USED CAR DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF ONTARIO 230 Norseman Street, Toronto, ON M8Z 2R4 Tel: 416.231.2600 Toll Free: 1.800.268.2598 web@ucda.org ucda.org
Publication Mail Agreement #41890516
ONTARIO DEALER is published by Laservision Graphics Ltd. four times a year. 130 Industry Street, Unit 36, North York, ON M6M 5G3
EDITOR
Gina Monaco Tel: 1.647.344.9300 or 1.289.456.4617 gina@ontariodealer.com
ADVERTISING SALES
Direct: 416.360.0797 Office: 647.344.9300 Advertising Inquiries Shannon Coleman slk.coleman@yahoo.ca 647.269.4191
PHOTOGRAPHY photosbypierce.com
DESIGN thrillhousestudios.com
Chris Chase, Ronda Payne, Bill Sherk, Angela West, , Catherine Morris
If you are interested in having your personal opinion heard, contact the editor at gina@ontariodealer.com
The publisher of The Ontario Dealer reserves the right to turn down any advertising or content submitted to it. The Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario and the publisher accept no responsibility for claims or statements made by advertisers in this publication or by the independent authors of articles appearing in this publication. All statements and opinions appearing in this publication are those of the writers themselves and are not to be construed as reflecting the position or endorsement of the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario or the publisher.
Due to supply chain issues, it has been a challenge to source paper since the beginning of COVID. Because of that, our magazine has been forced to reduce the number of pages, as well as reduce the number of issues from four per year to three. The final issue this year will be the October/ November issue. We hope that we can go back to four issues per year in 2023. Thank you for your continued readership and your support.
Registration with OMVIC helps to maintain a professional motor vehicle sales industry
Motor vehicle sales in Ontario are regulated. So, all motor vehicle dealers and salespeople must be registered with the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) before entering into any form of discussion or negotiation with a potential buyer, seller or lessee of a new or used vehicle, even if the salesperson is not signing the deal. It’s the law.
OMVIC registrants have access to benefits such as a dealer support team, guidelines , resources, educational webinars and can promote their Certified in Automotive Law and Ethics (C.A.L.E.) designation.
To learn more about registration, visit omvic.ca and click the dealer/salesperson tab to access free resources including information on:
• How to become a registrant
• Fees and classes
• Maintaining your registration
OMVIC’s registration team can help you through the registration process. For more information, contact registration@omvic.on.ca or call 1-800-943-6002.
WOW, IT’S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT AUTUMN IS HERE ALREADY! The days are shorter and the nights crisper, but used car sales continue to be robust, even as the stubborn inventory shortage seems to drag on.
Still, summer was an interesting time for the used vehicle market and I expect the fall will be too. There are at least some signs, finally, of light at the end of the tunnel on the new car inventory side. That should help loosen the tight used vehicle supply problem. But it’s a slow process.
Positive signs were hard to find in the first half of 2022. This was clear when the UCDA and DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reached out to Members to see how they were doing and to get their perceptions of the marketplace. Close to 500 Members responded to our summer survey.
Members identified both challenges and opportunities in the first six months of 2022. On average, sales dropped year over year from the first half of 2021, as sourcing of inventory presented increasingly serious concerns. Recent trends suggest that these may have peaked during the spring.
While used vehicle dealers saw a small increase in average sales, up from 65 to 67 units sold, new vehicle dealers saw their used vehicle sales drop from 165 to 148 units on average.
When asked what sales volumes they expect throughout 2022, used vehicle dealers indicated an average
of 146 units with new vehicle dealers expecting used sales at 286 units on average. When asked this question in our previous survey in January of this year, used vehicle dealers predicted sales to reach 214 units on average with new vehicle dealers anticipating 313. Expectations were clearly down. Overall, combined anticipated sales for the year dropped from 256 to 189 units.
When asked about the change in their supply situations, about 60% of both new and used vehicle dealers cited a worsening situation in the first half of the year. A further 30.7% of both dealer types noted no change from the already difficult situation in 2021, with just 9.9% reporting an improvement.
Not surprisingly, for passenger vehicles, 78% responded that prices had increased on average between 11% and 20%. For pickup trucks, 69.1% of responses pointed towards price increases, with 18.6% of responses noting no change and 13.0% citing a decrease in price for the first half of 2022.
Source: DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc.
So what will the rest of the year bring? That remains to be seen. I’ve spoken with Members who are pessimistic about what’s coming and others who say they have done well throughout the pandemic and are looking forward to the future. What I do know is that this industry is resilient and will adjust as it needs to in order to not only survive, but to thrive. I remain optimistic that we will see dealer lots slowly start to fill again with vehicles … both new and used ... as we head into the final months of 2022. ■
the other hand, may be inclined to overstep when these ‘informal’ discussions lead to running a credit check. Perfectly innocent, from the dealer’s point of view, to try to answer the customer’s questions about their credit-worthiness to buy, a sneaky step without consent from the consumer’s point of view.
And so, consent becomes the great debate. Why? For two reasons really.
diametrically opposed. The dealer will say, "we absolutely had consent", while the consumer will say, "you certainly did not".
By Jim Hamilton Legal Services Director
WHEN COMPLAINTS ARISE between consumers and Ontario dealers over alleged breaches of privacy, the federal privacy commissioner can step in.
One fertile area for such complaints arises over credit checks. Part of the problem, from a consumer’s point of view, is based on a misunderstanding of what a dealer is doing when you ask them if you can qualify for a loan to buy a vehicle, at a certain rate of interest, for a certain term.
Consumers seem to expect that dealers just have the answer to these questions in their top right desk drawer. They don’t, of course, and the answers are complex, based on many variables, an important one being credit-worthiness. Dealers, on
First, as we all know, there are realworld consequences to running credit checks. The fact is these searches, called “hard inquiries” in the industry, are themselves noted by creditors and they do appear on a person’s credit history, the more there are, the higher the concern, and the lower your overall credit score. Why? Human nature. As strange as it might sound, creditors are happy to loan money to people who don’t really want or need it, and more reluctant to do so when a person is keen for credit or their need is high. They look at the latter group as risky and if you have lots of credit checks within a short span of time, maybe even a little desperate. This can lower one’s credit score overall.
Second, trying to prove a person gave consent is like trying to nail jelly to a wall. If the ‘consent’ to a credit check arose from the kind of informal discussion I referred to earlier, the consent the dealer thought they had and the consent the consumer intended to give could easily be
It is confusing for the dealer, who can’t imagine what else the consumer thought they were going to do with the answers to the questions being asked. The consumer is nonetheless frustrated and angry because no one explained anything to them (or at least that’s what they will say weeks or months later when they find out).
To avoid the drama the UCDA has always advised dealers to obtain and keep in the file written, dated and signed consent forms making it clear the consumer understands a credit check will be run on them, and why. You can keep a stack of these forms in your top right desk drawer!
For a look at how these issues can play out when a complaint lands in Ottawa, you can visit this link:
Automobile dealer performs credit checks of potential client without her consent:
www.priv.gc.ca/en/opc-actionsand-decisions/investigations/ investigations-into-businesses/2015/ pipeda-2015-005/ ■
before 1999 and those who did not take the Certification prior to when the new MVDA was introduced in 2010.
This great opportunity was offered in a self-study format or a four-hour live online Zoom class taught by dynamic UCDA instructors. Students could write the exam afterwards, at their convenience, within 12 weeks of registration.
It's discouraging when education is offered for free, and registrants are not taking advantage of it.
All that said, there has been an overwhelming amount of positive feedback and comments from those who attended the UCDA-taught classes. Many emailed me to say they learned a lot, it was a great refresher, and they are glad they took part.
By Bob Pierce, Member Services Director & Michelle PrinceAS MEMBERS KNOW, my focus over the past 12 years has been on industry education. With that in mind, the UCDA has invested considerable time and money towards enhancing and encouraging Members and their staff to assist them to deal with changes in legislation over those 12 years.
Michelle Prince has day-to-day responsibilities for co-ordinating the registration and scheduling of the UCDA’s Education Program. She has penned her thoughts and observations on the recent Key Elements Course promotion.
Over to you Michelle!
In October of 2021, OMVIC offered a free education upgrade promotion called the “MVDA Key Elements” course. It is for current registrants who had not previously completed the OMVIC Certification Course
Unfortunately, the response from the industry was underwhelming to say the least. The two biggest incentives to take the course were that it was free and once the exam is passed successfully, the registrant would receive a refund of one full year of their annual OMVIC registration fee.
Of the over 10,000 individuals to whom the free promotion was offered, just 260 registered for one of the 31 Zoom classes offered since last fall. Even more surprising, of these 260 registrants, 47 of them, did not even write the exam!
Bearing in mind the intention of the course, and the fact that it was without charge, it is difficult to comprehend why one would not follow it through to completion.
Understandably, there was trepidation for some when they found out they had to pass an exam to obtain the refund. There was concern that it would “flag” their name and/or dealership, or even that their license would be revoked if they got a poor mark. None of this is true. The results of the exam do not affect registration in any way; the main purpose is to improve and test knowledge on the essential elements of the MVDA.
The increasing number of OMVIC discipline hearings show that many in the industry are badly in need of a refresher on their disclosure obligations.
Taking this course can help to ensure that you have the knowledge and skills to provide proper MVDA disclosure to consumers and complete the required paperwork. Hopefully, this will avoid receiving a Notice of Complaint from OMVIC and a costly discipline hearing and penalty.
The irony is that anyone brought to discipline will be ordered by OMVIC to take the course anyway!
The free promotion ended August 31, 2022. However, the live webinar is still offered each month at an affordable rate of $300, including HST. There is also the self-study option offered through Georgian College for $195.
For Webinar registration, contact me at m.prince@ucda.org
For self-study, contact Georgian College directly at OMVIC@GeorgianCollege.ca
Hope to hear from you! ■
By Ronda Payne
THERE’S SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT BEING NAMED AFTER A PARENT.
Funny thing is, I didn’t appreciate being a namesake until my dad, Ron Eyben, passed away in 2017. Prior to that, I’d accused my parents of lacking imagination in naming me Ronda. Yet, I was always a daddy’s girl; I was always Ron’s daughter Ronda and I’ve always called him Daddy.
I inherited his name, but my love of cars was the equivalent to my love of yard sales; both things my Dad loved and I didn’t. We could have been coming home from breakfast out, or on our way to my Grandma’s for dinner, but if the drive was interrupted by looking at a car or stuff at a garage sale, I’d have been equally disgruntled.
I grew to love one of those things. Hint: don’t expect me at your next yard sale.
Throughout my life, I watched more cars than I can count be bought, sold, stripped down to nothing, rebuilt, repainted and celebrated in our home’s garage. Ron wasn’t academically inclined, but when it came to cars? I was convinced there wasn’t an automobile he couldn’t rebuild and have a party while doing it, because there was always a friend or two around when he needed help. He’d set up hoists in the garage to pull engines, created a sandblasting and painting “tent” for a truck my brother had and even learned how to stitch upholstery.
It wasn’t all unicorns and rainbows in the Eyben household when it came to restorations though. Muffled curses often floated up from the garage into my bedroom. Usually after a loud bang, clang or thud.
There was a clear line in the sand about which cars got his time and attention. Our family’s day-to-day vehicles were sent to a trusted mechanic. Ron’s “project cars” were his hobby and the hours invested could never be recovered financially. He referred to this as a labour of love. While many of his cars were older, classic vehicles, that wasn’t always the case. His projects involved whatever caught his fancy; he also took on a few boats, built a travel trailer from scratch in the early 70s and redid a fiberglass “van” go-cart.
He didn’t half-ass his car restorations. As a founding member of the Central Fraser Valley chapter of the Vintage Car Club of Canada in 1982, his fellow car-loving friends pushed him to up his game. This translated to him calling me at work one day asking if I could help him recreate the FoMoCo logo for the latest car.
His love of cars didn’t come from his family. Ron grew up in a small prairie town on what he called “a poor man’s grain farm.” In 1947 his family of seven left the prairies to settle in Surrey, BC. He was in grade four and it would be a few years until he took a job with the next-door neighbour, George Kelly, at the Texaco service station in front of the Kelly’s house.
What started as a job, quickly became a fascination for teenaged Ron. Not only was he making money, he was working with cars every day and his interest grew exponentially. His friends at high school were also getting into cars.
A few years before he passed away, I’d asked him some questions and he gave me written replies, like this:
“I have always been a take-each-day-as-itcomes, sort of guy,” he wrote. “The only thing I ever dreamed about was a better, faster, more beautiful car.”
His first, was a blue 1929 Model A truck George gave him. While it’s not in his notes, family lore says that a customer of the Texaco station left the truck for repairs and never came back. In Daddy’s old paperwork, Mom and I found a letter from George to the vehicle registration body of the day, asking what to do about an abandoned vehicle. That truck was probably seen as being ancient in the mid-50s given that new lines coming out were sleek and flowing rather than boxy and utilitarian.
The ’29 led to a ’30 Model A rumbleseat coupe (bought for $38), then a ’31 McLaughlin Buick. In later years, he bought the same ‘66 Mercury Parklane twice; from the same fellow he sold it to, twice. He regretted not buying it when it came around a third time in the late 80s. Other pedigrees included a ’56 Zodiac four-door, a 1950 Willy Jeep station wagon, a ’55 Monarch Lucerne two-door
hard-top and a ’69 Datsun 310, to name just a few.
After working for George and a short stint in grocery (when he met Mom), he worked in the glass industry which would become his career. He managed a glass shop that did commercial, auto and residential glass. I learned the differences between tempered and laminated glass when I was seven. There’s a photo on my desk of when he orchestrated the replacement of what looks like a 60-foot, floor-to-ceiling, window panel at the Law Courts building in downtown Vancouver. He arranged the closure of Howe Street for the crane and pulled me out of school to come along and watch.
For Ron, one of the big benefits of his job was talking to customers about their cars. He loved conversation. That was one of the things that made his final days fulfilling – the ability to talk and interact with people he cared about.
The list he created from memory notes he’d owned 62 cars from 1955 to 2012. My brother pointed out a couple are missing, which makes sense given that some of these vehicles were short-term guests while others felt more like downright
hauntings. More than once, a quick-flip was on his mind and to my mom’s annoyance, he’d sold her car and replaced it without telling her.
One of the lingering hauntings was the rebuild of a ’40 Packard in canary yellow with a white soft-top. This was a painstaking process of finding parts, building what couldn’t be sourced, lining up the autobody specialists, arranging a new soft top and things I can’t even speculate on.
When I asked if he’d had a favourite car he’d owned, he replied, “Probably the 1940 Packard.”
Funny thing is, that Packard was not MY favourite when at 4 am during a hot summer, the lingering heat caused an unexpected connection and the horn blared non-stop until Daddy got up (less startled that I, since their room was at the other end of the house). The horn was so loud, the neighbours mentioned it to him the following day.
In 2013, we learned his prostate cancer had returned and had spread to his bones. He was cautioned to not lift anything heavier than a book. But, there was a problem; he was in the middle of restoring what would be his last project car: a ‘66 Tbird. Friends came together to basically serve as his arms and legs, doing what he directed while he stood by, frustrated, doing the small things he could.
When he was in hospice, he had two last car-related duties. First, he received his 35-year membership award with the car club. Second, and most important to him, he signed over the ownership of two of the three vehicles he and my mom had. My brother chose Daddy’s truck and I happily received the car.
Despite not appreciating the cars while I was growing up, I do now. And when I sit in his 1967 cream with red interior Buick Skylark convertible, I feel closer to him and relish the fistbumps, thumbs up and smiles from people. I notice a Packard. I recognize an old Dodge Dart. I give a thumbs up to someone in an old Tbird. Something tells me that Daddy would be doing the same.
■
By Angela West
Summer always seems to go too soon - especially when you’re young. As the temperatures dip and the days shorten, parents and kids across Canada are watching the calendar, readying for the back to school rush.
Adjusting to the school routine can be tough, especially if you’re waving your little ones off for their first day in kindergarten or saying goodbye to your young adults as they venture into college life.
But while you’re buying backpacks, packing lunches, and checking out campuses don’t forget to trick out the car too. There’s a lot of fun gadgets that will help you on the school drivemaking your vehicle safer, entertaining the kids, or just cleaning up after giving a ride to the entire junior team.
Keeping big kids safe
For a lot of young people, this September was the first time they leave home. If you have a kid headed for the bright lights of college life, make sure their car is one thing less to worry about.
There are a lot of generic automotive emergency kits on the market, but the Motomaster Premium Auto Safety Kit has it all. It’s stuff with safety gear for every occasion so whether your kid is driving in winter, taking a road trip, or navigating highways, they’ll have all the equipment they need to protect themselves and their car.
The kit contains a whopping 86 pieces of safety gear, including an air compressor, safety cables, gloves, duct tape, and emergency poncho, and a tow strap. There’s also a 60-piece first aid kit and a multi-use tool kit containing an LED flashlight, a D Cell battery, a tire gauge, and a 2-in-1 screwdriver. It’s essentially a mechanic’s workshop in a single, compact bag that you can handily store under the backseat or in the trunk.
Motomaster is a Canadian Tire-owned brand which means the kit comes with their One Year Roadside Assistance Emergency Plan - giving stressed-out parents peace of mind that, whatever happens on the road, their college student will have someone to call. The plan can be renewed yearly so your child gets coverage for every year they’re at college.
For more information on the Motomaster Premium Auto Safety Kit visit www.canadiantire. com/
Kids have a lot of stuff. Sports equipment, school supplies, packed lunches, toys. Your house may be chaotic, but you can keep your vehicle tidy with the Jolly Jumper Whiz Kid Car Organizer.
This low-tech but incredibly useful tool attaches to the back of your car seat and has multiple pockets so you can store everything you need. Bottles will sit upright, books are tucked away, and there’s a zippered compartment so you can be sure nothing will spill out.
Best, of all, the organizer is designed to hold standard-sized tablets and ipads. The device is mounted to the top part of the organizer so your kid can easily view and reach the screen. It’s the perfect way to keep them entertained on the long drive to practice, or when you get caught in a traffic jam at the school gates.
To find out more about the Jolly Jumper Whiz Kid Car Organizer, visit jollyjumper.myshopify.com.
Even the cleanest kids are mess magnets and most of the dirt ends up in the car. Make cleaning fun with the TICARVE Cleaning Gel, a small but mighty cleaner that looks like a blob of silly putty.
Brightly-coloured and squishy, this is the kind of cleaning your kid will want to do. It’s unique design means it’s perfect for getting into the hard-to-reach areas of your vehicle like between the seats, in the air vents, and around door handles. It’s malleable enough to pick up dirt in the narrowest cracks and has a texture that picks up debris but doesn’t leave behind any sticky residue on your hands.
It easily picks up dropped candies, wipes away grubby fingerprints, and grabs crumbs so you don’t have to get out the vacuum or use harsh chemicals. The gel comes in different colors and doubles as an air freshener with a range of scented varieties. And here’s another cool feature - the putty changes color when it needs to be cleaned so you know
immediately when to clean or replace it.
Your kids will love its slimy appearance, you’ll love its impressive cleaning credentials.
Find out more about the TICARVE Cleaning Gel online at BestBuy.ca and Amazon.ca.
Spot cleans are great, but every family vehicle needs an in-car trash can to store away the garbage kids - and parentsaccumulate.
The Farsala All-in-One Car Trash Can is one of the most popular on the market, and it’s easy to see why. Stylish, and very functional, the can looks like a smart backpack and tucks neatly between seats for easy reach.
It contains two liners which are easy to remove, wash, and replace. And it’s very kid-proof with several straps and hooks to secure it in place so you never have to worry about stinky leaks or spills.
There’s an adjustable compartment in the front which holds any size tissue box. Put your garbage in the top, grab a wipe from the pouch - it’s that simple!
The best gadgets serve several purposes and Farasla’s trash can is no exception. If you’re planning a long trip, you can remove the liner and turn it into a cooler or storage bag. With 1.8 gallon capacity, it’ll hold all the necessities your family needs.
Find out more about the Farasla All-inOne Car Trash Can at farasla.com.
School parking lots are busy places, jammed with teachers, kids, and parents. If you’re taking your kid to school,
picking them up from an after-school activity, or just parking and waiting you need to be aware of pedestrians milling about.
Safety experts, Rear View Safety, offer a Backup Sensor System that alerts drivers to objects behind them. The kit contains four sensors that attach to your vehicle’s bumper and connect to an LED display that sits on your dashboard. The display can be programmed to light up or give a warning sound when something’s approaching or you’re too close to an object behind you. Primarily designed for parking or maneuvering, it’s a useful tool if you’re navigating into a space or around other parents and their kids.
Of course, like all automotive sensor systems, it’s not 100% foolproof but when used alongside the usual mirror checks and precautions, it’s an added layer of protection to keep everyone safe.
Check out the RVS Backup Sensor System at www.rearviewsafety.ca/
The Lusso Gear Kids Travel Tray is a godsend for parents, creating a kidfriendly entertainment area for little ones.
The tray is collapsible so it won’t take up much room, but folds out to create a compact desk for your kids. They can draw, eat, play, watch their tablets, and more - all from the backseat.
The desk itself is a dry erase board so kids can scribble away on the wipe-clean surface and make as much mess as they want. Attached to the sides are mesh pouches for art supplies and pens, along with sturdier pockets for bigger
toys. There’s also a detachable cup holder to keep liquids secure and an iPad mount so they can bring their screens along for the ride.
This is a great option for younger kids, giving them the freedom to play around while you take them to kindergarten or to a playdate.
For more information about the Lusso Gear Kids Travel Tray, visit www.lussogear. com/
Hockey moms know how frustrating it is to trek all that gear back and forth to the arena. Make things simple with a multi-pocket trunk organizer that securely holds bulky equipment so it’s not knocking against your knees or blocking the backseat.
Fortem has an inexpensive, but durable, storage compartment that’s reinforced with base plates and sturdy side walls. There’s non-slip strips on the bottom so it won’t shift around when you’re driving or knock over other items, and extra storage pockets on the side. These have lids so nothing can fall out, and are made from a mesh material so you can see at a glance what you’ve stowed where.
The detachable divider sits inside the organizer and folds down so you can split it into two separate compartments or leave it as one. When you’re not using it, simply fold it up and store it flat to get your trunk back. You can also lift it out of the trunk completely using heavy-duty handles - making it extra useful inside the car and out!
The Fortem Premium Trunk Organizer is a lifesaver for big families, check it out here: gofortem.com. ■
For customers purchasing a new or used vehicle, it's important that they understand car financing options, including interest rates and terms. Your consumers are making a large purchase and need to be fully informed to make the best decision.
• Offering full disclosure about the vehicles you’re selling
• Representing vehicles fairly and accurately
• Delivering on all your promises
• Responding to reasonable complaints, promptly
• Advertising without being misleading
• Conducting your business so consumers can “buy with confidence”
Understand the details of the credit application
• Ensure you receive an accurate application
• Offer a variety of financing options
• Ensure customers fully understand what is being of Always carefully review the contract with your customer
• Take the time to review all the terms of your agree ment, including vehicle pricing and financing details
OMVIC offers free education for dealers and salespersons upon request. Email education@omvic.on.ca for more information. To find out more the enforcement process, register for our webinar in November. Watch our social channels in the coming weeks to find out how you can register.
• Review the monthly payment, the frequency of your payment, the terms of the loan, the interest and annual percentage rates, as well as the cost of borrowing and the total loan amount
Email our dealer support team at dealers@omvic.on.ca or call 1-800-943-6002 Ext. 4 if you have questions about the enforcement process, understanding the law, and more. You can also access free resources at omvic.ca or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn to stay informed and understand your rights when selling a motor vehicle.
MYMOTORS.CA – LIKE THE TOWN OF TILLSONBURG , where the business is located – has seen some significant changes over the years. From a repair shop, to a repair and restoration business specializing in classic cars, to this plus used car dealer, time’s changes have continued to keep the company as a fixture in the community.
Pat Buyse, Partner and General Manager, joined the repair and service business back in 1999 when it was known as C.A.R.S. or Complete Auto Repair Service.
Pat had been interested in cars since he graduated high school and worked as an apprentice and then as a licensed technician for a local independent dealer. The dealer he joined for those early years specialized in performance and classic car work. He left his auto tech
career for a short period of time to explore construction, but met the owner of C.A.R.S. and returned to the work he loved.
“I got the passion for cars just out of high school,” he says. “We always had a lot of fun with drag racing and working on classic cars and I liked working with my hands.”
The company was small at the time and the owner needed the shop to run without him. “The longer I spent in the company, the more I wanted to take ownership of it,” Pat says. “It really exposed me to different facets of the business where I was dealing with the estimating, the collecting, the invoicing and things I wouldn’t otherwise get exposed to.”
Around 2000, the owner sold Pat the company and he brought his wife Nora in to help with the accounting on a parttime basis. Also at that time, things in the community were changing. The town, which was built on tobacco farming, was shifting into new economic drivers as the tobacco industry declined.
“Our customer base also changed,” Pat explains. “In order the fill the void that left, I started to do more classic work.”
Becoming one of southern Ontario’s key players in the restoration market, C.A.R.S. had a number of award-winning cars, some even recognized on the international stage, with six taken to Barrett-Jackson auctions. “We really took advantage of working on those cars at the time,” he says of the classic repair and restoration work. “As much as vehicles are nuts and bolts, I find these cars become part of the family. They are a legacy. We are trusted with the care of these cars. It’s not uncommon that we get some half- or quarter-million dollar cars coming through.”
As the business grew, Pat started taking more of a leadership role, working with his techs on how to care for the classic cars entrusted to them. The business, and Pat’s leadership, drew the attention of Mike Perovich who had trusted the shop to work on his own classic vehicles. He’d seen how the shop was growing year over year and was aware of Pat’s need for more space.
“By 2013, Mike, a local entrepreneur and business man, had a property available for us to move into that was more than double our size,” he explains.
The two became partners, rebranded the business at its new location as MyMotors.ca and started “dabbling” in car sales in 2015.
“We had set a very realistic goal of selling 50 cars in the first year and I think we started with about 15 cars on the lot,” Pat says.
“This was a clear indicator that there was a need for used cars in our market. With Mike’s experience in growing companies and finding new markets and leadership, we penned a plan for the future.”
In the third year of selling, he met Dale Thibeault who is now the organization’s Sales Manager. Dale had a career working in a factory, but after leasing a car from Toyota in 1998, he saw that the dealership was hiring for a sales position. He had no experience in sales, but had been given the advice to contact the dealership about the job every single day.
“I had no experience. I had no business getting hired,” he says. “The fact that I called so much is the only reason I got to apply for the position. I was hired shortly thereafter and I’ve never done anything since.”
He worked for a couple of different new car dealerships before finding his way to Pat and Mike at MyMotors.ca.
“This is my first opportunity working outside of the new car space and I absolutely love it,” he says. “We are a service facility first. Car sales is something we added. The pride and care that we use in restoring your classic is the same as with every other vehicle we service. We just service better than others do.”
Along with Pat, Nora and Dale, the team at MyMotors.ca includes 15 others. Obviously, there is still a heavy emphasis on the restoration and service side of the business, but sales and finance also play key roles. Car sales are at about 40 to 45 a month with on-site inventory of between 80 and 100.
“During COVID, we doubled the size of our building and we grew from myself to five more employees in sales,” Dale says. “We will stock classics and we will sell them, but the main focus on our sales side is on the regular, average, everyday car. Anywhere from $10,000 to $90,000 and more.”
Not only is financing available through the dealership, but it is also available for customers who may have had credit problems previously.
“It comes down to the people you are dealing with,” says Pat.
People are important to him. It’s not just about the business, it’s about treating people well, sharing interests and interacting. Dale expresses a similar opinion.
“We have found, that during COVID, customer service has gone by the wayside,” Dale says. “The personal touch has gone away a little bit because everything has gone online. We just truly respect our customers. They are customers. They aren’t a number.”
That philosophy was what led to the creation of MyMotors 4 You, a pick up and drop off service for those who are having their vehicle serviced or who want to check out one of the used cars available but can’t seem to get to the dealership to try it out.
as easy as possible for our customers,” he says. “This is the best overall team I’ve ever been with. We all care about 100 per cent customer satisfaction. It’s not about slogans, it’s about doing the right thing.”
The team at MyMotors.ca is exactly that, a team. Pat says everyone is committed to growth, committed to the company and committed to each other’s success. “We don’t hear the words, me or mine, here,” he says. “The team that’s been assembled here, I would hold them second-to-none. I tell the guys to just put yourself on the other side of the counter. We’re all consumers. Treat them with respect.”
The other thing this team has in common is their belief in staying involved with local events, activities and associations. MyMotors.ca does as much as possible with parades, fundraisers and other local happenings. One of the ongoing recipients is the local legion.
“We support them with some of the speakers that they bring in,” Pat says.
Plus, the company pays for the dinners for Remembrance Day events.
Cars, and making them the best they can be, are at the heart of MyMotors.ca. With used car sales now an entrenched part of the business, those who love their car will find a partner in buying and caring for “their baby” no matter how young, or classic, it may be. ■
“We’ll do whatever we can to make things
AS THE END OF 2022 DRAWS NEAR, there are indications that the uncertainty plaguing Canada’s automotive marketplace is easing and a return to normalcy is on the horizon, but questions remain as to what it will look like and when it will arrive.
When we last updated you on the state of the used-car marketplace in early 2022, wholesale values had gone down for the first time after nearly six months of steady increases. At the time, we inferred that dip was a blip and that values would continue climbing. But while they did rebound somewhat in the first few weeks of 2022, a consistent downward trend took hold in late March that looks set to continue into the fall and winter of 2022-23.
The Canadian Black Book (CBB) used-vehicle retention index, which measures the strength of the Canadian used-vehicle wholesale marketplace, fell 2.4 per cent in April 2022. That was
the first significant negative change after a nearly two-year-long ride during which it increased by about 65 per cent, between May 2020 and the beginning of 2022.
But while used-vehicle values have begun to come down, James Hancock, CBB’s director of OEM strategy and analytics, told Automotive News Canada that the used-car market isn’t a bubble fixing to burst. Instead, he said, prices will fall slowly over the next four years. Unfortunately, that means values will remain high until then, as supply catches up with demand. According to CBB, the 14-day average used-vehicle listing price has held steady around $37,500 since mid-summer 2022 after first reaching that mark in May.
The recent drop in wholesale values coincides with rising inflation, which peaked at 8.1 per cent in June before falling back to around 7 per cent in August, according to a September 2022 Reuters news article. The Bank of Canada is combatting those inflationary pressures by raising interest rates to slow Canadians’ spending in a range of economic sectors, including the automotive marketplace.
Canadian situation echoes that of U.S.
According to the latest U.S. market update by Tom Kontos, Chief Economist for Adesa Auctions, wholesale usedvehicle values south of the border have also fallen. Kontos said wholesale prices were down 3.3 per cent in August 2022 compared to July, but were still 7.1 per cent higher than in August 2021 and more than 40 per cent higher than prepandemic values in August 2019.
As we write this in late September 2022, the Canadian dollar’s value stands at USD$0.73, the kind of low exchange rate that typically brings U.S. buyers to Canadian auctions in large numbers. That cross-border movement is still happening, but Canadian Black Book’s September 27 market update suggests that a softening of the used-vehicle market in both countries has slowed sales into the U.S.
Wholesale values might have dropped more quickly were it not for the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage, which continues to hamper the production of new vehicles, especially high-tech models and EVs that rely on those chips for much of their functionality.
According to a September 2022 report by the website Semiconductor Intelligence, we’ll have to wait until after 2023 for chip manufacturing and supply to stabilize. An April 2022 article by The Register is more optimistic, citing Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz’s belief that chip production will return to pre-pandemic levels next year, but that the “underlying structural problems” behind the shortage won’t be resolved until 2024.
In August 2022, DesRosiers Automotive Consultants reported that new-vehicle production in Canada had increased by 15.4 per cent in the first half of 2022
compared to the same period in 2021. That should help ease supply shortages in the new-vehicle market, but the used-car market won’t benefit from the production uptick until those models start coming back as trade-ins or lease returns between 2024 and 2026.
Industry experts say it’s time to invest in Canadian semiconductor manufacturing
The ongoing chip shortage is prompting calls for the Canadian government to invest more heavily in homegrown semiconductor production. In an article published on the University of Guelph’s website in early September 2022, Dr. Stefano Gregori, an engineering professor at the school, wrote that building a more robust Canadian chip manufacturing base is the best way for the country’s auto industry to insulate itself against future supply chain disruptions. He said that Canada is well behind other countries and regions in that regard, citing multi-billion-dollar investments by Taiwan, China, South Korea, the United States, and the EU in semiconductor production.
“Maintaining technological independence from global supply chains is a defining interest for Canada, and it will be that way in the decades to come,” said Gregori, adding that the lack of a reliable source of
semiconductor chips will make it more difficult for automakers to produce EVs in Canada.
In a February 2022 announcement, Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (ISED) established a $150 million Semiconductor Challenge Callout, which the federal government hopes will prompt ideas from industry stakeholders for how Canada can strengthen its semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
ISED also earmarked $90 million for the National Research Council’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre, North America’s only publicly operated semiconductor foundry.
According to Melissa Chee, a member of Canada’s Semiconductor Council who spoke to Global News in September 2022, the current state of the semiconductor industry is an
opportunity for the federal government to make Canada a bigger player in global chip manufacturing by encouraging chip makers to locate new foundries in Canada.
But that may not be enough to fully protect Canada’s semiconductor industry against collateral damage caused by prevailing geopolitical tension between China and Taiwan. That conflict is threatening to curtail Taiwan’s prodigious chip production and could leave Canada’s manufacturing sector exposed to further shortages, according to a Canadian Press article published September 11, 2022. In that article, Melissa Chee said the situation presents an opportunity for Canada to “reshape ... its chip processes, for the better. This is a really Canadian moment ... that is going to form the bedrock of part of Canada’s competitive advantage for the long term.” ■
The Meteor was the Canadian version of the Ford and Rick Rickard of Woodville, Ontario, owns one: “I purchased my 1951 Meteor coupe in 2004 from a friend who unfortunately was losing a battle with MS. He had purchased it from photos sight unseen from an owner in Thunder Bay. My intention was to build it up as a late ‘50s/early ‘60s custom.
“It was a basket case. Many parts that came with it, including the grille, were from a Ford. The body filler was ½ inch thick in places, and when I got down to bare metal, several crude patches were revealed. Discouraged, I thought about scrapping the project and taking my losses.
“Then I purchased some EMS repair panels and chose to persevere. I separated the body from the frame and updated the chassis with a Ranger rear end, a Cavalier power-steering rack, power disc brakes up front, and boxing the rear of the frame.
By Bill Sherk“With body remounted, I patched the rusted portions of the floor by welding in new 18-gauge metal. A friend found a pair of front fenders better than mine at a swap meet. Another friend helped me get started welding in the EMS panels. Still another friend, a licensed body man, helped with the final prep and painted the black parts of the body.
“I painted the Mandarin Orange roof and accessories. All the painting was completed in my home shop, without a spray booth.
Between primer and final paint, I rebuilt and installed a 322 Buick Nailhead V-8
and an S10 5-speed transmission. I reworked an old Offenhauser transmission adaptor found on the internet to accept the S10 transmission. I re-drilled the Buick flywheel to accept the S10 clutch and pressure plate. The original Meteor rad was re-cored.
“The exhaust system was built by cutting and welding crooked exhaust pipes. I used Cherry Bomb mufflers. The car was completely rewired using an S10 fuse panel. A headliner was purchased and I upholstered seats and door panels with the help of my industrial sewing machine found through an online search.
“Chrome ring and pan for the continental kit came with the car. I fabricated the extension, tire mount, etc. and then the rear bumper had to be narrowed to better fit the continental extension. Fender skirts are fibreglass units found at a swap meet. Front wheel discs are ’56 Olds. Dummy spotlights were a gift from another friend.
“Since 2011, Lynda and I have put over 35,000 miles on it, including several trips to U.S. car shows. It cruises great on the 4-lanes at 60 to 70 mph.
“You will notice several references to friends. This is the great part of this old car hobby. Friends helping friends, and strangers becoming friends.” ■
PHOTO #1 (Top of page 24): Rick Rickard’s dazzling orange and black 1951 Meteor coupe with ’49 Meteor grille.
PHOTO #2(Top Right): Awesome rear view!
PHOTO # 3 (2nd from top): Continental kit the finishing touch!
PHOTO #4 (2nd from bottom): Orange and black interior.
PHOTO #5 (bottom): This is what Rick started with.
brands pledging to go entirely electric over the next several years.
As the vehicles and the landscape in which they operate change at a frenetic pace, one must ask: has the automotive industry prepared itself for the electric new world? Are car dealers and their staff ready for this new world and the responsibility that comes with increasingly 'smart' cars?
By Justin M Jakubiak and Natalia SidlarPLAYERS (or cassette tapes if you are my vintage!) are long gone. While power windows have been around for decades, the vehicles that get us from point A to B have vastly improved and now often come standard with Bluetooth, WiFi, charging pads, navigation and much more – they are basically computers on wheels.
Technology hasn't stopped at creature comforts, it has also revolutionized the way many new vehicles are powered. The manufacture, purchase and sale of EVs in Ontario have steadily increased year over year. Luxury and mainstream brands alike have added EVs to their lineup (no doubt to compete with Tesla's virtual monopoly of the space), with many
The rise of EVs and vehicles which are more computer than engine raise a number of privacy and cybersecurity concerns/threats that dealers must prepare for in order to ensure continued excellence in service and client experience – and equally as important –future OMVIC/MVDA compliance.
Whether you like it or not, they are coming. No, we are not referring to the robots that are coming to take our jobs; but 'smart' vehicles and vehicle technology that connects us more and more to the world around us.
In May of this year it was announced that the federal and provincial governments are going to provide $1-billion to Chrysler and Dodge factories in Brampton and elsewhere in Ontario to build the next generation of hybrid and EVs. In July it was also reported that construction on a new battery component facility in Kingston, Ontario will commence in 2023. The facility will supply parts for electric
vehicles and will hopefully, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, make Canada a global leader in EVs.
EVs often look funny, they sound weird (or make no noise at all) and the debate continues to rage as to whether they are in fact better for the environment – that said, Tesla is a prime example of why we can't ignore the nascent electric age of motor vehicles. Taking a stroll through Yorkdale shopping mall really brings this home: Lucid has followed Tesla's lead and now has a showroom in the mall, and VinFast is currently building out a space which looks like it may be bigger than both the Tesla and Lucid stores combined. Clearly, not only are vehicles and their technology changing, but the entire retail landscape as well.
Electric vehicles and technology go hand in hand. If you have ever driven an electric vehicle, you will have likely noticed that it presents much more like a computer than a traditional vehicle. Justin's 6 year old son's dream of a green Lamborghini was quickly sidelined when he sat in a Tesla and realized he could
play games on its computer sized screen and that it had a fart mode (yup, the fart mode allows you to use any of the car's speakers to make farting sounds!).
Like your mobile phone, your Tesla, along with most modern vehicles, is increasingly connected to the world around it and is constantly amassing information about you, your vehicle, where you live, your daily habits and more. While information is power, and all of this collected and stored information can be used by manufacturers to improve their product and the driver's user experience, there is a big and looming dark side which cannot be ignored.
This detailed digital record of your daily habits is incredibly valuable – to both of society's good and bad actors. To know your every move is something most
and shops based on your past habits? If not your vehicle, can third parties, through your vehicle, advertise locations they think you may be interested in based on your past habits?
Like all information, your personal vehicle information likely has incredible utility, and if used correctly, may vastly improve your vehicle experience – such as directing you to travel a route with less traffic, or with no tolls, or with better scenery. However, where you do your shopping, how often you buy groceries, when and what times you frequent your local LCBO is also very private and personal information.
When there is information that people want and will pay for, a landscape is created for bad actors to do what they need to do to obtain access to that information at any cost.
Who owns the information stored in a vehicle? The driver? The Manufacturer? The Dealer?
The pressing questions raised by this article are why many organizations, like the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, and its American counterpart, the National Automobile Dealers Association, have been working hard to think about the ethical and practical issues that arise with the advances in technology. They have recently developed data sharing principles for manufacturers and dealers to help ensure legal and regulatory compliance, protect consumers, and promote trust in the automotive ecosystem.
Essentially, these principals are an acknowledgement that by the very nature of the modern automotive industry, there is a ton of data which will regularly flow between dealers, manufacturers, their respective systems and the vehicles themselves. This data has to be organized, has to be secure and has to be shared in a responsible and ethical manner that protects all parties that come into contact with such data.
As a dealer, what information are you knowingly or unwittingly becoming a custodian of in the normal course of your operations? What can you use and what can you profit from? What must you protect? As vehicles become more sophisticated and have more technology, so too will your dealership. Service will migrate from routine oil and fluid checks to routine computer diagnostics and the fixing of bugs and other technical glitches. One can imagine a world where a dealership will have to download some or all of the information that is stored on a customer's vehicle in order to assist in a particular diagnosis.
In response to these changes, modern dealers will have to amend their customer facing agreements to account for this information transfer. Customers will want to know that their personal information is safe and secure, and won’t be sold to third parties without their acknowledgement and consent.
Employment agreements and policies will also have to be amended to ensure that
salespersons and mechanics are aware of and understand their legal and ethical obligations when they, in the course of their duties, come into contact with a customer's personal information.
Just like a cellphone or a laptop, modern vehicles are at risk of being hacked or infected with a virus or some other type of malware. One such gateway for these risks are applications that allow an owner to control and access their vehicle from their computer or smartphone. While such applications are convenient, there is a real risk that data can be breached and even the vehicle itself could be remotely accessed and controlled.
Another, and possibly riskier threat, lies with public charging stations that essentially connect a vehicle to the internet. Not only is the EV at risk of being hacked, but any device connected to the EV (such as a cellphone) may also be at risk of hacking threats – arguably, any personal data within the car and within a cellphone is under threat. Not only can banking information, personal identification, passwords etc. be stolen, but driving routes and habits as well.
These cybersecurity threats present concerns for both manufacturers, car dealers and consumers. While manufacturers will need to focus on encryption, consumers may have to be more mindful of how, when and where they recharge their EV or service their 'smart' vehicle. Car dealers, much like retailers of used computers and cellphones, will have to scrub used vehicles of personal information before they are resold, and may also need to consider running a full virus diagnostic to detect malware that could compromise future privacy – in the near future, it will likely no longer be enough for a dealer to simply review the vehicle for mechanical and structural flaws before selling it.
Consumers interested in EVs will inevitably begin asking questions about battery health, software issues and whether the vehicle had previously
suffered significant trauma to its electronic brain. Has the computer been rebuilt or rebooted? Have all updates been completed? Is the anti-virus software current? Perhaps when it comes to marketing, dealers may have to state and/ or otherwise inform a potential consumer about the technological health and past of the vehicle.
In addition, at some point, dealers and salespeople may have to consider their role (and potential liability) in keeping drivers and their personal information safe from a cybersecurity perspective. As mentioned earlier, as vehicles get smarter, the information collected by a dealer will inevitably increase. Dealers will need to increase their cybersecurity and privacy measures; one way is for dealers and consumers to consider entering into Data Sharing Agreements which can limit how and in what ways a dealer can use and share the personal information collected from smart vehicles. While a consumer may want information about the maintenance and overall health of their vehicle shared with the dealer, they may want other information ignored or destroyed by the dealer if inadvertently collected.
The increase in the sale of smart vehicles and EVs, and the increasing shift to online vehicle sales, all requires the law to adapt to the changing landscape. OMVIC and the MVDA will have to change to address these changing paradigms, and ensure they can continue in their public protection mandate.
One hopes that OMVIC will be able to adapt to the upcoming changes as well.
The industry will need an organization that is flexible and mindful of the agility required to stay current and to assist dealers and consumers alike in navigating this new word.
Like all change, the changes in the automotive industry comes with its pros and cons. There is no doubt that EVs and smart cars will have huge benefits, but the associated disadvantages will have to be considered and managed.
Dealers and consumers must equip themselves with knowledge and must implement necessary protocols surrounding this electronic, virtual world. Both buying an EV and buying it online comes with two separate opportunities for fraud to take place, not to mention the amount of information transferred in the process which is subject to hack and misuse.
The manufacturers, dealers, consumers and OMVIC will all need to evolve and work together in order to protect the industry as a whole.
Justin is a Partner with Fogler, Rubinoff LLP and is recognized by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Civil Litigation – most importantly, he loves cars and the automotive industry, representing auto clients throughout Canada. Natalia is a new member of the firm's automotive group and has a passion for all things automotive and transportation related.
This article is intended for general information purposes only, and should not be relied upon as legal advice. Views and opinions are Justin's alone and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the UCDA or Fogler, Rubinoff LLP. ■
HAD A ROLLERCOASTER YEAR. As supply chain shortages began to bite on the production line, new vehicle manufacturing dipped and prices climbed - leading many buyers to check out used vehicle options.
Used car sales rose 5% in 2021, according to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants. And although the peak seems to be tapering off heading into the latter half of 2022, Canadian Black Book predicts that the bubble will last through to 2026 - giving dealerships a chance to squeeze even more business out of the hot market over the next few years.
On the flip side of all this activity is dwindling inventory. With more buyers hunting for vehicles, but fewer vehicles making it off the factory floor, margins are tight and competition is growing. Dealers have to stand out, and one of the best ways to do that is to optimize their sales strategy. The way dealerships interact with customers, generate leads, and close sales will determine whether they come out on top or fall behind.
Given the high demand in the market, some dealers may be tempted to try a scattergun
approach to their marketing - blasting advertising across multiple channels to multiple audiences on the assumption that buyers are so desperate they’ll be easy to snare. This is a mistake.
Investing in personalized marketing helps generate both brand loyalty and quality leads so it’s worth making the extra effort to thoughtfully identify and target your audience. Taking this approach also helps your sales team maximize their resources, honing down their efforts into leads that are more likely to convert rather than wasting time chasing those that won’t.
You can’t plot your personalized marketing strategy on instinct alone, of course, you need data. Pulling customer information from your CRM and other client-facing platforms can provide actionable insights into their pain points, priorities, and where they are in their sales journey. Every sale tells a story and those stories can be leveraged to generate even more sales.
All too often salespeople never stray from the sales floor but developing relationships with other departments will help generate more leads and inform your marketing strategy over the long-term. A rich resource is your dealership’s service centre. When customers come in with vehicles that consistently need repairs or are racking up a high mileage, your sales team should know about it. Building a service-to-sales pipeline helps identify those customers that might be ready for a trade-in or who are open to preordering their next ride. Figures from marketing platform Mastermind show that customers who service their vehicle at a dealership are around 2.5 times more likely to buy their next vehicle from that dealership.
Personalized marketing doesn’t have to mean local marketing. A 2021 study from Auto Trader shows that Canadians are willing to go the extra mile to purchase a vehicle - literally.
Just over 40% of buyers surveyed said they were happy to travel further to find the right vehicle and 31% were open to travelling over 400kms if necessary, so it might be an idea to broaden your marketing efforts rather than limiting your efforts to the local area. This is where your
digital channels come in handy - used properly, these will help you get your marketing out far and wide.
With prices staying high, buyers are shopping around more than ever to get the best deal. And they’re finding them on the internet. This is especially true of Gen Z buyers who, in many cases, are buying their first car and want to compare options online so they don’t blow their budget.
This doesn’t necessarily mean customers are happy to buy online however. When it comes to closing the deal, most still prefer to do that in-person according to the 2022 Deloitte Global Automotive Consumer Survey. Deloitte’s research shows that 75% of buyers favor a hybrid approach - one where they can do their research on the internet, but come into the dealership to see the vehicle for themselves.
If you don’t have an internet presence, you’re invisible to these customers. And they represent a large segment of the market that’s only going to grow as technology accelerates. Get your sales team familiar with your website and social media so they can exploit those online avenues.
The era of pushy car salespeople is well and truly over so if your staff are still getting aggressive in their push to close the deal it’s time to rein them in. Selling to millennials and Gen Z in particular requires a light touch.
This doesn’t mean scaling back communication, it’s important to still reach out to customers but focus on incentivising rather than persuading - looking at pricing offers and referral programs to help sweeten the deal.
And make sure every member of your sales department is fully up
to date with every vehicle’s new features, pricing, tech specs, and availability. Being knowledgeable across all these areas increases buyer confidence and helps customers feel like they’re being informed rather than manipulated.
Like any industry, the automotive sector doesn’t stand still. It’s not just your senior management team that needs to be up to date with the latest trends, sales staff should be in the loop too.
There’s plenty of automotive innovation on the horizon heading into 2023. You may start to see electric or hybrid vehicles trickling into your dealership as rising customer demand and government subsidies bolster that market. Brief your salespeople on the ins and outs of all types of EVs, focusing on the specific issues customers will want to know such as mileage, charging stations, durability.
Then there’s upcoming automotive tech - as Gen Z gets behind the wheel, expect more automotive apps designed to give them the connectivity they crave. Your salespeople need to be able to speak to this demographic of digital natives if they want to get ahead of the competition.
In the rush to sell, dealerships often concentrate on new markets and new customers. But don’t forget your existing clients.
As the market tightens, brand loyalty is becoming even more important than
ever. Being the face of the dealership, salespeople are the most important part of creating those crucial relationships. They need to be aware that every impression they make either builds loyalty, or detracts from it. A warm, friendly, honest, approachable salesperson can make the difference between a customer coming back and heading to your competitor.
If they do come back, reward your loyal customers with perks that aren’t accessible to newer clients such as discounts on service visits, loyalty programs, or free gifts. Show them special treatment and be sure to keep in touch - sending them nudges when their vehicle might need a service or there’s a new product on the market they might like.
Also, consider exactly what kind of loyalty your repeat customers are showing. Are they coming back because they have a connection with your dealership, or because they’re comfortable with a particular salesperson? Perhaps they’re just loyal to a particular make/model and you’re the only dealer in town selling Ford SUVs. Identifying what you’re doing right is just as important as focusing on what you’re doing wrong.
Autotrader predicts that Canada’s used car market will see more inventory piling up in the latter half of 2022, through to 2023 - good news for dealers as demand will remain high. And so will prices. The average selling price of a used car in Canada has jumped nearly 50% in the last year to reach over $35,000.
It’s easy to get complacent in a booming market, but dealers should be constantly refining their sales tactics. There’s fierce competition for every sale and ensuring your business survives over the long-term means having well-trained salespeople that can capitalize on evolving customer demand in boom years and lean times.
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