As gas prices topped more than $4 per gallon nationally, used vehicle dealers are working through the impacts.
One of the principal impacts has been on the cost of transporting vehicles, said Elisabeth Taylor, owner of the iGo Motors in Columbia, Kentucky. iGo, which runs a recon center for its own business and other dealers, transports more than 100 vehicles per week. Taylor said the cost for contracting for transports is up between 10 and 15 percent as diesel prices are at $5.66 per gallon, according to AAA.
“The drivers we hire don’t want to go up, but their costs are up, and they have to increase prices,” Taylor said.
Taylor has not seen an increase in the price of parts yet. Shipping costs could be impacted as Amazon, UPS, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service have announced surcharges to cover the cost of fuel.
As dealers are mindful of costs at this time, Atlanta area dealer Herad Johanbakhshnik with Sports & Imports Autos of Gwinnett, urges them to look at the big picture and not damage relationships with customers to save a few dollars.
Johanbakhshnik is still making sure each vehicle sold at his five locations has at least a half tank of gas.
“We understand gas is a big issue with customers in this income bracket, and we try to alleviate that,” he said. “The customer gave us all the money they had for a down payment, and they don’t have the money to take it off the lot. We make sure it has at least half a tank.”
He also supplies gas cards to his sales managers to give to customers.
Even as gas prices surge, he said the goodwill created by helping with a tank of gas is more than worth it.
“It sends them home with a good feeling,” Johanbakhshnik said.
“We all want to save money and make more money. How we approach it is important. We have to be mindful of how we’re trying to save money. Creating some goodwill and spending a little more money today will lead to more opportunities.”
Johanbakhshnik and Taylor will be presenters at the NIADA Convention and Expo, June 21-24 at the Gaylord Rockies in Denver.
Johanbakhshnik will present “Stop Putting Your Mission Statement on the Wall and Start Running Your Store With It.”
