5 tips for buying affordable car insurance for teenagers

Purchasing auto insurance for teenagers can be expensive. The following tips can help lower insurance premiums. Below are the 5 tips for buying affordable car insurance for teenagers which every parents & teenagers would love it. Get Good Student Discounts Some insurance companies offer discounts to students for their academic performance. Insurance companies often give full time students additional discounts because statistics show they are better drivers, i.e. a lower risk. Good Student Discounts vary from company to company. However,...

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Most Common Startup Mistakes for Auto Dealers

BY: Todd Bryant Ask any startup founder and you’ll get the same answer: There is hardly anything more exciting in the business field than starting your own company. And this holds true for auto dealers, too. But how to start a non-franchised, used-car car dealership and succeed can be tough for many. While the enthusiasm and energy are abundant in the first months of setting up a new business, the challenges are plentiful too. From financial difficulties to lack of business focus, there are many potential pitfalls on the path of the dealership...

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5 Best Used Vehicles for Teenagers

Choosing the right car for a teenager can be a difficult task.  Most parents try to stay within a budget without compromising vehicle safety. The five used cars below are reliable cars that your teen will like and will not break your bank. 2008 Chevy Malibu   The Chevy Malibu is a great sedan that is a good and reliable car for teenagers. This car has a 169 horsepower, 2.4 liter four-cylinder with four-speed automatic transmission. The Malibu has smooth, excellent driving dynamics. It is also affordable. The price of the 2008 Chevy...

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Legal Expert Rings in the Holidays With ‘12 Days of Dealership Compliance’

FORT WORTH, Texas — Based on recent developments, it’s obvious government regulators are active this holiday season. So to help ring in this season of regulatory compliance, AutoStar Solutions’ Chief Legal Officer Steve Levine offers his "12 Days of Dealership Compliance." "The government crosshairs on auto dealers is not going away. In fact, it’s only intensifying," Levine said. "For dealers big and small, the threat is real, and so is the learning curve. This 12-step checklist will give dealers the starting points they need to keep the big...

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5 Tips for Finding a Good Financing Rate for a Used Car

Obtain your credit score The first thing to do when trying to get the best interest rate to purchase a used car is to obtain your credit score. You can get your credit score from Experian or Equifax. These companies are the most trusted credit-reporting agencies in the nation.  Once per year you can get a free credit report, but if you need it more than once per year you can request it at a small fee. Your credit score determines the interest rate you may qualify for. Banks and credit unions also use the same score to determine your credit...

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5 Things Smart Shoppers Look For Before Buying a Used Car

Here is the list of five important things you, the car buyer, should pay attention to when on the dealership lot or when checking out the same vehicle online. 1.    Interior Condition of the Vehicle There are many things to check in detail when inspecting the interior of a vehicle: Check the interior upholstery carefully for any tears or stains. Check if the air-conditioning and heating system exhausts are blowing air properly. Check the odometer for car mileage. Check different lights that are inside the vehicle, like hand brake...

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Volvo to Focus on Selling Cars Online

GOTHENBURG, Sweden — On Dec. 15, Volvo Car Group announced a new global marketing strategy, the first leg of which will focus on selling vehicles online. The automaker said the digital push will complement its existing dealer network. “Volvo Cars will start to sell online gradually across the globe,” the company said in a press release. “But rather than a replacement of our dealership network, online sales will complement our dealerships. Volvo Cars has worked closely with its dealer network in developing the tool in order to retain the personal...

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Auto Dealers Adjust to Click and Drive Trend

By staff reporters Zhu Shiyun and Nan Hao Online retail websites in China are paving a wider sales path for new vehicles by catering to increasing numbers of "click-and-drive" car buyers. Tmall, the retail division of e-commerce giant Alibaba, reported explosive growth for new-vehicle orders on the Chinese shopping-holiday Single's Day, November 11. Some 50,700 shoppers clicked a booking through its website, representing an estimated 500 percent increase from online demand on the same day in 2013. Other retail websites reported similar spikes....

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Dealers Sentenced to 3 Years for Sales Tax Evasion

LOS ANGELES — Brothers Dagoberto Dueñas, 59, of Rosemead, and Mario Ernesto Gonzalez, 53, of Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to one count of sales tax evasion on Dec. 2, according to Board of Equalization (BOE) Chairman Jerome E. Horton. Each was sentenced to three years in state prison, to be served in county jail. Deputy District Attorney James Belna of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Major Fraud Division prosecuted the case. “Tax evasion is a serious crime and it is gratifying that these men will be held to account for depriving...

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Buy/Sell Activity Up 89% Year-Over-Year

BY: Admin U.S. dealership buy/sell activity reached a new high in the first three quarters of 2014, soaring to an 89% year-over-year increase, according to the Kerrigan Quarterly Blue Sky Report for third quarter 2014. According to the report, which covers activity through Oct. 1, 2014, the entry into the market of new players has driven price expectations to record peaks, most notably influenced by Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisition of Van Tuyl, the largest acquisition in the auto industry’s history. The report also noted that the completion...

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White Remains Top Car Color, PPG Industries Reports

TROY, Mich. — White continues to be the most popular car color globally, according to PPG Industries annual automotive color popularity data. According to PPG’s global data, white ranked first (up 3% from last year to 28%), followed by black (18%), and silver and gray tied for third (13% each). Silver’s popularity continues to decrease across the globe, dropping seven percent over the last two years. “Car manufacturers across the world are continually seeking new ways to create a unique appearance for models and vehicle brands. As color...

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November a Turnaround Month for Independents, CNW Reports

By: AutoDealer Monthly BANDON, Ore. — November was a turnaround month for independent dealerships, which realized a slight uptick in used-vehicle sales from a year ago, CNW Research reported last week. The firm also noted an increase in transaction prices from a year ago. Versus a year ago, actual transaction prices for independent operations rose 2.8% in November, while sales inched up 0.3% from the same period one year ago. “Independent dealers have been taking it on the chin for the past few months, seeing volumes decline versus 2013 on a...

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Experian Automotive: Delinquency Rates Rising

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — In the third quarter of 2014, 30- and 60-day automotive-loan delinquencies grew 3.7% and 8.6%, respectively, from the previous year. This is according to Experian Automotive’s latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report. “While we have observed a rise in delinquencies over the past few quarters, it was to be expected due to the growth in subprime loans. We have to keep in mind that a majority of the market is still in the prime risk category,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive credit....

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Loan Amounts Reach Record Highs in Q3

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. —The average dollar amount for both new and used vehicle loans reached all-time highs in the third quarter of 2014, according to Experian Automotive’s latest State of the Automotive Finance Market report. The average loan amount for a new vehicle was $27,799 in the third quarter of 2014, up $1,080 from the previous year. Used vehicle loans increased $676, reaching $18,576 over the same time period.   With the continued growth in loan amounts, the quarterly findings also showed consumers leasing at a higher rate, as well as...

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J.D. Power: New-Car Sales Reaching Record Levels

LOS ANGELES — J.D. Power’s John Humphrey gave the U.S. auto industry a clean bill of health this week at the NADA/J.D. Power Western Automotive Conference at The LA Downtown Hotel. New-vehicle sales in the U.S. are steadily approaching the record of 17.3 million set in 2000, but are doing so with more discipline in pricing and the use of incentives, according to Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power. “The industry is in a very healthy state,” Humphrey told the audience from more than 250 automotive industry...

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More Auto Dealers Join Black Friday fray with sales incentives

By Dan Gearino Auto dealers have emerged as contenders for the attention and dollars of Black Friday shoppers. The promotions were enough to lure customers to car lots on a day when people traditionally shop for electronics, apparel and toys. “It used to be that automotive (dealers) would throw in the towel and sit on the sidelines while every other retailer had their best day of the year,” said Chris Haydocy, co-owner of Haydocy Buick GMC on the West Side. That has changed. Yesterday, most brands had some sort of marketing push and special...

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Benefits of Buying a New Car from an Auto Dealer

The Dealership is your Playground Visiting an auto dealership in pursuit of purchasing a brand new car is comparable to taking a child to a candy shop; (Except the merchandise is much more expensive.) At an auto dealership, there is a wide variety of inventory and you can choose from.  You can choose the vehicle make, model, size, color and other features all based upon your budget. Brand New Features As technology advances, the features in new cars also continue to advance; state of the art features such as lane change assist, which is...

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Ford to keep base price stable on Explorer, but raises top trim level

BY: Bradford Wernle Ford has held the line on prices for the refreshed 2016 Explorer crossover, but a new top-of-the-line Platinum trim raises the ceiling on what a customer can spend for the hot-selling full-size crossover to well above $50,000. Today Ford Motor Co. announced prices for a base 2016 Explorer will start at $31,595, the same as for a base 2015 Explorer. The loaded Platinum Explorer, new to the lineup for 2016, will start at $53,495. The priciest version of the current 2015 Explorer is the Sport model, which starts at $43,995....

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NADA sees 2015 U.S. sales nearing 17 million vehicles

Continued economic improvement, low interest rates and cheap gasoline will help new-vehicle sales rise more than 3 percent to nearly 17 million units next year, the most since 2005, according to forecasts from the National Automobile Dealers Association. NADA sees U.S. new vehicle sales growing to 16.94 million units in 2015 from a projected 16.4 million this year, as U.S. gross domestic product grows 3.1 percent, compared with an estimated 2.1 percent this year. Through October, the industry sold 13.7 million vehicles in the U.S., up 6 percent...

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NADA tells Nissan to butt out of dealer surveys

BY: Lindsay Chappell The National Automobile Dealers Association has rapped Nissan's knuckles for "actions by some Nissan representatives" to boost scores in a survey of dealer attitudes toward automakers. In a July 24 letter to Nissan dealers, NADA said that over the summer it became alarmed that some Nissan field reps may have pressured dealers to give favorable responses on the NADA Dealer Attitude Survey. "We want you to know that NADA considers any attempt to coerce you into giving responses that you don't believe in is unacceptable,"...

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To Be or Not to Be On-Camera

Are you ready — and qualified — to become the face and voice of your dealership? Marketing expert asks the tough questions. Auto Dealer Monthly - Feature by Jim Raposa Broadcast advertising has helped a good many business owners take on an air of celebrity and authority. Former Men’s Warehouse owner George Zimmer’s distinctive voice was the trademark of that company’s TV and radio commercials for nearly 30 years. Sy Sperling launched the Hair Club for Men with a commercial in which he famously told viewers he was not only the company’s president,...

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NADA Issues Dealer Data Guidance

By Brittany-Marie Swanson The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA)’s department of legal and regulatory affairs issued guidance on data protection last week. Officials said the 14-page memo, issued to members on Aug. 28, is part of an ongoing effort to promote compliance by the association, but it comes at a time when industry marketers are turning to transaction data to fuel vehicle sales. Obtained by F&I and Showroom magazine, the memo acknowledged there are a “number of entities who wish to gain access” to transaction data stored...

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Police Catch Kidnapper Using Dealership’s GPS Device

By: The Washington Post Feature by Abby Ohlheiser Local and federal law enforcement officials announced Wednesday that they had rescued a nursing assistant whose violent abduction in Philadelphia was caught on surveillance video. And as police credit that video for its role in finding Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, 22, and her alleged abductor, Delvin Barnes, another sort of surveillance technology also helped lead officials to the suspect and the victim: a GPS device, planted in Barnes’s car by the dealership that sold him the vehicle.   Barnes,...

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Check Your DMS Bill

By: Auto Dealer Monthly Feature by Brian Reed Billing errors for dealership management systems are more common than you may think. Technology expert suggests you check your monthly invoice for erroneous charges related to hardware and software, annual increases and click fees. You know the approximate amount of your dealership’s monthly electric bill, but do you know what you pay per kilowatt-hour? Many dealers manage the monthly invoice for their dealership management system (DMS) much like their electric bill. They know the total amount they...

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Zero to 60 in Less Than Three Seconds

By: Auto Dealer Monthly   It’s insane! Chrysler will soon begin production on 700-horsepower editions of the Dodge Charger and Challenger, both due in the 2015-MY. Considering my 1968 Dodge Super Bee was rated at 335 hp and was one of the fastest production cars of the day, I have to ask, where’s it all going?   Trumping the 650-hp 2015 Corvette Z06 and the 662-hp Mustang Shelby GT500 — and a host of European exotics — Chrysler’s SRT Hellcat line should be the ultimate “Need for Speed” machine, assuming buyers can find a public highway...

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The Wolf of Walmart

By: Automotive News AutoDealer Monthly I have been to Atlantic City many times. I have conducted seminars there, spoken at conferences and consulted nearby dealers. It isn’t the nicest part of New Jersey, and it sure ain’t Las Vegas. Unlike Vegas, where the airport is a stone’s throw from the Strip, the closest major airport is in Philadelphia. The streets and sidewalks around the casinos are nice enough, but you wouldn’t want to stray too far from the bright lights. The surrounding blocks are seedy, dirty and crime-ridden. It’s the kind of place...

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