Wholesale Markets

Iowa

Sean McNeal, general manager, Plaza Auto Auction, Mt. Vernon, Iowa

“We’ll have our 60th anniversary sale at the end of August.

“We run three to four lanes.

“Volume has been hit or miss. The fleet/lease repos have picked up, but the consignment has been tough for everyone, even the smaller dealerships.

“We’re still a night sale (Wednesdays 6:15 p.m.) and once a month – at the end of every month – we have what we call our ‘party sales.’ We’ll serve food and do giveaways. We’ll run between 250 and 300 units at those sales. During our off week sales, we’ll run between 140 and 175 units.

“During a sale we’ll draw 150 to 175 dealers, with 50 to 70 online.

“With us being a night sale, a lot of the smaller dealerships and mom-and-pop shops are able to be here. The in-ops sale starts at 6:15 with the regular sale starting at 6:30. This allows the dealers to drive here after they close their dealerships as all the lanes fire up. It makes it convenient for them.

“For conversion rates, our fleet/lease and our featured dealers tend to be in the 80% to 90% range. The general consignment fluctuates in the 30% to 50% range.

“Before COVID, we’d be running 70 to 80 a week just with fleet/lease/repos. Now, we’re in the 30 to 40 range. So, about 20% to 25% of our total volume is fleet/lease/ repos.

“The (moratorium) on repos affected the market. That 18-month period where people got that pass with no-payments, became more wear and tear on the car. They ended up with more mileage on the cars.

“I think here in the Midwest, in Iowa, the trucks have bottomed out. They’ve really fallen. But for the cars and SUVs, the prices are the still through the roof.”

New York

Jim Terwilliger, sales manager, State Line Auto Auction, Waverly, N.Y.

“It’s been a very good year so far.

“May is a real busy month for us. We’ll have our ‘Corvettes & Convertibles’ sale on May 12 and our Antiques & Classics’ on May 19.

“We have eight lanes and our volume is up from last year and we’ve sold more cars (compared to this time) last year. We’re averaging 66% sold each week.

“We’re averaging over 700 bidders and a little less than half of those are online.

“Online has really picked up. We’ll see new buyers online with Edge Pipeline.

“Retail is spotty. There are little pockets doing well.

“I’ve heard it’s not the normal spring retail traffic. But the market is still strong in the lanes.

“Then I hear other dealers say, ‘Where are they going with these trucks.’ They can’t believe what these trucks are bringing because where they’re at -- it’s slow.

“We have a strong dealer consignment. We’re probably about a 60/40 mix –dealer to commercial (fleet/ lease/repo).

“Some of our commercial consignors are GM Financial, Ally, and Credit Acceptance Corp.

“Our average price across the block is between $16,000 and $17,000 and had been higher. It seems like there are more trucks and SUVs in the lanes, maybe half of the sale.

“Buyers in the lanes are shocked that some of these cars are bringing so much money, yet they get sold every week.

“We have recon and a body shop. We’re as busy as can be because it’s so hard to find personnel these days.

“I don’t know where the cars are going to be coming from (going forward). It just seems hard to predict anything lately.

“I’m looking forward to our special sales this month. Last year, our Corvettes & Convertibles sale ran about 40 cars. For our Antiques & Classics sale last year, we had over 100 and sold more than 54%.

“We’re going to have our 42nd anniversary sale on June 16. We’ll have lots of cash giveaways.”

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Source: Black Book