especially since I'm a terminated Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealer and had just experienced Chrysler's disastrous wind-down. Nonetheless,
after a multitude of telephone calls of confirmation, we proceeded with our plans for franchise elimination.
In this preparation, we have considered the feasibility of continuing our GM dealership's operations as a preowned store, similar to what we did with our CJD point. For our former CJD point, this has certainly enhanced our profitability. For our GM point in Lake City, S.C., I'm not sure it is feasible to continue, since that market cu ... Continue reading "Doing what needs to be done now, and looking to the future" »
Jun 21 11:26 am U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
Losing 7 of 8 brands, and making money
Posted 10:01 am U.S. ET, June 18
|
I did this for two reasons:
• First, the market where our GM store is located I feel is no longer viable, and that concurs with GM's assessment.
• Finally, I knew that bankruptcy was imminent and I wasn't expecting a positive outcome.
With my resignation from the four GM brands we carry being filed and accepted before the June 1st filing date, I was fortunate enough to be included in the buy-back program of new inventory, parts and special tools. As expected, the wind-down process offer wasn't nearly as generous. However, fair is fair and it must be noted that, though not as good as an early termination, it would have been a much better deal than the one received from Chrysler after its bankruptcy filing.
Our former Chrysler location, without the three Chrysler br ... Continue reading "Losing 7 of 8 brands, and making money" »
Jun 18 10:01 am U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
Goodbye Chrysler, we're going it alone
Posted 3:08 pm U.S. ET, June 15
|
When we initially found out about the termination, we (including all employees of the dealership), as a team, voted to move forward without them and continue operations as a non-franchised store.
When looking at profitability, we knew if we just kept on track and removed the variable expenses of the new car franchises at this location, we would finish our year more profitable. This still doesn't take away from the sting of how it all took place.
Nonetheless, we've committed to survive through it all. Today, we note that last week ended up actually being one of our best. Sales had a strong finish along with service and parts. Our customer base is strong and they seem committed to us for the service we have provided.
For General Motors and our Lake City, S.C., facility it starts all over ... Continue reading "Goodbye Chrysler, we're going it alone" »
Jun 15 3:08 pm U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
Did Chrysler really achieve its end goal correctly?
Posted 3:45 pm U.S. ET, June 11
|
Within 30 days, we've gone from "a unified team" struggling to keep Chrysler "alive" through sales and increased allocation allotments to the dealers on "the list" who are simply no longer needed. Chrysler has essentially dumped its inventory on us with limited to no recourse.
Recently, there's even been news about Chrysler's not adding to the pain of the terminated dealers. Chrysler says it won't charge us for the holdback, finance credit and two additional advertising credits (which the dealers never actually received) when it redistributes our inventory. After all, most, if not all, of that had been "eaten up" by floorplan charges and expenses.
But all of that, I think, is a marketing game. When I've mentioned the redistribution pla ... Continue reading "Did Chrysler really achieve its end goal correctly? " »
Jun 11 3:45 pm U.S. ET
| Post Comment | Permalink |
