Retail Markets

Washington

Wasim Azzam, owner, All Right Auto Sales, Federal Way, Wash

“I have been in the auto industry since 1992. I earned an associate degree in automotive technology and a bachelor’s degree in business management.

“I worked as an ASE certified technician for several years and later owned a shop for 12 years. I started my own used car dealership, All Right Auto Sales in late 2008 and joined the Washington State Independent Auto Dealers Association in 2009. I am now the president of the association board.

“First, a lot of dealers lost employees during COVID. No. 2, we were affected by the car prices. This is a supply and demand economy. We were very short on supply due to the closure of auto plants. When people don’t buy new cars, they don’t trade in used cars. The prices then go higher and people walk away from the decision to buy a car.

“Adding insult to injury, there were hikes in the interest rates as the government tried to put the brakes on inflation.

“It’s also been very difficult to find good mechanics and people who want to work. I have been paying a mechanic double. When I was a shop owner, I had six mechanics working for me. Parts were expensive in the early ‘90s to mid-2000s, but now parts are even more expensive, almost to the point where it’s not affordable.

“Another problem has been vandalism. I’m not blaming the police; I think they do a fantastic job. But I think every police department in the country is shorthanded. That leads to them prioritizing the calls. They don’t answer to a car dealer if someone is stealing a car.

“It’s been very difficult to be in business and find inventory. And when we find a vehicle it’s very expensive and we still have to recondition them. Some banks won’t finance a car purchase today.

“Some people don’t have the extra money. They used to pay $1,000 a month for rent, now that’s $1,500. People also have to prioritize. They don’t want to pay extra for a warranty, they need to feed their children.

“I know a good car when I walk by it. I don’t want to buy beat-up cars. I don’t want the complaints. When I go to the auctions, I take my mechanics with me and we inspect those cars. So, the cost of my reconditioning is less than someone who doesn’t know anything about mechanics. But these days, on average, if you buy a decent car, you’ll spend $500 minimum on reconditioning.

“Every car has some issues. If I was to buy a used Kia Forte, 90 percent of those need a new engine. Same thing goes with the Hyundai Sonata. Certain Audis, some BMWs, have problems, too.

“People tend to blame the dealer, but it’s the manufacturer. We cannot predict what will happen to the car six months after we sell it. Or talk to the people who owned this car for 10 years before you and didn’t maintain it. You can’t keep the same fluid in the transmission for 90,000 miles.

“We have what’s called an implied warranty, meaning the car has to be safe to be on the road and free of any emission defects.

“When people have problems with a car, they might

Compiled by Ed Fitzgerald

contact the attorney general’s office. In a recent 18-month period the Washington AG office received 557 major complaints with implied warranties on used cars. Dealers in 12 of those months sold 424,000 vehicles. They’re selling 1,160 cars a day. That translates to just one complaint per day. I wish the number was zero, but that’s not reality. And some of these complaints are against dealers who keep doing the same thing over and over.

“We have to go after the dealers who are the bad apples, I’ve been saying that for years. You cannot penalize all the other dealers who are doing a fantastic job.

“I do not do any buy-here, pay-here.

“The last car I sold was a 2017 Subaru Impreza allwheel-drive. It had 128,000 miles and it sold for $16,990.”