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I N D I A N A
CAR LINES OFFICIAL VOICE OF THE INDEPENDENT CAR DEALER IN INDIANA
Wherever life takes us, the holidays often lead to thoughts of home.On behalf of the
IIADA family, we wish you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving & Holiday Season and extend our hopes for your family’s good health and prosperity in the coming year. YO U R I I A DA STA F F A N D L E A D E R S H I P
DALLAS, TEXAS Permit No. 2079
PAID
PRSRT Standard U.S. Postage V I S I T
U S
A T
W W W . I I A D A . C O M
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AGOOD TIME WAS HAD BYALL
M A N H E I M
I N D I A N A P O L I S
A N N I V E R S A R Y
S A L E .
at this past Manheim Indianapolis Anniversary Sale.
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FEDERAL ADVOCATES LOBBYING REPORT White House Reform Request On September 23 and September 29, Federal Advocates was contacted by the White House, which is trying to organize and schedule a meeting to include “people who are working to setup the CFPB.” This meeting is in response to a letter sent by NIADA to President Obama requesting “the opportunity to work with you to reform our industry in common-sense ways that achieve real safeguards for consumers, that promote accountability and transparency, and that really work.” FEDERAL ADVOCATES IS NIADA’S GOVERNMENTAL ADVOCACY PARTNER. To read past lobbying reports, visit http://www.niada.com/legislative_and_legal.php
IIADA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DEBBIE ANDERSEN P.O. Box 1393 Crown Point, IN 46308 Phone: (800) 310-3112 Fax: (219) 663-5294 iiada@comcast.net
BOARD OF DIRECTORS DAVE ALLEN PRESIDENT Manheim Indianapolis 3110 S Post Road Indianapolis, IN 46239 Phone: (317) 862-8622 Fax: (317) 862-8623 david.allen@manheim.com FRITZ KREUTZINGER VICE PRESIDENT Fritz Associates P.O. Box 168 Fishers, IN 46038 Phone: (317) 842-2228 Fax: (317) 842-7903 fritzauto@aol.com TRICIA TRENT SECRETARY Trent Auto Sales 1327 N 6th Street Vincennes, IN 47591 Phone: (812) 882-3772 Fax: (812) 882-1986 ttrent01@yahoo.com BRUCE NORTON TREASURER Drive1USA 1512 W 96th Avenue, Suite C Crown Point, IN 46307 Phone: (219) 661-1000 Fax: (219) 661-2950 bnorton@drive1usa.com
JENNIFER COTTON Dyer Auto Auction P.O. Box 115 Dyer, IN 46113-0115 Phone: (219) 865-2361 Fax: (219) 322-1761 bcotton@dyerauction.com
HAROLD DREES H.T.D., Inc. 200 E Main Street Thorntown, IN 46071 Phone: (317) 402-2312 Fax: (765) 436-7222 htdinc@msn.com
KIM GRAHAM Kim Graham, Inc. 1648 A US 31 S Greenwood, IN 46143 Phone: (317) 888-0100 Fax: (317) 888-8900 vehicles@kimgraham.com
TONY DEL REAL Del Real Auto Sales 3857 State Road 38 E Lafayette, IN 47905 Phone: (765) 446-9204 Fax: (765) 446-9143 tdelreal@delrealauto.com
ED WHITE White’s Auto Sales 1105 McKinley Avenue Rensselaer, IN 47978 Phone: (219) 866-7553 Fax: (219) 866-7256 ewas@netnitco.net
JOHN STUMPF Wolfe's South Bend Auto Auction 25784 Western Ave. South Bend, IN 46619 Phone: (574) 289-7767 Fax: (574) 288-2731
DAVE ROESCH Clay County AMC 123-104 Acadia Indian Head Park, IL 60525 Phone: (812) 446-0037 Fax: (708) 246-9783 davidroesch100@yahoo.com
DOUG ALVEY First Class Auto Sales, Inc 695 W 900S Hebron, IN 46341 Phone: (219) 996-2600 Fax: (219) 531-4628 talvey65@yahoo.com
TONY HOUK Kesler-Schaefer Auto Auction, Inc. 5333 W. 46h Street Indianapolis, IN 46253 Phone: (317) 297-2300 (800) 959-5722 skesler@ksaa1.com
SHARON BRENNAN Fritz in Fishers 8599 E 116th Street Fishers, IN 46038 Phone: (317) 842-2228 Fax: (317) 842-7903 sharonb@fritzinfishers.com
TYLER TRENT Trent Auto Sales 1327 N 6th Street Vincennes, IN 47591 Phone: (812) 882-3772 Fax: (812) 882-1986 ttrent01@yahoo.com RONALD P. POVINELLI SR. Circle City Enterprises Inc. 5555 Southeastern Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46203 (317) 351-8970 ccerpp@yahoo.com
ANDREW J. INABNITT Approval Auto Credit Inc. 9825 Huggin Hollow Rd. Martinsville, IN 46151 Phone: (317) 422-8001 Fax: (317) 422-8020
INSIDE
MAGAZINECONTENTS
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Kesler Receives IIADA President’s Award Indiana Salvage Law Bites Dealer Cotton Wins NAAA Industry Pioneer Award IIADA Annual Golf Outing & Awards Day Coverage IIADA 2010 Golf Tournament Sponsors
THE CURRENT STATE OF THE AUTO INDUSTRY John McElroy is host of the long-running "Autoline Detroit" television program, covering all aspects of the automotive industry. In this presentation, McElroy provides a thorough and insightful review of where we've been, where we now are, and where our industry is headed. Taped at the Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association's Annual Conference.
CATCH THIS ON WWW.NIADA.TV
ADVERTISERSINDEX ADESA................................................Inside Back Cover AutoTrader.com ............................................Back Cover Diamond Warranty............................ Inside Front Cover Dyer Auto Auction ......................................................13 Friendly Finance ........................................................12 Indiana Auto Auction ..................................................14 Kesler-Schaefer Auto Auction........................................9 Manheim.com ............................................................11 Manheim Indianapolis ................................................ 3 SmartAuction................................................................5 Western General / Protective........................................7 NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION WWW.NIADA.COM • WWW.NIADA.TV NIADA HEADQUARTERS: 2521 BROWN BLVD. • ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203 PHONE (817) 640-3838 FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT: TROY GRAFF (800) 682-3837 OR TROY@NIADA.COM. CAR LINES IS PUBLISHED 10 TIMES PER YEAR BY THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION SERVICES CORPORATION, 2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203; PHONE 817-640-3838. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT DALLAS, TX AND AT ADDITIONAL OFFICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO NIADA STATE PUBLICATIONS, 2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 6006-5203. THE STATEMENTS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF CAR LINES OR THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION. LIKEWISE, THE APPEARANCE OF ADVERTISERS, OR THEIR IDENTIFICATION AS MEMBERS OF NIADA , DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FEATURED. COPYRIGHT © 2010 BY NIADA SERVICES, INC.
STATE MAGAZINE MGR./SALES: Troy Graff • troy@niada.com EDITOR: Mike Harbour • mharbour@niada.com ART/PRODUCTION MGR.: Christy Haynes • christy@niada.com PRINTING: Nieman Printing
DON’T FORGET TO VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR IMPORTANT INFO:
www.iiada.com
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FROM PC TO POCKET: CONNECTING WITH SHOPPERS ON THE MOVE Internet access from mobile devices is a hot topic for automotive marketers. It’s also an important one. Mobile Web growth is so strong, it’s suggested mobile usage will overtake traditional Web access from wired devices (desktops and laptops) in just three years. That means you need to start thiking today about how this technology might affect your business in the near future. First, let’s define the mobile Web. It refers to any browser-based access to the Internet or Web applications (or apps) using a mobile device. There are many different types of mobile devices, but by this time next year, smart phones (i.e., the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, etc.) will be the dominant type of phone. This information is important because smart phones are the most efficient and effective mobile devices for accessing the Internet. More importantly, it’s on the smart phone where advertising and shopper engagement can happen. Now let’s talk about how consumers use mobile devices as part of the vehicle shopping process. At any given time, about 50 million Americans are shopping for a car, and up to 6.2 million are using their mobile phones during that process. However, there are some key differences in shopping behavior when car shoppers are on the go versus using a PC or laptop from their home or office. FOR EXAMPLE, MOBILE SHOPPERS ARE TYPICALLY: • Closer to making a purchase • More likely to be looking at content related to their final selection and/or purchase • Not close to a PC and therefore not conducting extensive research In addition, the mobile shopping cycle appears to complement the traditional online shopping cycle. According to AutoTrader.com site statistics, online traffic from a laptop or PC is the highest at the beginning of the week and gradually declines as the weekend approaches. But how does mobile Web use compare? AutoTrader.com site usage also shows a dramatic increase in mobile access to our site over the weekend. This information reveals there is a natural continuity between the research that car shoppers are doing Monday through Friday and their trips to dealerships at the weekend. The most valuable thing you can do as a dealer is develop a strategy to stay connected to vehicle shoppers when they take that shopping experience from their PC to their pocket.
MOBILE CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR DEALERSHIP TALK TO YOUR WEBSITE PROVIDER Ask your website vendor if your site is mobile device-friendly. Go ahead and check it out from your own phone. What do you see? As you evolve your dealership for the future, think about optimizing your virtual showroom for the mobile web. KEEP YOUR LISTINGS IN FRONT OF IN-MARKET CAR SHOPPERS WHEREVER THEY ARE Make sure your inventory is listed on third-party sites that offer a satisfying mobile web experience for car shoppers. Independent sites such as AutoTrader.com have streamlined mobile sites that allow dealers to stay connected to in-market shoppers when they go mobile. ENSURE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS FRONT AND CENTER ON YOUR DEALERSHIP SITE Remember earlier when I mentioned consumers aren’t conducting extensive research on their mobile phones but instead are more likely to be in the final stages of making a purchase decision? What if that decision was to walk into your dealership but they need to look up your street address or phone number from their mobile device? Make it easy for them. Keep your dealership contact information prominent on your homepage. Even from wired devices, consumers don’t like to navigate through several pages to find basic information, and they’re even less likely to do it on their cell phone where the screen is small and the page loading time is slower.
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At any given time, about 50 million Americans are shopping for a car, and up to 6.2 MILLION are using their mobile phones during that process.
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BASIC BLOCKING AND TACKLING IS STILL THE MOST IMPORTANT THING Advances in the technology for the mobile web are great opportunities for dealers to stay connected to car shoppers during all stages of the shopping process. However, effective online merchandising should be the higher priority before investing time and money in mobile platforms. Tori Morandi has more than 10 years of experience as a public speaker and expert trainer as well as extensive in-dealership experience. As an industry educator for AutoTrader.com, she covers what's happening in the automotive market, consumer car shopping behavior, emerging trends, and what's new with advertising and marketing on the Internet.
BY TORI MORANDI, manager of industry education, AutoTrader.com 6 CAR LINES
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STEVE KESLER RECEIVES PRESIDENT’S AWARD Steve Kesler received the Indiana Independent Automobile Dealer’s President’s Award at IIADA’s 2010 Golf Tournament and Awards Day. The President’s Award is given to an individual or business in recognition of their contributions and support of not only the association but also of the automobile industry. Steve Kesler and Kesler Schaefer Auto Auction truly exemplify those qualities a dealer expects from a great business partner including dealer resources and customer service. The Indiana Independent Automobile Dealers Association was founded in 1986 and the Kesler Schaefer Auto Auction has been an integral part of the association since its beginning. Whether it its legislative issues, membership, or golf tournaments, STEVE KESLER and KESLER SCHAEFER AUTO AUCTION have always been supportive.
CONGRATULATIONS TO STEVE KESLER AND KESLER SCHAEFER AUTO AUCTION 8 CAR LINES
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FEDERAL ADVOCATES LOBBYING REPORT Wall Street/Consumer Financial Services Reform Bill On September 21, Keith Whann and Federal Advocates met with staff of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): James Dolan, assistant director; Carole Reynolds, senior attorney, Division of Financial Practices; Rebecca Kuehn, assistant director, Division of Privacy and Identity Protection; Katherine Worthman, attorney, Division of Financial Practices; and Daniel Hanks, attorney, Division of Marketing Practices. The meeting covered implementation of the above bill and its impact on the auto industry. Following discussion of various issues, including Buy HerePay Here issues, with NIADA General Counsel Keith Whann leading the discussion and answering various questions as to how the auto industry segments work, which also covered the auto auction process, it was de-
Department of Defense
cided to schedule another half day session in the following weeks to allow for a more detailed discussion of issues. To review, on July 22, President Obama signed into law the so-called Wall Street Reform Bill. As reported previously, the new law exempts certain auto dealers from increased oversight with respect to dealer-assisted financing. To get to that result, advocacy activities over the past month included numerous meetings, strategy phone conference calls, letters, talking points, legislative alerts and more. The law does grant increased powers to the FTC regarding dealer oversight. Also, it requires coordination with the Defense Department (DOD) to ensure service members and their families are treated fairly by automobile dealers.
Regarding the issue of “how to ensure that service members and their families are treated fairly by automobile dealers,” Keith Whann and Federal Advocates also met on September 21 with Frank Emery of the Defense Department’s Family Policy Outreach Directorate. Whann relayed a specific example of how he helped a service member at Fort Bragg, N.C., regarding an automobile situation, working with the base Judge Advocate General’s office and others. He also talked about a plan for a special program to teach dealers on how to deal fairly with service members and their families. Emery mentioned a November conference in Denver where Keith could give a presentation. Details are to be finalized at a later date.
FEDERAL ADVOCATES IS NIADA’S GOVERNMENTAL ADVOCACY PARTNER. To read past lobbying reports, visit http://www.niada.com/legislative_and_legal.php
THURSDAYS
THURSDAYS • AUTO AUCTION •
• New Facility • Five Lanes • Wide Variety of Cars & Trucks • Over 1200 Weekly Consignments • Fleet - Lease - Repos
• Construction Equipment & Utility Sales • Complete Recon Services • Pick-Up & Delivery Services • Checks & Titles Insured-Bonded
KESLER • SCHAEFER AUTO AUCTION 1-65 Exit 121 (Lafayette Rd.) 5333 W. 46th St. Indianapolis, IN 46254 Phone: 317-297-2300 • Fax: 317-297-6234 • www.ksaa1.com PIONEERS IN THE AUTO AUCTION BUSINESS • CONTINUOUS OPERATION SINCE 1943
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YOURWEBSITE Keeping Your Website Ahead of the Curve Technology has advanced and changed more in the last ten years than it has in the last 100 years combined.
This is mainly due to the Internet era and things are looking like they’ll only speed up from here. When consumers purchase a vehicle from your dealership, the first thing they have the option to do is to make it their own by adding custom accessories. Websites are very similar, and there are many aftermarket accessories you also can add on to your site to make it unique. Making sure your site and computer are up to date is easier than you think, and doing so will allow you the ability to get the maximum benefit with the least amount of effort. Over the last several years, website providers have been slowly shifting the ability and power over to the webmaster or site owner. This puts you in the driver’s seat by allowing you more access to add functionality by editing the content, changing out photos and even adding simple HTML code. If your website provider does not allow you to edit content on your site, you still can utilize the items listed below by having your site provider add them for you.
BROWS ER UPDAT ES Now you can’t put the cart in front of the horse, as they say, so we need to start with updating the browser you use on your computer. This is how you log on to the Internet. The following is a list of the latest browsers so you can determine if you either want to update the version you have now or switch to a different browser. Knowing what your potential customer is using on his or her computer might help you make a decision on what browser you should use, too. We’ve included a list of the latest versions of the top five browsers so you may download the correct version for your computer. You can find these free downloads by simply searching for the below listed items in any search engine: 1. Internet Explorer: version 8 2. Mozilla Firefox: version 3.6.10 3. Google Chrome: automatic updates 4. Safari: version 5 5. Opera: version 10.6.2
By updating to the latest version or even switching to a different browser, you’ll have the ability to keep all of the content saved in your old browser and transfer it to the new version or new browser of your choice along with your favorite websites. Now that your operating system is up to date and in place, let’s make sure you have the ability to correctly track the results your site is bringing to your dealership.
WEBSITE TRACK ING TO O L S Most sites do come with an analytics section, but Google has developed a free tracking system called Google Analytics that’s 100-percent free and can be installed by your website administrator. This tracking system is far more in depth than what’s traditionally provided by your website provider. You can create a free account with Google and gain free access to this tracking system by visiting www.google.com/analytics. This system will allow you to track visitors viewing your website in extreme detail including, but not limited, to the following: • Mobile visitor tracking • Data benchmarking • Internal site search features • Flash tracking • Video and social network application tracking • Advanced segmentation of data • Advanced analysis tools • Analytics intelligence • Custom reporting • Custom set variables • Easy-to-use dashboards • Data exports to transfer all data from the system to spreadsheets
It is impossible to improve upon the re-
sults of your website if you don’t know them. This system will allow you to view any of the data from your site visitors, as well as set up goals for your website traffic so you can reach the desired benchmarks you set for your company with ease.
SO CIAL MEDIA SHARING TO O LS Social media is going viral on the Internet and dealers need to take advantage of it.
Despite many articles you’ve read, just having a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn account is not going to sell you more cars. The real power of social media is allowing your customers www.AddThis.com to share your inventory online to the friends in their social network. www.AddToAny.com Take advantage of the fact Billy has 2,500 friends and when his www.ShareThis.com friends or family place a vehicle from your dealership on his social networking page, your dealership is instantly exposed to everyone in his network. There are many free tools in the marketplace you add to your site if your provider hasn’t already implemented them for you. The following is a list of the top three sites where you can get free sharing tools to add to your website. By simply adding these sharing tools to your site, you are opening up your dealership to the masses and allowing yourself to make a viral jump in the social media realm.
ADDING A BL OG TO Y O UR SITE Search engines love to see site growth on the weekly visits to your dealership site, as well as links from valuable sources connecting to it. Offsite blogs are great for both of these, as you can link to your dealership site from your blog. Most blogs allow you to have a section you can paste into your site to showcase the most recent blog posting to your potential customers. Because search engines try to match the words people are typing into them to websites, adding automotive related terms in your blog will help tremendously with search engine optimization (SEO). Here is a list of the top 3 free websites that you can sign up for and link to your dealership website. The above listed sites allow you to create your own blog for your dealership as well as customize the design to implement your dealership graphical logos to match the current branding of your dealership. The more avenues that you give the internet with content pertaining to your dealership, the larger the footprint that you will leave on the internet.
MANAG ING Y OUR SO CIAL MEDIA With all of the social media tools available online, it can become a painstaking process to make sure you keep them all up to date. Between Twitter, Facebook, My-
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By Michael D. Jackson, CEO, Auto Search Technologies, Inc. (949) 608-0809 (Direct Line) mjackson@autosearchtech.com
NIADA.COM ALL NEW FOR YOU!
Space, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, FriendFeed, MSN Messenger, AIM Messenger, Google Talk and Yahoo! Chat, you could easily spend all day just updating your social media outlets as you jump from site to site. That’s where www.Yoono.com comes in; it’s a social media management platform that’s free and allows you the ability to update all your social media www.Blogger.com outlets with one of the mouse. Yoono.com offers a browser add-on (recommended) specifically for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers; however, for different browsers, you can download a desk- www.WordPress.com top application for Windows (Internet Explorer), Macintosh (Apple), Linux or USB to manage all of your social media channels. www.MyBlogSite.com This tool allows you to update your status across the board as well as share links, images, videos and stay connected on all of your Yoono.com instant messaging channels. Time equals money, and money equals time. The more of both you save will allow you the ability to work more efficiently and accomplish more for your dealership on a daily basis. Making sure you’re utilizing all of the above listed features in your website will tremendously increase your results. By simply setting site traffic goals and staying aware of amount of traffic you’re receiving, you’ll be able to improve upon it on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis.
NIADA has unveiled a brand new website that’s easy to navigate and offers many new technologically-advanced features for dealer members. Among them: • The entire NIADA membership roster is now included on the home page via a state map, and dealer members can opt-in to add more contact info to their online membership listing. • All state magazines published by NIADA can now be viewed inclusive of advertisements. The magazines also will be archived on the site. Plus, those same state associations will have direct links from their websites to our site promoting readership of their particular state magazine. To view these magazines go to http://www.niada.com/state_magazines.php • NIADA National Corporate Partners (NCP) will now have the ability to add a company or product-specific video next to their NCP description.
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BY SHELLEY B. FOWLER
Indiana Salvage Title Law Bites Dealership that Bought Damaged Truck So, you buy a truck from an insurance company that declared the vehicle a total loss. By the time you receive the title from the company after it obtained a title in its name, you’ve already sold the vehicle. Can you just send
the title to your buyer, or do you need to do more? If you are in Indiana, at least, and perhaps in other states, read on. A truck was involved in an accident in Indiana that resulted in the death of the driver. After the accident, St. Paul Mercury Insurance Co. declared the truck a total loss and bought the truck from its insured. Because the truck had previously been titled in Tennessee, St. Paul applied for a Tennessee title in its own name, but, for whatever reason, did not apply for a salvage title. St. Paul did not receive the title to the truck until several months later, by which time it had already sold it to Randy’s Auto Sales (RAS), an Indiana dealership. When St. Paul finally received the truck’s title, it sent the title to RAS. That dealer had already sold the truck to West Side Auto Parts in Kentucky, which, in turn, had sold the truck to Duckett Truck Center in Missouri, which performed repairs on the truck and sold it to Larry Storie. When RAS received the title from St. Paul, it didn’t think
twice and signed the title over to West Side, which, in turn, signed it over to Duckett, which signed it over to Storie. Storie contended Duckett failed to tell him the truck had been involved in a serious accident. Storie sued RAS, claiming RAS violated Indiana law by failing to obtain a certificate of salvage title for the truck. RAS moved for summary judgment. Indiana law provides that “[a]ny other person acquiring a ... damaged motor vehicle, ... which acquisition is not evidenced by a certificate of salvage title, [must] apply ... within 31 days after receipt of the certificate of title for a certificate of salvage title.” RAS’s acquisition of the damaged vehicle was not evidenced by a certificate of salvage title. Therefore, Storie argued RAS failed to satisfy this requirement. The trial court granted summary judgment for RAS, finding Indiana law did not require RAS to apply for a salvage title because RAS did not own the vehicle when it received the vehicle’s certificate of title from St. Paul. On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit certified the case to the Indiana Supreme Court after finding a decision turned on the interpretation of an ambiguous statute. The Indiana high court found RAS was
required to apply for a salvage title, even though it no longer owned the vehicle when it received the certificate of title, because the relinquishment of ownership of the salvage vehicle did not extinguish the obligation to apply for a salvage title. The high court relied, among other things, on the “harmful consequences” that could occur if it decided otherwise, noting “an eventual purchaser of the vehicle could acquire the vehicle without it ever having been assigned a salvage title, and thus the ultimate purchaser would receive no notice of its salvage history.” So, RAS is in trouble—we just don’t yet know the extent (as in dollar amount) of the trouble—for not taking the time to find out whether it needed to get a salvage title before passing the title for a damaged vehicle on to its buyer. Take this case as an opportunity to find out about the salvage title requirements in your state if you buy damaged vehicles. Storie v. Randy’s Auto Sales, LLC, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9023 (S.D. Ind. February 6, 2009). Storie v. Randy’s Auto Sales, LLC, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 27725 (7th Cir. (S.D. Ind.) December 17, 2009). Storie v. Randy’s Auto Sales, LLC, 2010 Ind. LEXIS 341 (Ind. May 13, 2010). SHELLEY B. FOWLER IS THE MANAGING EDITOR OF SPOT DELIVERYM. SHE MAY BE REACHED AT 410-8655406 OR RFOWLER@HUDCO.COM.
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I N D U S T R Y
P I O N E E R
A W A R D
BUZZ COTTON RECEIVES 2010 INDUSTRY PIONEER AWARD The presenter who handed out the 2010 Industry Pioneer Award at the National Auto Auction Association (NAAA) Annual Conference in September described the winner as a "child of the auctions." This year's honor went to W.J. "Buzz" Cotton during the conference's industry awards luncheon Sept. 9 at the Hilton New York. Industry veteran Tony Moorby introduced and gave the award to Cotton, who owns and operates Dyer Auction in the Chicago suburb of Dyer, Ind."Buzz is a child of the auctions who is quietly but efficiently knocking them dead," Moorby insisted. Cotton has owned Dyer AA since 1986 when the auction was running two lanes with consignments of 250 vehicles a week. Soon after purchasing the facility, Cotton began an expansion to establish it as a fixture in the Chicago market. "Within four short months, Cotton had remodeled the old auction building to accommodate four lanes, and by 1989, Buzz had purchased additional land and built an entirely new auction facility," Moorby said. "Today the auction is one of the cornerstones of the wholesale auto marketplace, operating eight lanes on 50 acres and boasting one of the highest percentage sales in the region." NAAA said its Industry Pioneer Award is given to executives who have contributed to the reputation and success of the auction industry and the association. NAAA officials look for auction professionals that consistently follow the high standards of the NAAA Code of Ethics. "Under Cotton's ownership, Dyer has blossomed from a small two-lane auction into a modern state-of-the-art facility featuring every technology in the remarketing toolbox," Moorby declared. "AuctionACCESS, AutoIMS, Simulcast, and an AutoLookout-powered website are only a few of the tools Cotton uses to render his auction a profitable and convenient prospect for vehicle sellers and buyers." 13 w w w. i i a d a . c o m
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WHAT INSURANCE COMPANIES LOOK FOR Following are some of the criteria insurance companies look for when deciding whether to write coverage:
• Prior insurance company and loss history: Typically three previous years are required. • Number of years in business or previous experience if a new dealership: Many insurance companies now require documented proof of prior experience if opening a new dealership. • Lot protection and appearance: Fenced, well lit, paved, clean, well landscaped and manicured, free of clutter, trash, junk, etc. NOTE: A clean, protected, landscaped, uncluttered appearance tends to tell the insurance company underwriter the dealer is concerned, professional and has a personal investment in the operation. • Own or Rent?: Insurance company underwriters tend to believe that a dealer who “owns” rather than “rents” may be more interested in recommended loss prevention and risk management techniques than a dealer without a personal investment in the property. • All authorized operators of vehicles
over 21 years old: Many garage policies exclude losses incurred by anyone under the age of 21. Be sure of your policy’s coverage. • Good driving records of all employees, whether they are paid via a 1099 or a W-2: Failure to accurately and completely disclose all authorized drivers may result in cancellation, non-renewal or an exclusion of coverage. • Provide accurate and frequently updated list of authorized drivers: Provide the insurance company with a list of all employees who are authorized to operate vehicles held in inventory or service vehicles. If providing a vehicle to an officer, partner, salesperson or any other individual, the dealer should provide that information to the insurance company accurately and on a timely basis including a copy of the operator’s driving record. • Accurate value of average vehicle held in inventory. • Number of vehicles sold annually: The majority of insurance companies providing garage insurance only wish to provide cov-
Provide the insurance company with a list of all employees who are authorized to operate vehicles held in inventory or service vehicles. erage to full-time dealers. Typically, they have little or no interest in an individual who operates his dealership as a part-time or sideline business. • Length of time at the location: Insurance companies are looking for experience, stability and reliability. The lengths of time in business and at the same location are key underwriting criteria for most companies. • Cancellation for non-payment of premium: Insurance companies don’t want to spend their time and resources in the process of collecting premium due to them and if a dealer has been cancelled by another company for nonpayment of premium, they don’t want to inherit someone else’s problems. • Business Operations: Has the dealership implemented such loss control programs as key control, effective lighting, employee background checks, safeguarding valuable records and papers, building physical security (locks, alarms, etc.). Basically, what steps has the dealer taken to protect his property, building and contents? • Membership in the dealer’s state association: Insurance companies tend to look favorably on those dealers who invest in membership in their trade association. They feel that through membership, such a dealer will be provided current information, access to “experts” and educational opportunities that enhance their ability to operate a profitable and more liability-free dealership. • Buy Here-Pay Here Dealership: For these dealerships, the insurance company wants to know the sales volume, number of outstanding contracts, actual number of repossessions and the internal procedures that are in place for repossessions. Most insurance companies do NOT provide liability or any other coverage for wrongful or improper repossessions. NOTE: Insurance companies unanimously state the biggest problem with dealers is their failure to fully disclose any and all authorized operators. Garage liability insurance and other applicable coverage is not designed to allow the dealer to provide automobiles to spouses, children, parents or friends. Keep in mind that should the insurance company learn of or discover that there are undeclared operators, the dealer may face nonrenewal, cancellation or a refusal to provide coverage after a loss has occurred. Further, in some states, failure to accurately disclose all authorized drivers may violate state statutes related to fraud and misrepresentation.
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IIADA ASSOCIATE MEMBERS THE FOLLOWING BUSINESSES PROVIDE QUALITY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES TO THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. PLEASE SUPPORT THEM. Affordable Computer Systems Ivan Dale www.acsds.com acsi@digicove.com 800-488-9992 Ashton Agency, Inc. Bond Dept. Cheri White 4100 Metric Drive, Suite 100 Winter Park, FL 32792 katiesaft@ashtonagency.com 800-545-4600 407-678-2468 (fax) Assurant Solutions, Inc. Todd Calhoun todd.calhoun@assurant.com 317-250-1287 Auction Access Robinson Adams Insurance Dealer Bonds Tom Adams Debbie Thompson 800-239-1327 Automotive Capital Resources, LLC Aron Epstein automotivecapitalresources.com 877-228-8685 Auto Services Co., Inc. Susan Williams Clayton Morgan 800-442-7116 Cars.com 175 W. Jackson Blvd., 8th Floor Chicago, IL 60604 dealers.cars.com 800-298-1460 CAR Financial Services, Inc. Thomas Lloyd www.carfinancial.com thomas.lloyd@carfinancial.com 859-630-2606 Central State of Omaha Gary White, Indiana Regional Manager gwhite@cso.com 800-826-6587, ext. 3523 317-289-1369 Donn Wray Attorney at Law Stewart & Irwin, P.C. 251 E. Ohio St., Suite 100 Indianapolis, IN 46204 dwray@silegal.com 317-639-5454 ETA Consulting, LLC Floor Plans, Sub-prime financing, VSC, GAP Bill Ecklor www.etaconsultingonline.com 260-415-9119 First Data/EMPS Credit Cards, Check Warranty, ATM Juergen Hinz www.firstdata.com juergen.hinz@firstdata.com 260-489-3496
Guardian Warranty Co. Carmie Fruits, Indiana Representative cfruits@guardian-warranty.com 317-374-6271 Sales Support P. O. Box 68 Avoca, PA 18641-0068 800-482-7357, ext. 767 Keystone Insurers Group For All Your Insurance Needs Melanie Carr mcarr@keystoneinsgrp.com 888-892-5860 Lincolnway Insurance Services Dealer Bonds & Garage Keepers Gregg St. Germain 140 E. Lincoln Hwy. Schererville, IN 46375 st5some@aol.com 219-865-2225 Nationwide Acceptance Sub-Prime Financing www.nac-loans.com Bonnie Herden 773-777-7600, ext. 1295 Penn Warranty Corp. Jude Tuma Michael Roe 1081 Hanover St. Wilkes Barre, PA 18706 www.pennwarranty.com michael.roe@pennwarrantycorp.com 800-356-9441 Preferred Warranties, Inc. Gregg Reidenbach 260-341-6675 Guy Loeffler 313-283-0114 info@warrantys.com 800-548-1121 Scott Insurance Group Garage, Bonds, Health John Scott john@scottinsurancegroup.com 317-445-5555 Sentry Insurance Randy Dombrowski randy.dombrowski@sentry.com 715-346-7272 Mike Donovan mike.donovan@sentry.com 615-210-6344 Shirer Insurance Services Auto Owners-Dealer Bonds 400 N. Main St. Crown Point, IN 46307 Troy and Mari Shirer shirer@ameritech.net 219-663-7274 Smart Auction Jeff Kubicki www.smartauction.biz jeffrey.kubicki@smartauction.biz 812-455-7967 Zurich Insurance Co. 800-728-6049
Frazer Computing, Inc. Michael Frazer www.frazercomputing.com 888-963-5369
IIADA ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP IS AVAILABLE TO AUTOMOTIVE RELATED BUSINESSES. PLEASE CALL 800-310-3112 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ON ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIPS OR SEE OUR ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION ON PAGE 20.
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Do the math...It Pays to Belong!
IIADA MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
PLEASE MAIL OR FAX MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION TO: IIADA PO Box 1393 • Crown Point, IN 46308 Phone: (800)310-3112 • Fax: (219)663-5294 iiada@comcast.net For an annual membership investment of only $265, which includes an NIADA membership, you get a $2,500 Auto Auction Coupon Book and a whole lot more!
Payment by: ❑ Check ❑ Visa ❑ MasterCard Credit Card Number: ______________________________ Expiration Date: __________________________________
Dealership Name
Signature: ________________________________________
Dealer Plate#
By completing this form, I am consenting to and giving IIADA/NIADA Inc., its affiliates and subsidiaries, my permission to contact me and provide information to me at the mailing and email addresses, telephone and fax number(s) I have provided.
Mail Address Ship Address County
Note: 25% of dues are non-deductible
City/State/Zip Phone
Fax
E-mail Owners (Please Print)
FOR IIADA USE ONLY ❑ Dues Paid ______________________________________ ❑ Coupon Book_______________ District ______________ ________________________________________________ ❑ Packet Sent ____________________________________
Recommended By
Joining IIADA entitles you to the following benefits. Don’t pass up the opportunity to receive the best treatment by joining our association. Do the math...it pays to belong.
• $2,500 Auto Auction Coupon Book • Low cost Liability and Lot Coverage Insurance
• Assistance with internal business problems and customer relations • Prescription Drug Card
• Medical Insurance
• National “Skip” Program
• Car Lines publication
• National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Magazine
• Updates on changes in Law and Regulations • Annual Conventions • Dealer Bond as required by The Indiana Secretary of State
• National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Scholarship Fund • Services of Registered Lobbyists on the National and State Levels • Used Car Dealer Magazine
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!
2 010
IIADAauction MEMBER coupons Join the Indiana Independent Automobile Dealers Association and Receive $2,500 in Auto Auction Coupons
SAVE $100
AT EACH OF THE FOLLOWING AUCTIONS! – 4 Buy or Sell Fee Coupons @ $25 each –
abc Detroit/Toledo ADE of Indianapolis Auto Auction ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton Auto Auction ADESA Indianapolis Auto Auction ADESA Lansing Auto Auction CarMax Auctions Clark County Auto Auction Dyer Auto Auction Greater Kalamazoo Auto Auction Greater Rockford Auto Auction Indiana Auction Exchange Indiana Auto Auction Inc. Indianapolis Car Exchange
Kesler-Schaefer Wholesale Auto Auction Manheim Arena Illinois Manheim Cincinnati Manheim Fort Wayne Manheim Indianapolis Manheim Louisville Manheim Metro Chicago Manheim Ohio Montpelier Auto Auction of Ohio OPENLANE West Michigan Auto Auction Wolfe’s Terre Haute/ South Bend/ Evansville, Auto Auctions
FOR A TOTAL SAVINGS OF $2,500! 21 w w w. i i a d a . c o m
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BEST PRACTICES
FOR GETTING YOUR CUSTOMERS FINANCED BY GEORGE HARTMAN Director, National Business Development, RouteOne LLC
George Hartman is the director of national business development at RouteOne LLC, a free, online credit application management service for franchised and independent dealers nationwide. RouteOne’s credit platform allows automotive dealers to submit credit applications to a wide variety of lenders, including prime, sub-prime, banks and credit unions. RouteOne offers dealers a vast array of F&I tools including credit bureau access, DSP integration, free reporting, and a host of subscription-based tools, with no long-term fees or contracts required at any time. RouteOne offers dealers a common platform for all their credit application financing needs. More information is available by contacting Hartman directly at 248-862-7050 or ghartman@routeone.com. Dealers may also contact RouteOne Sales Support at 866-933-0663 or salessupport@routeone.com.
In this economy, it’s imperative that your dealership take advantage of every opportunity to get your customers financed. Each deal is unique, but your best chance to fund each and every deal is to pay attention to the basics. Let’s focus on
a key tenet: your finance source selection and partnership. Know the finance source policies. Knowing and following your finance sources’ guidelines for receiving applications can make or break your approval success rate. Additionally, understanding how to package your final deal will also speed your funding. Find out your finance sources’ policies regarding cash down, credit scores and scoring models, model year/mileage restrictions, PTI, and LTV. What about the lender’s book value (which book do they advance on?) Is your value accurate? Verify contract accuracy. Verify the accuracy of your contract prior to submission to the finance source. Are you sending the customer application to the finance source most likely to fund that candidate? Check customer quality, vehicle selection and advance sought. Create a complete funding package. Know the stipulations prior to delivery! Always create a checklist, whether packaging the deal on your own or providing to a clerk. Make sure you include all relevant data. Verify all stipulations prior to sending, and verify that all standard documents are included, complete and accurate. For example, a promissory note for $500 down could cost you time and effort to track down, maybe even a $500 write off. The missing stipulations for POI could cost your dealership $25,000 in funding, or worse, loss of an approval due to expiration - not to mention the frustration if the bank decides not to re-approve! Ensure your customer meets program guidelines. In times past, ’cash was king’. This is not necessarily true anymore. It’s possible that your customer could meet 99 percent of minimum pro-
gram guidelines – but missing that one percent could cost you the deal! So make it easy on yourself. Don’t submit a deal with $250 cash down knowing the program minimum is $500. You may not receive a counter offer for an additional $250 down - you may just receive an “automated turn down”. (Did you know some finance sources have policies which prevent them from rehashing a turndown?) Avoid “shot gunning” deals. Shot gunning does not work to your advantage or speed your process. Actually, it does just the opposite. These days, finance sources are very tightly managing risk and cost. As a result, look to book and risk portfolio management are more critical than ever. Build relationships. It’s important for you, the dealer, to build a solid relationship with your lenders. Get to know them and request that they provide you or your staff the training, education or feedback needed to have a successful partnership. Be accurate. Avoid vehicle value errors or ‘power booking’, ‘grossing up,’ or otherwise enhancing the truth. It may seem harmless to round up an applicant’s income to the nearest “x”, or even provide a luxury vehicle with all of the bells and whistles, but it is not in either your, or the finance sources’, best interest. Your customer could have provided an application for credit using a different income at a different location, thus creating a discrepancy. This could delay your approval, create additional stipulations or worse, cause a decline. Additionally, many finance sources are now completing their own customer interviews, either at random or generated based on the finance source’s risk assessment of your dealership’s performance or repossession rate. The ‘power booked’ car may have provided a nice advance and appearance of profit to your dealership, but if a discrepancy is found, you could be charged back, or even lose a finance source. Most importantly, communicate with your lenders at every turn. It’s never too late to be a great partner. Good selling!
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