dealership

Science says it takes 66 days to form a new habit. Most people started self-quarantine in the beginning of March, so things will probably never go back to how they were before Covid-19. We’ve all changed a little - businesses and individuals.

We’ve seen the future, and it’s used vehicles. Right now dealers and consumers are struggling through this pandemic. A majority of dealers are operating with just a skeleton crew in fixed ops, and most sales departments are closed. This won’t last forever. So what’s next?

You have to keep your eyes on the prize.

The Coronavirus has traveled long and far to make it to the U.S. and wreak havoc on many things. Aside from the abrupt increase in hospital stays and unfortunate deaths, this virus also has obviously affected the economy and the automotive industry.

The problems started in China where many manufacturing plants have been shut down since early this year with no production in motion. The risks were too high to have sick workers come in, masked or not, so things came to a fast halt.

For decades, the car buying process has been fairly consistent. Ultimately, customers have to make the trip to the dealership to look at the inventory, get actual pricing, and talk numbers with a salesperson. Then they have to sit down to sign a mound of paperwork. The process can take several hours or last as long as days or weeks depending on the circumstances.

In light of the recent FTC lawsuit against Ramey Motors, inc., it’s time to revisit dealership advertising laws. Here are the major points to consider when putting together your ads.

Stay legal. Make sure you’re familiar with all laws and regulations regarding vehicle advertising. There are all kinds of classes and other resources available for this. It can’t hurt to have your lawyer look things over.

You spend thousands of dollars a month gaining new customers, getting them in for your specials or deals. It’s working right? People are coming in. They’re buying cars. But, are you nurturing your client pool for future profit? With new car sales continuing to decline, you need to encourage people to come buy again and use your service department.

After announcing it would be closing the few stores it has, Tesla changed its mind. The company wants to move to an online-only sales model, but apparently they didn’t realize that the change couldn’t happen overnight. It would take several years to happen.

Cadillac has proposed big changes to its Pinnacle or "trunk money" program, announced at the recent NADA convention, The changes include opportunities for dealers to earn partial bonuses for coming close to their monthly sales targets, plans to make some payments sooner and the relaxing of some standards. Cadillac also said it has created an appeals process for dealers who are ruled to be short of brand standards. Yet Cadillac has not finalized the program, even though it is scheduled to become effective April 1st.