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CarMax Gets Back What It Gives Away

By Ted Craig

One of the biggest sellers of used cars is also one of the biggest donors to charity.

The CarMax Foundation, the charitable arm of superstore chain CarMax Inc., recently passed a significant milestone. The foundation has now given away $10 million to nonprofits since its inception in 2003.

The foundation’s goal is to support organizations and causes that CarMax’s associates are passionate about in the communities in which they live. It is open to any charity that has 501(C) tax status and is nondiscriminatory.

CarMax matches its employees’ donations of time and money to a wide array of worthy causes. The company also matches the efforts of the associates’ families.

“The vast majority of the money we give is directed by our associates,” said Leslie Parpart, manager of the CarMax Foundation.

In addition, the foundation

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invites local nonprofits to submit requests for its regional grant programs.

These grants fund efforts in the area of education, youth leadership and wellness.

An example would be the CarMax Summer Basketball League in Richmond, Va. The program gives children a safe place to go and participate in a healthy activity.

The foundation is expanding its commitment to wellness this year by providing $1,000 in donations when five or more associates participate in a walk or run for charity.

CarMax started the foundation when it spun off from Circuit City Inc. It had participated in the former parent company’s charitable activities until then.

“Giving was important to the folks who started the company,” Parpart said.

There are benefits for CarMax as well.

Human resources has found the company’s commitment to charity is a key reason why people join and stay with CarMax. It helps a great deal in attracting employees when CarMax enters a new market, Parpart said.

The company regularly makes lists of the best places to work and its charitable giving is listed as one of the main reasons. It has also received numerous accolades from Better Business Bureaus and other groups.

Parpart said those are benefits, but CarMax gives because its part of the company’s overall values.

Photo courtesy of CarMax COMMUNITY: CarMax associates in Salt Lake City present a checkto HopeKids, a local charity. The usedcar superstore chain supports worthwhile causes in all of its markets.

Newspaper Questions Buy-Here, Pay-Here The Los Angeles Times recently ran a three-part story about the buy-here, pay-here business that portrayed it in a fairly negative light.

The series, entitled “Wheels of Fortune,” was written by Ken Bensinger.

The articles do feature comments from dealers and industry experts, including consultant Chuck Bonanno and Ken Shilson, founder of the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here Dealers.

However, a majority of the articles consist of stories of consumers who feel they were taken advantage of by dealers.

The articles claim dealers make money by repossessing vehicles and then reselling them.

Bensinger claims any losses are only there for tax purposes.

It also talks about how Wall Street is growing more interested in investing in the buyhere, pay-here business, portraying this as a negative.

Bensinger implies auto loan securitization is the same as the mortgage securitizations which helped fuel the current downturn. However, Standard and Poor’s data shows auto loan securitizations have performed much better than mortgages.

Bensinger suggests non-profit auto dealerships as an alternative to buy-here, pay-here, but points out there are no such operations in Southern California.

Bensigner is an investigative reporter in the Times’ business section who won a prestigious business journalism award last year for a series of articles on claims that Toyota vehicles suffered from unintended acceleration.

IN THIS ISSUE • Leading in technology hinders manufacturers. – Page 3

• The NAAA gets a new general counsel. – Page 8

• State may no longer leave licensing in local hands. – Page 6

• Dealers move toward electronic titling. – Page 12

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Dealer Takes Anything in Trade

By Jan Lindsey

Many used-car dealers claim to be horse traders, but one Florida operator really is.

Fred Najjar said times are tough, with people out of work, out of cash and losing their homes. But he has been able to grow his business by ramping up his long-standing practice of taking almost anything in trade.

“We’ve taken a house on trade,” he said. “We’ve taken art works, musical instruments drum sets, accordions, jewelry and timeshares in Colorado, Miami and Orlando, Fla. “We don’t go looking for it, but in this economy you have to find some way to help the consumer.

Perhaps the oddest trade was a horse Najjar accepted in September as down payment on a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. “We have an ad running that says, ‘When other people say no, we find a way to go’,” he said.

It caught the attention of a woman going through a divorce and in need of a car, he said.

When she showed up at his Pinellas Park, Fla., show-

room, Najjar assured her he would be flexible on the trade.

“She said she had nothing of real value except a horse,” he said. She showed him a video of Dallas, her buckskin quarter horse, and Najjar called his wife.

“I asked her, ‘What do you think about owning a horse?’

And she said, ‘I always wanted one.’”

The woman had been paying more than her new car payment to feed and care for the 13-year-old gelding.

Those costs now fall to Najjar.

“Somebody told me a long time ago, don’t take anything on trade that eats,” Najjar said. “I broke the rule I guess.”

No matter. Najjar’s wife and three kids – ages 5, 7 and 9 – are delighted.

Having to find a buyer for a traded item occasionally takes longer than expected and that can temporarily tie up Najir’s cash flow, but it doesn’t happen often.

“We try to turn things around pretty quick,” he said.

“We have a relationship with some local vendors (and) always turn to them first.”

Najjar said the occasional

HORSEPOWER: Dallas the horse spends some time in the sun before being traded in for a 2010 Chevrolet HHR. Dealer Fred Najjar is known for making unusual trades.

hassle unloading the oddball trades are worth it.

They bring in an extra 10 or 15 deals a month.

He avoids taking anything illegal in trade and is careful to do everything by the book.

That includes valuing even the items he keeps and telling the lender he is taking, say, a horse as the trade in.

Najjar said his entire sales staff is skilled at assessing the value of a broad range of items.

But if the trade in turns out to be worth less than the required down payment, it is the dealership that comes up short, not the bank.

Creditors don’t mind the unconventional deals

because all the risk falls on Najjar.

There are some limits to what Najjar will take on trade. He once refused two burial plots.

“He was asking too much money for them,” Najir said.

“I didn’t know how to value them - and I didn’t want to use them.”

Consumers Want Tech, Then Don’t Fancy technology may attract shoppers, but it irritates buyers.

Ford saw its brand drop 20 spots on the Consumer Reports list over concerns about its MyTouch system.

David Champion, head of auto testing for Consumer Reports, said the system is “difficult to use even when it’s actually working.”

Champion said the technology may draw praise from the consumer electronics crowd, but creates too many hassles in the real world.

“There’s a difference between sitting in the showroom and driving the car,” he said.

The company’s powershift and ecoboost features also brought it down.

The challenges go beyond Ford.

The entire minivan segment scores below average due to complaints about sliding doors, navigation systems and DVD players.

Consumers demand all

these features, Champion said, but are disappointed when they fail to function easily.

Champion said these issues with non-essential items can turn into safety concerns as drivers focus on getting them to work rather than the road.

Taking your eyes off the road for only two seconds greatly increases the risk of an accident, he said.

Champion recommends scraping touchscreens.

“Make it as simple as possible,” he said. “Don’t listen to the stylists who want to make it look good.”

European cars are an example of putting style over substance, Champion said.

The European market weighs handling and appearance more than reliability, which is why manufacturers such as BMW and Audi rank low on the list.

“We expect a car in the U.S. to behave more like an appliance,” Champion said.

Not all technology hurts a car’s reputation.

The

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Chevrolet Volt ranked the highest of any offering from that brand.

All this could change with shifting demographics.

A recent survey by Altman Vilandrie & Company and uSamp found 40 percent of

18-24 year olds said that incar media significantly influenced their most recent car purchase, a rate more than twice that of older drivers.

The most preferred media features were voice-con-

trolled navigation and realtime traffic updates. Seventy percent of drivers were also interested in the opportunity to turn their vehicles into wireless “hotspots” to enable Internet access for laptops and tablets.

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NEWS BRIEFS Carfax Wins Ad Award

The Carfax Car Fox issued the following statement about being voted ‘Most Irritating Animated Actor’ by The Consumerist.

The ‘Show Me the Carfax’ campaign featuring Car Fox has propelled brand awareness of Carfax and consumer requests for Carfax Vehicle History Reports to an alltime high, nearly double since the campaign launched. All of the current ad spots from the ‘Show Me the Carfax’ campaign are viewable on the Carfax YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/carfax.

DriveTime Signs on with GPS Provider

Drive Time, a buy-here, pay-here chain with 89 stores across the nation, has selected Inilex as its supplier of GPS-based vehicle tracking and recovery solutions.

Based in Chandler, Ariz., Inilex is a provider of GPS-based vehicle tracking solutions.

The company’s DealerLINK and SkyLINK platforms provide a complete inventory management and income development system for automotive dealerships.

announced an 18.7 percent year-overyear increase in net income for the third quarter, despite a decline in auto financing.

Indirect auto loan balances were $161.6 million at the end of the third quarter, which was a decrease of $3.8 million from the end of the second quarter of 2011. The company originated $17.9 million of indirect auto loans in the third quarter, compared with $22.5 million in the year-ago quarter and $17.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.

Alliance originates auto loans through a network of well established automobile dealers located in central and western New York.

Manheim Listens to Dealers

Manheim hosted a two-day advisory board meeting last month for its top dealer customers from across the country.

These included a cross-section of new car stores, independent and wholesalers. The event served as a forum for discussion on industry C R O S S WO R D

Bank Originates Fewer Auto Loans

Alliance

Financial

by Myles Mellor

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C o r p.

trends and growth strategies, as well as an opportunity to discuss different business approaches and solutions to their common challenges.

During a variety of presentations, break-out sessions and panel discussions in Atlanta, attendees heard from a range of subject matter experts from Manheim, including: Sandy Schwartz, president, and Tom Webb, chief economist, as well as teams from the consulting and digital groups that led break-out sessions.

Manheim asked for dealer input on topics they wanted to discuss and were interested in knowing more

about before the event. Manheim built the agenda using this feedback.

Dealers indicated that they were most interested in: • State-of-the-industry economic data and its implications for the future; • Dynamic strategies, tools and channels for connecting and engaging with key customers; • What role digital tools continue to play in the ever-evolving auction space; • Opportunities to collaborate and discuss the market and its current challenges with peers.

Published By General Media LLC USED CAR NEWS (ISSN 1555-7413) is published at

24114 Harper, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080 Phone: 586-772-5200 or 800-794-0760 Fax: 586-772-9400 www.usedcarnews.com Charles M. Thomas Founder (1947-2002) Lynda R. Thomas, Publisher Colleen Fitzgerald, General Manager Editorial: Ted Craig, Managing Editor Jeffrey Bellant, Staff Writer Contributing Writers: Emily Caswell, Sheila McGrath, Dave Piestrzynski Columnist: Tony Moorby Advertising: Shannon Colby, Account Manager Megan Frump, Account Manager Marie Hingst, Account Manager Circulation: Helen Thomas Production: Cliff Bennett, Production Manager usedcarnews.com: Josie Godlewski, Media Manager —

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Plan Ahead for Tax Law Changes NEW YORK (AP) – Two generous tax breaks that small business owners got during the recession are going to shrink dramatically in 2012. That makes year-end tax planning more important than usual.

The changes affect the deductions for purchases of equipment. One is called the Section 179 deduction, a name taken from a provision of the Internal Revenue Code. The other is called bonus depreciation. Congress approved the breaks as an economic stimulus move – they were intended to make it easier for small businesses to expand and hire workers.

Although the economy is still slow, the breaks are being scaled back.

Ed Smith, a tax partner at the accounting and consulting firm BDO in Boston, says he’s talking with clients about whether it makes sense to buy equipment before the changes take effect.

“Understand that we’re not going to have this deduction in the next couple of years,” he said.

The Section 179 deduction allows a small business to deduct up front rather than depreciate the cost of equipment like computers, vehicles, machines in manufacturing, office furniture and sheds.

The deduction for 2011 is $500,000.

In 2012, it will drop to $125,000. And in 2013, it’s expected to fall to $25,000

– the amount it was back in 2002.

Bonus depreciation allows small businesses to take a deduction for equipment expenses beyond the amount allowed under Section 179.

For 2011, the bonus depreciation is 100 percent. The maximum that can be deducted under the two deductions combined is $2 million. In 2012, bonus depreciation drops to 50 percent.

Under normal depreciation rules, the cost of equipment is deducted over a number of years according to a formula set by the IRS. So the Section 179 and bonus depreciation provisions have given small businesses accelerated tax savings.

You can learn more about the deductions from IRS Publication 946, How to Depreciate Property. It goes into detail about the deductions and the regulations that govern how they can be taken. For example, the Section 179 deduction can’t be used for your new heating and air conditioning unit. But that equipment can be depreciated.

It’s also a good idea to discuss your plans with an accountant or tax attorney.

Changes in the tax law shouldn’t be the biggest reason for buying new equipment. Deductions aren’t worth it if you’re wasting your money on something your business doesn’t

really need. But if you’ve been debating whether to buy tablet computers for your employees or install new manufacturing equipment in 2011 or in 2012, it might make sense to move the purchase into this year. If you can get a better price now than you would next year, that’s another reason to buy now.

A big caveat: The equipment has to be up and running by Dec. 31. You can’t order a new server or drill press

this year, have it delivered in January and still take the deduction. You have to be able to use it – which means it needs to be installed – by the end of the year. However, it’s OK if you don’t pay for the equipment until next year, or if you’re going to take several years to pay it off.

Something else to think about is whether you want to take advantage of these deductions now.

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Court Rules Against Licensing Cap

By Sheila McGrath

The Massachusetts Court of Appeals struck down a local regulation capping the number of used-car dealers at 20.

That could have a wide effect in this state where local boards license dealers rather than the state.

Calling it vague and lacking in discernible standards, the court ruled that the policy of Shrewsbury, a town in central Massachusetts, conflicts with the state licensing statute.

The court said Shrewsbury’s limit disregards the case-by-case review the statute requires.

The case may be a step toward preventing towns from keeping such laws on their books, according to Paul M. Harris, an automotive and business attorney with the Boston law firm Burns and Levinson.

“It has always been my position that you can’t cap it,” Harris said.

“This case furthers that position that municipalities have to look at the individual who is making the application and see if they qualify.”

Shrewsbury Town Manager Daniel Morgado did not return calls requesting comment.

The plaintiff in the case, Matthew Grenier, planned to open an Internet-based auto sales business focusing on vintage, luxury and antique automobiles. He had already gotten approval from the town’s

zoning board, police and fire departments and treasurer’s office.

But when he applied for a Class II license to sell the vehicles, the town denied his request, saying the public need was adequately met by the existing 20 licenses and that out-ofstate Internet sales would not benefit the town.

The Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen had until Oct. 25 to file an appeal to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. But even if the town files an appeal, the court does not have to hear the case. And it seems unlikely that they would, Harris said, considering the other applicable case law cited in the court’s opinion.

Harris said even his clients who are new-car dealers run into trouble with municipalities when trying to open their businesses. But towns are even stricter in their dealings with used-car dealers, who often don’t have as much money to spend on their facilities.

Shrewsbury isn’t the only town to have a cap on the number. Other Massachusetts towns, including Salisbury and Lynn, have similar laws on their books.

“I come across this all the time,” Harris said.

Harris predicts that in light of G re n i e r ’s c a s e, t ow n s l i ke Shrewsbury will have to take a look at amending their rules.

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Tax Law Changes – Continued from page 5 You’re not required to use Section 179 and bonus depreciation.

In fact, you need to elect to take a Section 179 deduction when you file IRS Form 4562, Depreciation and Amortization.

Depending on what your profits look like this year, and what they’re likely to be in the coming years, you might prefer to use regular depreciation.

So you might want to postpone your purchase until next year.

Smith says the money that owners will save on their taxes from Section 179 and bonus depreciation can help them pay for the equipment they’ve For Cars, Trucks and Vans

bought.

But using these deductions will eliminate any tax savings that you would have had from depreciating equipment over time.

Smith points out that when equipment is depreciated under regular rules, the tax savings from that can be used to cover principal payments if the equipment was financed.

And the interest on financing is deductible.

Again, it’s a good idea to consult a tax professional to decide which --approach makes the most sense for your business. One specializing in dealerships is especially helpful.

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AUCTIONS

General Counsel Handles Busy Slate

By Jeffrey Bellant

CHICAGO – Thomas L. Lynch III has his hands full in his first year as the National Auto Auction Association’s new general counsel.

Earlier this year, Lynch took over duties from longtime general counsel Chuck Stepter.

Lynch, principal of Miles & Stockbridge, a law firm based in Baltimore, has a diversified practice.

“I’ve been practicing law for 34 years,” he said. “I’ve done a lot of trial work.

“I’ve also done arbitration and mediation, both as an advocate and as a neutral (party).”

Lynch discussed some of the big issues facing the NAAA while attending his first convention earlier this fall.

“There are a number of issues that the NAAA is involved with now,” Lynch said.

One of the biggest issues is the recent adoption of an auction block announcement standard.

Another is the standardization of the certification process for vehicles.

“One of the real beauties of this organization is elevating the standard of practice for the entire industry on a national basis,” Lynch said.

“That’s what I like about it.”

The NAAA has been studying the process of evaluating the issue of membership.

“Because membership in the association has value,” Lynch said.

He said the availability of information to members, networking opportunities and other benefits make NAAA membership valuable to those who join. “(It’s important to) make sure the qualification process is fair, applied uniformly and that membership means something significant to people,” Lynch said.

Another goal of the NAAA is to beef up its credentials on Capitol Hill.

“One of the things we’re looking at is how to enhance our profile in Washington, D.C.,” Lynch said.

One debate affecting the industry indirectly involves the tax status of auctioneers, he said.

For example, determining whether an auctioneer is an employee or independent contractor would have an effect on taxes and civil laws.

“Some states take very aggressive positions on that,” Lynch said.

“That’s a matter that’s probably going to wind its way into the courts in certain states.”

Since auctioneers often work at different auctions – sometimes in different states and industries – they seem to

Photo Courtesy of Jeffrey Bellant LEGAL EAGLE: Thomas L. Lynch, general counsel forthe National Auto Auction Association, sits in during a meeting at the group’s annual convention earlierthis year. Lynch said there is a full slate of issues facing the group in the coming year.

fall in the category of independent contractors, Lynch said.

One item that remains a constant battle is odometer fraud.

Lynch said the goal for the NAAA is making sure that odometer information is provided with integrity so buyers know what they are getting.

“So there are a lot of challenges that are being based by the industry,” Lynch said.

He has been touring auctions across the region and country to get the best understanding of the industry.

Lynch said he has spent time with his predecessor.

“Chuck and I have been in constant communication,” he said. “He’s a great guy and he’s been very supportive.”

Earlier this year, Lynch and Frank Hackett, the association’s executive director, flew to Florida to spend the day

with Stepter.

Lynch, who received his undergraduate degree at Harvard and his law degree from Boston College, also serves on the Maryland state bar ethics committee and on the state’s Commission on Professionalism.

He heard about the job through Hackett.

“I’ve known Frank for 10 or 15 years,” Lynch said. “We actually used to work out together.”

Industry Experts Expect Better Days

By Jeffrey Bellant

Auto industry experts predict continued economic growth, declining prices on small cars and improved overall used sales through next year.

Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst for the NADA Used Car Guide, said there are some “high-level factors” that will affect transaction prices.

Banks, who joined economist Ira Silver during a National Auto Auction Association webinar, predicts gas prices will be a non-driver of wholesale prices over the next three months. He expects a slight decline by the end of the year for an average of $3.45

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per gallon.

That will have an effect on prices of certain vehicle types.

“We expect to see very moderate increases in used supplies of small and compact cars,” Banks said.

“There could be some downward pressure on (small car prices).”

Used-truck supplies are going to be very tight, down close to 15 percent, Banks said.

“Lease returns will virtually be non-existent,” Banks said, so three- and four-yearold vehicles aren’t going to be coming into the market, causing a dearth in these units.

Banks said his forecast is on top of normal depreciation,

which is about 2 percent per of 2011. month. So the bread-andThere’s already been a butter small car values are steep drop in small car values at the end of October, Banks said.

“Truck prices, we’re a lot more optimistic about,” Banks said. “We also expect “I think the some positive movement, from a forecast perspective, economy on large SUVs.” Banks predicts incentives will continue on small and midsize Hondas will increase, but domestics to grow.” will stand pat.

Silver said auction fleet – Ira Silver volumes are down due to a drop in earlier fleet sales, while dealer consignment is expected to increase.

Silver predicts 12.5 million predicted to drop 7 percent. new auto sales this year and Sub-compacts are expected 14 million in 2012, though to drop 8 percent by the end next year could be higher. t

He predicts improved used-car sales, to 38.5 million this year and topping 40 million in 2012.

Silver said some issues from earlier in the year have resolved themselves, such as the Libyan unrest affecting oil prices, the impact of the Japanese tsunami and the battle over the debt limit.

But two issues still affecting the market are the downgrade of the country’s credit rating and the debt problems in Europe.

Silver said, despite those problems, growth should continue.

“I think the economy will continue to grow,” Silver said. “One-and-a-half to 2 percent this year and 2.5 to 3 percent next year.”

WWW.USEDCARNEWS.COM

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State Requires Salvage History

WARNING: California recentlypassed a new law that will speed up the registration process, protect consumers and boost the limits on document fees for dealers.

By Jeffrey Bellant

C a l i f o r n i a l aw m a k e r s h av e approved a measure that would streamline the process for vehicle registration, provide protections for consumers and allow dealers to boost document fees.

The new law, which goes into effect on July 1, 2012, will allow new vehicle dealers to electronically transmit information to the

Department of Motor Vehicles, ensuring faster delivery of registration documents and license plates to customers.

It requires all new vehicle dealers in California to participate in the department’s Business Partner Automation Program (BPA). In the past, new car dealers were not required to use the BPA and would bundle many of their new car reports Continued on next page

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of sale and physically deliver them to the DMV for processing.

The new requirements should speed up the processing of tags and registrations. The law also clarifies that consumers must affix new license plates when received from DMV and no later than 90 days from the date of vehicle sale.

It also requires any dealer who sells used cars to provide a report from the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System on the vehicle.

If the report indicates the vehicle is a salvage or junk or is branded, the dealer would have to include a sticker posted on the vehicle notify-

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ing the customer.

State Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield (D-Woodland Hills) sponsored the legislation, which allows franchise dealers to charge up to $80, from the current $55 limit.

Independent dealers will be allowed to charge up to $65 for doc fees.

The Independent Automobile Dealers Association of California and the California New Car Dealers Association both voiced their support for the bill at the state capital this summer.

“It’s good for everybody,” said Larry Laskowski, IADAC executive director.

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Dealers Move to Electronic Titles

By Jeffrey Bellant

Georgia car dealers must transition to a new electronic temporary operating permit (TOP) system by Nov. 30.

The Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association reported that the state’s Department of Revenue has given an extension period until the end of the month.

The association has provided information on its Web site alerting dealers to the new system for temporary tags.

As part of the change, all temporary tags will be processed electronically at a dealer’s store and immediately registered with the state and law enforcement.

The Georgia IADA is advising all dealers to order smaller quantities of both the current hologram sticker

and the drive-out temp tags. The transition will also change the design of the holographic stickers. So dealers will only be able to use the old holographic stickers until Dec. 1.

The association cannot issue refunds for any leftover stickers.

The new TOP tags will be 3.5 inches tall and 7 inches wide, compared to the current tags which are 2.25 inches tall and 8 inches wide.

Dealers can purchase tags from the association. The TOP will cost $3 per sticker and the transaction fee is $3 per TOP processed. Dealers are permitted and encouraged to pass the increased cost onto their customers.

Dealers will be able to continue to use their personalized drive-out tags with their company’s name, logo and phone number. But they should remember the size of the new hologram sticker has changed.

AG Sues Store for Undisclosed GPS The Florida Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against a Jacksonville used-car dealership for putting a GPS unit on a car without telling the buyer.

The defendants, Beach Boulevard Automotive, Inc., Beach Boulevard Auto Finance, Inc., John King, Sr., and Barbara King, are accused of unfair and deceptive business practices.

The lawsuit seeks restitution for

harmed consumers, civil penalties of up to $15,000 per violation, attorney's fees and costs, and injunctive relief.

According to some complaints, this business tracked consumers down using GPS devices and then repossessed vehicles even though consumers were current on payments.

Nearly 80 consumers filed complaints with the AG’s office.

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Fugitive Dealer Sentenced A former New York car dealer has been sentenced to six months in jail for sales tax evasion.

Boris Michaelov pleaded guilty to a scheme in which he stole approximately $2.3 million from the state by under reporting the actual amount of sales taxes owed on the sale of thousands of used vehicles sold at his Long Island car dealership.

The defendant had been brought back this past June to the United States from Toronto, Canada, after a four-year legal battle to have him extradited for prosecution in Queens County.

Michaelov underreported the amount of vehicles he sold by nearly $28 million.

At the time of his plea, Michaelov handed over restitution checks totaling $1.5 million and signed a confes-

sion of judgment in favor of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in the amount of $584,000.

Previously $219,000 of Michaelov’s assets were seized and turned over to the state tax department.

Upon serving his jail sentence, Michaelov, an Israeli citizen, will be transferred to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.

An investigation began in 2003 when the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance developed information that Michaelov was failing to remit sales tax collected on auto sales at his Long Island used car dealership which operated under two names - originally, Bill Johnson Auto Sales and then Lefferts Auto Sales, both located in Elmont, N.Y.

Police Say Refund Checks Bounced Boulder.

Authorities say the Paul Motors car dealership in Montreal told Boulder police in August it bought a 2011 BMW from Kotsaftis for $65,000 but never received the car. The Canadian dealer says Kotsaftis sent a refund check that bounced.

Police say they know of at least seven other parties who paid Kotsaftis for vehicles but didn’t receive them. Authorities say they also got refund checks that bounced.

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Police said Oct. 18 that 45-year-old Gregory Kotsaftis of Boulder faces charges of theft and check fraud.

Kotsaftis didn’t immediately return messages left at his home and business.

Police say he owns Go Motors in

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Raffle Pays Out for Dealer

Photo courtesy of the Michigan IADA WINNER: Dan Johnson and Jim Latimer, farleft,of Madison MotorSales Inc. receive their check for $10,000 after winning the Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association raffle. Presenting the check are, from left, Harold Murdock, Flint Auto Auction, Art Douglas, MIADA Treasurer, JerryDrouillard, MIADA President, and Nigel Fox, MIADA Director.

The Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association handed a local dealer $10,000 for winning its annual fundraising raffle.

The Michigan IADA normally raffles off a car each year, but decided cold hard cash would be a better prize in the state’s struggling

economy.

It had an extremely high pay off, with tickets going for $100.

Nancy Chapman, the group’s executive director, said the winner was announced on sale day at the Flint Auto Auction. The winners were on hand to pick up their check.

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Store President Pleads in Drug Case The president of a used-car dealership in Providence. R.I., has pled guilty in U.S. District Court to money laundering.

Domingo A. Lopez, 50, of Warwick, R.I., was arrested in November 2010 following a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation into the sale of vehicles from Espaillat Motors Inc. According to court records and information presented to the court, the DEA investigation found Lopez sold vehicles to a person who represented himself to be a drug dealer and who stated that the vehicles were to be used for trafficking drugs.

Lopez facilitated the insertion of a hidden compartment in one of the vehicles – a hidden compartment that the buyer indicated he wanted to use to store drugs to assist in his narcotics dealing.

In addition, Lopez listed the vehicle prices as under $10,000 when more than $10,000 in cash was paid for each car and disguised or concealed the true identity of the buyer on paperwork associated with the sale of each vehicle.

Lopez, who has been detained since his arrest, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment and a $500,000 fine.

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Thieves Swap Keys During Drive Michigan dealers reported a pair of problems with test drives in recent weeks.

The Lapeer County Police alerted the Michigan Independent Automobile Dealers Association about one scam in which three vehicles were stolen from a dealership .

Police said that three black males came into a dealership at the same time, asking to test drive vehicles.

During the unaccompanied test drives, the suspects apparently switched the keys. After hours, police believe the suspects returned to take the vehicles with the stolen keys. Two vehicles have been recov-

ered. The missing vehicle is a gray 2004 Chevrolet Impala with low miles.

The VIN is 2G1WH52K749128304.

In an another incident, a woman took a dealer’s car on a six-hour test drive.

The Jackson-area dealer was given a Vermont driver's license with a local address on the back before the test drive.

The shopper, who gave her name as Marrissa K. Reynolds, then disappeared for the next six hours. The car was returned, but it remains unknown what Reynolds did with it during that time.

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Women Use Social Media to Shop

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A new survey shows that women who use new media during car shopping are more excited and confident about the process.

BlogHer, Inc., a cross-platform media network and publisher for women, recently announced the results of “Put Her in the Driver’s Seat,” at the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 Automotive Internet Roundtable in Las Vegas. The survey, designed to explore how women feel and where they turn for advice when shopping for cars, revealed a significant positive impact on female buyers who used blogs and social media – and a preference for blogs and official product information sources versus traditional media and social networks.

The survey revealed that, as a gender, women car-buyers were both more excited (74 percent) and more nervous (53 percent) about car-buying than were men buying cars (71 percent and 42 percent respectively).

Of this group, women who sought advice from blogs and social networks during the car buying process demonstrated higher excitement levels: Women who consulted blogs about buying a new car were 13 points more excited than women who did not, and women who consulted social networks were up 12 points. Confidence levels also increased through social media use: Confidence among women who used

blogs for auto advice was 8 points over women who did not, and 5 among women used social networks.

Blogs and social networks have different impacts on the stress levels of women car-buyers, the survey showed: The stress levels of women who used blogs for advice were -4 points lower than the total sample.

However, stress levels remained the same for women who used social networks. Blog users also reported being slightly less nervous at 2 points lower than the total sample, while social network users showed an increase in levels of nervousness at 4 points higher than the total sample.

Women’s top five information sources for researching a car purchase were car dealership visits (65 percent), word of mouth (56 percent), car review websites (53 percent), auto manufacturer websites (43 percent), and blogs (31 percent). Other sources, such as auto magazines ( 21 percent), Facebook (17 percent), and TV advertising (16 percent), lagged significantly behind.

Of the top five information sources named above, the following four were also ranked the most influential on a woman’s car-buying decision: Dealership visits, word of mouth, car review sites and blogs. However, one information source that women ranked as a top five information source -- auto manufacturer websites - ranked dead last in influence on their decision.

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NADA Wants Facts on Upgrades An objective, fact-based study looks at factors that drive return-oninvestment of factory-mandated dealership remodeling programs New-car dealers who have been hit hard by the economic recession need

repeatedly when meeting with dealers across the country, regardless of dealership size or brand, is the widespread frustration dealers have with their manufacturer's dealership image programs.

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less financial pressure – not more – especially when faced with tough decisions to remodel their dealerships, said Stephen W. Wade, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

“Each year dealers collectively invest billions of dollars in facility upgrades, much of it mandated by the auto manufacturers,” Wade said in remarks to the Automotive Press Association in Detroit. “These costs have a significant impact on dealer balance sheets, in many cases severely straining them and in some cases even persuading a dealer to leave the business rather than commit such large sums.”

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Seeking an objective analysis, NADA has commissioned a factbased study to determine both the positive and negative factors that drive the return-on-investment of facility image programs.

“The goal is to move the facilitiesinvestment decision onto a rational, informed and fact-driven footing,” Wade said. “The study's findings will be of use to dealers and automakers alike, by moving the debate away from opinion and assertion toward objective facts and data.”

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RETAIL MARKETS MINNESOTA

Dan Koppy, owner, Koppy Motors, Forest Lake, Minn.: “We’ve been in business here since 1994.

“We have three stores with a combined inventory of 90 to 110 vehicles. They are all straight retail units. Plus, one of our stores also carries light RVs, snowmobiles, golf carts - those sorts of vehicles.

“The amount of inventory we’re carrying has been consistent. But I think it’s been harder to get good cars. With the cars we have been getting, the reconditioning costs have been higher this year. Plus, dealers are hanging on to more vehicles than they used to do.

“To get inventory, I have some really good dealer accounts. I also go online and use some lease accounts. I spread the net pretty wide.

“We’re selling, on average, about 40 to 45 units per month. Last year, about this time, business had taken off for us. But I would say we’re up maybe 10 percent from last year.

“Our average vehicle has about 70,000 to 100,000

miles. I think people are getting more accepting of higher mileage vehicles.

Now, a vehicle with 130,000 to 150,000 miles is not uncommon anymore. Plus, vehicles are lasting longer.

“Our target range for model years is six to eight years old.

“I would say about 60 percent of our inventory is trucks, vans and SUVs and 40 percent cars. We’re carrying more trucks and SUVs now than we were a year ago.

People have just accepted (the cost of fuel).

“I would say we carry more domestic vehicles than imports, maybe 65 percent to 35 percent.

“Our average reconditioning cost is $300 to $500 a car.

Those costs are higher. We’re seeing more cars come in with more issues. People are hanging on to them, but not doing what they should be (in terms of repairs).

“Plus, there’s just the overall cost of recon that’s going up.

“We have our own service center to do all of the recon.

We started doing outside service in March. It’s going well.

“We’re fairly diverse in our

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Compiled By Jeffrey Bellant advertising. We do Internet ads, like Cars.com. We run ads in auto shoppers. We also do traditional newspaper ads.

“Our average selling price is about $10,000.

“We just sold a 2001 Chevrolet Impala with 39,000 miles. We sold that for $13,600.”

NORTH CAROLINA

Tracy Myers, owner, Frank Myers Auto Maxx, Winston-Salem, N.C.: “The company was started as a general store 84 years ago by my great-grandfather.

The car dealership started 25 years ago.

“We have three locations.

Our stores are mostly special finance. None of our stores have more than 10 percent buy-here, pay-here business.

“We carry approximately 125 vehicles at each location.

“Right now, we’re averaging 115 sold per month per store. We’re 8 to 10 percent better than this time last year.

“Our inventory includes a lot of late-model off-rental cars. A couple of years ago, we aggressively started going after consumer cars. That’s

working out well for us.

“We predominately carry cars. It’s a 60/40 split.

“Our stores carry 80 percent domestics and 20 percent imports. The domestics work with special finance programs better because they’re less pricey.

“In the last couple of years, I have also seen a huge shift in the perception of domestic cars. Being a fan of domestic vehicles and the American economy, I love that.

“The average model year range we carry is five years old or newer. Our business model includes vehicles that have less than 85,000 miles, on average.

“Our average ACV on our buy-here, pay-here cars is $6,500.

“We recondition vehicles before they go on the lot. We started a brand new service facility – open to the public – a couple of years ago. It has seven service bays. We also have internal bays, service for our own cars.

“Reconditioning costs have gone up. Since we have all these off-rental cars, it seems they all need tires and brakes.

The cost of tires just seems to

keep going up.

“So recon costs have gone from $300 to $400, up to $500 to $600 a car on the late model cars. It’s a little more than that on the buy-here, pay-here cars, because their mileage is generally 100,000 to 115,000.

“For marketing and advertising, we’re still going television. It still works.

We’re seeing that in some areas, mass marketing just won’t work at all. In our market, it still works well and is cost-effective.

“Our online marketing is huge. In fact, even with our television ads, we drive those people to our online promotions. We don’t even put a phone number on the television ads anymore. We try to get them to interact with us on our web site, or through a social media platform.

“We’re real active online, even offering a 24-hour live chat. Our social media continues to build or continue relationships.

“Our average selling price is $12,500 to $13,000.

“We recently sold a 2010 Ford Fusion with 39,000 miles for $11,500. That’s a great deal.”

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WHOLESALE MARKETS WASHINGTON

Bob McConkey, president, DAA Northwest, Spokane, Wash.: “We have eight lanes.

“We’ve been through a market adjustment that has taken people aback, but taken from a historical perspective, it’s not real harsh.

That adjustment was absolutely necessary.

“We’ve seen more rental cars come into the marketplace this fall than since 2008, so that in effect is pulling down everything.

“For this time of the year, in my perspective, the market is healthy.

“Our volumes are where we’d expect them to be, maybe even starting to tick up a bit.

“On our regular weeks, we’ll run 1,000 to 1,200 units. During our promotional events once a month, we’ll run 1,900 to 2,300 units.

“That’s off about 5 percent from last year at this time.

“Our percentages have not fallen below 50 percent.

They’ve been between 50 and the high 50s consistently.

“That’s almost the same as this time last year.

“In fact one of our recent sales in Spokane, we had one of the best sales for dealer consignment we’ve seen in quite a while.

“Plus, our sales percentage was good.

“We average a little more than 600 dealers in the lanes.

“That’s up a little bit from last year. Our dealers come from Portland and Seattle, as well as eastern Washington, Idaho and Montana.

“We get some business from Alaska and Canada, too.

“We’re also having good attendance online, with 8 percent of our dealer consignment selling online.

“New-car dealers are really doing well now, especially domestic dealers.

“Their attitudes are positive. Used-car dealers are all over the map.

“They’re between ‘doing OK’ and ‘doing real well.’

The ones that struggled are already gone (out of business).

“Our fleet business is way off, like everybody. It’s

probably 28 percent of our total volume.

“We also have a motorsports sale that does well.

“We have the HarleyDavidson Financial Services relationship, so that anchors our motorsports sale.

“We’re selling 100 to 150 motorcycles per month. The Harley business is back.

“We also have an RV sale once a month.

“We have about 60 to 100 in that sale, where we will also run some motorcycles.

“There was such a run on trucks earlier in the year, that the high-mileage diesel trucks got really high (in prices).

“But they are (priced) literally thousands of dollars off the market now (too high).

“Nice trucks are in demand, but high-mileage diesels and high-mileage trucks in general need to be priced more realistically.

“From a dealer consignment perspective, we’re seeing pricing all over the map (for trucks).

“The smaller cars, like the Chevy Cobalt and Ford Focus, are off about 10 to 12

Compiled By Jeffrey Bellant percent from their highs.

“Our rental cars have been selling well, probably 40 to 50 percent every week.

“We’ve done a lot of business with Enterprise and Avis.

“The cars that are three to five years old and under $10,000 are just smoking hot.”

WISCONSIN

Rick Lallemont, general manager/owner, Western Wisconsin Auto Auction, Chippewa Falls, Wis.: “We’re a three-lane auction.

“Our sales have been good, with percentages running between 50 and 60 percent.

It might be a little bit less than this time last year.

“We’re running about 250 units per sale, “We’re right in the same ballpark as this time last year, maybe a little down.

“We’re 75 percent dealer consignment.

“The rest is mostly repossessions and a little bit of lease units mixed in.

“That mix is about the same as this time last year.

“About 150 dealers are in the lanes on sale day.

“That’s close to the same as last year, though a few dealers have gone out of business since then.

“The bulk of our dealers are coming from western Wisconsin, along with St. Paul, Minn., and Minneapolis.

“We’ll also get people out of Milwaukee, Illinois and Texas.

“It seems like recently, we are getting more and more buyers coming from further and further away.

“It’s good word of mouth that’s been helping us.

“We’re a small auction, but we’ve had small incremental growth each year.

“We also have a monthly RV/marine sale. Our volume on that is up and down. We might run 10 units or 20 units.

“The volume is a mix.

“We’ll have boats, fifthwheel campers, motor homes, ATVs and motorcycles.

“Right now, we’re getting some snowmobile consignment. That’s hot right now.

“The General Motors trucks are going well. I just think there’s still not enough supply out there.”

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ADESA executives and staff joined North Las Vegas Mayor Shari Buck, local dignitaries and customers for a ribbon-cutting event at the new ADESA Las Vegas on Oct. 13.

The ceremony was part of a three-day sales event.

“Thank you to everyone for supporting our official ribbon-cutting at ADESA Las Vegas,” said ADESA President and CEO Tom Caruso. “It was an exciting sale, and the turnout was phenomenal.”

More than double the regular bid badge count attended the sale, including many online bidders. Along with a large selection of inventory, attendees were treated to a special charity auction. The winning bid of $8,000 for a 2010 Harley-Davidson Sportster was donated to The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association charities.

Caruso, a charter member of the Massachusetts NIADA, had the idea to include a charity component to the ribbon-cutting festivities.

“The NIADA Foundation has a wonderful scholarship and education program,” he said. “It is important that we continue to support an association that does so much for our industry.”

The event included open and closed consignor sales, as well as an auction open house and specialty auction.

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SALE COMPLETES EXPANSION Pittsburgh Independent Auto Auction in New Stanton, Pa., has completed developing a 23-acre expansion.

The expansion includes the addition of customer and truck parking located immediately adjacent to the auction facility and a new storage lot located directly above the reconditioning facility.

The customer parking lot provides additional capacity for the convenient parking of 850 vehicles, areas for loading and unloading, and parking for 25-plus carriers.

The new storage lot will house an additional 800-plus vehicles.

Future development plans call for

an addition to the auction facility that will house additional restrooms, a concession stand, transportation and a drivers’ lounge.

“These projects have become necessary to accommodate the tremendous growth that PIAA has experienced over the past 18 months and to position PIAA for expected future growth opportunities,” said owner David Angelicchio.

We invite news items and top-quality photos from our readers to be considered for “Around the Block.” Please include the name of a contact person and a telephone number.

Send items and photos to: Jeffrey Bellant Mail: Used Car News, 24114 Harper Ave., St. Clair Shores, MI 48080.

Fax: (586) 772-9400 e-mail: jeff@usedcarnews.com

Owners, Executives Lack Confidence Consumer confidence needs better employment numbers to improve. And the nation’s executives and business owners need more confidence before they start hiring.

The National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism lost 0.9 points in July and reached 88.1 following a sharp decline in June. The Index has been below 93 every month since January 2008, and below 90 for 24 of those months, all readings typical of a weak or recession-mired economy. Ninety percent of the decline this month resulted from deterioration in the outlook for business conditions in the next six months.

“The recovery in optimism that we are currently experiencing is very weak compared to recoveries after the 1982 and 1975 recessions,” said Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist. “The small business sector is not on a sustained positive trajectory, and with this half of the private sector missing in action, the economy’s poor growth performance is not surprising.”

Only a small percentage of these gloomy business owners say they plan on hiring in the next three months.

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Big business isn’t feeling any better. Chief Executive magazine’s CEO Confidence Index fell to 79.8 in July.

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All five components of the index fell significantly, with the Current Confidence Index showing the Started largest percentage dropping to 52.0. The lack of hiring hasn’t hurt companies that much, yet.

Although productivity declined in the second quarter, it grew for five quarters in a row. That means employers are getting more out of the employees they do have.

Labor productivity, or output per hour, is calculated by dividing an index of real output by an index of hours worked of all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.

The decline occurred because output rose 2.6 percent and hours rose 3.6 percent.

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N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 1

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertisers are solely responsible for content of classified advertisements. To place an ad, or for more information, call the Classified Department: 800-794-0760 Ext. 107

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10/31/11

4:07 PM

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USED CAR NEWS

N OV E M B E R 7, 2 0 1 1

CLASSIFIEDS

Advertisers are solely responsible for content of classified advertisements.

To place an ad, or for more information, call the Classified Department: 800-794-0760 Ext. 107 VEHICLES FOR SALE

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ACTUAL WHOLESALE AND PROJECTED RESIDUAL VALUES NOVEMBER 2011

SOURCE: BLACK BOOK

2010 Domestic Cars Buick LaCrosse CX 4D Sedan Cadillac DTS 4D Sedan Chevrolet Cobalt LS 4D Sedan Chevrolet Impala LS 4D Sedan Chrysler 300 Touring 4D Sedan Chrysler Sebring Touring 4D Sedan Ford Mustang Base 2D Coupe Ford Taurus SEL 4D Sedan Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited 4D Sedan Pontiac G6 4D Sedan Import Cars Acura TL Base 4D Sedan BMW 3-Series 328i 4D Sedan BMW 7-Series 750Li 4D Sedan Honda Accord LX 4D Sedan Hyundai Sonata GLS 4D Sedan Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan Mitsubishi Galant ES 4D Sedan Nissan Altima Base 4D Sedan Nissan Altima S 4D Sedan Nissan Sentra Base 4D Sedan Toyota Camry LE 4D Sedan Toyota Corolla LE 4D Sedan Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4D Sedan Trucks Cadillac Escalade Base 4D Utility AWD Cadillac SRX Luxury 4D Utility AWD Ford Edge SEL 4D Utility Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab 4WD Z85 Chevrolet Equinox LS 4D Utility FWD Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Ext Cab 4D Chevrolet Tahoe LS 4D Utility 4WD Dodge Dakota Bighorn Ext Cab Dodge Grand Caravan SE Wagon Ford Escape XLT 4D Utility 4WD Ford Explorer XLT 4D Utility 4WD Ford F150 XLT Supercab Ford Flex SEL 4D Utility Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4D Utility 4WD

Nov-10 $21450 $31600 $9150 $12900 $15950 $11950 $15800 $22000 $24500 $12250 Nov-10 $29600 $27400 $72500 $16000 $12200 $29500 $40600 $11600 $14400 $15700 $11450 $14200 $11700 $14100 Nov-10 $47750 $33400 $20400 $20100 $18400 $20950 $29675 $15975 $15400 $18575 $22125 $19550 $21925 $20375

May-11 $20400 $28300 $10750 $13700 $15900 $12900 $17400 $20800 $22800 $13400 May-11 $27600 $27900 $67200 $16200 $13500 $27600 $40200 $13600 $15100 $16400 $13300 $15750 $13500 $16300 May-11 $47250 $32800 $21700 $19950 $18200 $20050 $27375 $15075 $15400 $18575 $21175 $19400 $22475 $20375

Nov-11 $19600 $24600 $9550 $12250 $14500 $12200 $15200 $20600 $23950 $12950 Nov-11 $26400 $25400 $65700 $14300 $12400 $27800 $38000 $11900 $13200 $14500 $12300 $13900 $11500 $15600 Nov-11 $45700 $30450 $19750 $18925 $16625 $17150 $26175 $14150 $14600 $16450 $19000 $18250 $21675 $17625

Projected Figures Nov-12 Nov-13 $16350 $14150 $20900 $17700 $8200 $7100 $10300 $8900 $12450 $11100 $9950 $8400 $13300 $11300 $15900 $14500 $19050 $16050 $10500 $8800 Nov-12 Nov-13 $22150 $18950 $21850 $18600 $50200 $43200 $12825 $10950 $10600 $8900 $22250 $19250 $30500 $25100 $9050 $8350 $11900 $10650 $12900 $11650 $7800 $7075 $12450 $11050 $10000 $8800 $13700 $11750 Nov-12 Nov-13 $40650 $35900 $26650 $23350 $18225 $15775 $17425 $16325 $14825 $11975 $16000 $14250 $22200 $19275 $11675 $10250 $12850 $11050 $15550 $13875 $16725 $14375 $16375 $14750 $18675 $16025 $16050 $14050

May-11 $12900 $22300 $8950 $11750 $15700 $10600 $14200 $12950 $19600 $11500 May-11 $24800 $23300 $59900 $14600 $11450 $24400 $32400 $11300 $13800 $14600 $11650 $14250 $12100 $14550 May-11 $38100 $23150 $19300 $18600 $14950 $18250 $24175 $13275 $13250 $16725 $18125 $17950 $15900 $17650

Nov-11 $12500 $20300 $7700 $10600 $14450 $9350 $13200 $12600 $19400 $10850 Nov-11 $23400 $21300 $57400 $12900 $10450 $24200 $30400 $10000 $12000 $12800 $11200 $12550 $9950 $13700 Nov-11 $37850 $20650 $17200 $18100 $14050 $16250 $23525 $12400 $12050 $15350 $15750 $16400 $15625 $15200

Projected Figures Nov-12 Nov-13 $10950 $9500 $17200 $14200 $6600 $5800 $8700 $7400 $12550 $10850 $8000 $6700 $11100 $9600 $10550 $9150 $16050 $13450 $8850 $7400 Nov-12 Nov-13 $19750 $16550 $18850 $15800 $43200 $36600 $11650 $9975 $8800 $7450 $19650 $16850 $23900 $19600 $8300 $7700 $10550 $9400 $11550 $10400 $6975 $6175 $11200 $9750 $8600 $7700 $11800 $9750 Nov-12 Nov-13 $33750 $29250 $18450 $15350 $15675 $13200 $16125 $14525 $11900 $9475 $14250 $12700 $20100 $17175 $10250 $8775 $10700 $9250 $13275 $10975 $13800 $11700 $13875 $12425 $13000 $11300 $13750 $12050

2009 Domestic Cars Buick LaCrosse CX 4D Sedan Cadillac DTS 4D Sedan Chevrolet Cobalt LS 4D Sedan Chevrolet Impala LS 4D Sedan Chrysler 300 Touring 4D Sedan Chrysler Sebring LX 4D Sedan Ford Mustang Base 2D Coupe Ford Taurus SEL 4D Sedan Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited 4D Sedan Pontiac G6 Base 4D Sedan Import Cars Acura TL Base 4D Sedan BMW 3-Series 328i 4D Sedan BMW 7-Series 750Li 4D Sedan Honda Accord LX 4D Sedan Hyundai Sonata GLS 4D Sedan Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan Mitsubishi Galant ES 4D Sedan Nissan Altima Base 4D Sedan Nissan Altima S 4D Sedan Nissan Sentra Base 4D Sedan Toyota Camry LE 4D Sedan Toyota Corolla LE 4D Sedan Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4D Sedan Trucks Cadillac Escalade Base 4D Utility AWD Cadillac SRX 4D Utility AWD V6 Ford Edge SEL 4D Utility Chevrolet Colorado LT Crew Cab 4WD Z85 Chevrolet Equinox LS 4D Utility FWD Chevrolet Silverado 1500 LT Ext Cab 4D Chevrolet Tahoe LS 4D Utility 4WD Dodge Dakota Bighorn Ext Cab Dodge Grand Caravan SE Wagon Ford Escape XLT 4D Utility 4WD Ford Explorer XLT 4D Utility 4WD Ford F150 XLT Supercab Ford Taurus X SEL 4D Utility FWD Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4D Utility 4WD

Nov-10 $13800 $25400 $7850 $11150 $15800 $9600 $13350 $15300 $21100 $10600 Nov-10 $25600 $22700 $63500 $14400 $10500 $25500 $32200 $9600 $12800 $13600 $10050 $12650 $10400 $13600 Nov-10 $40100 $25000 $19300 $18650 $15200 $19250 $26275 $13275 $13300 $16875 $19225 $18200 $16950 $17850

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USED CAR NEWS

N ove m b e r 7, 2 0 1 1

Disconnected Jottings From Tony Moorby...

Paying insurance premiums is a royal pain – that is until you need the company’s coverage. If I had to pay for my recent surgeries, I’d be in penury by now. At the

office happens to be part of a medical complex, including a hospital. I was sent to get an x-ray and had to be checked into the hospital in order for the radiology department to

Tony Moorby • 40-year veteran of the industry • President from 1997–2000 of ADT Automotive • Served as ADESA’s executive vice president of sales and marketing • Moorby & Associates 2006–present • Awarded the Ring of Honor by NIADA • NAAA Hall of Famer

current rates, I’d have to guess that there is a great deal of inefficiency now ‘built in’ to our medical administration at every imaginable level that it’s now regarded as the norm.

You’ve read it here before; that computers were supposed to save us time (and money?). Absolute hogwash!

They’ve increased the expectations of performance at any time of day or night and at weekends.

My doctor’s office is “upgrading” its system and I had to fill out a four-page medical curriculum vitae to enter into it. The doctor’s

take the film and e-mail the results upstairs to the doctor.

Once again, I spent a half hour filling out ‘necessary forms’ to enable the admission. I suspect there’s a lot of CYA in all this paperwork.

I could go on but won’t bore you with details of which you are already familiar.

My point is that while no one is watching the store, every participant at every level is having a field day - it’s legalized pick-pocketing!

When I was at ADT Automotive, we were told to trim our operating expenses and look for efficiencies.

C R O S S WO R D

That way we kept charges to customers that remained stagnant for decades and still do. The auction business is still one of the most efficient redistribution mechanisms ever invented. Even in this day and age of buying and selling by computer, cars aren’t like books that you can send through the mail. We still need someone to check the veracity of a description, take photos, enable the sale through the transfer of title and present the product in its best light. The auction business has accepted and invested in the future of remote selling because that’s what the customer wants.

The charges for the services, however, haven’t changed in spite of increased responsibilities and liabilities.

Customer push-back would allow even more competitors into an already excruciatingly competitive market.

Checks and balances ensure that the auctions remain the purest expression of market prices and viability.

Why don’t we see the same in other enterprises like the medical system or government? I’ll tell you why.

Customers don’t complain.

It’s hard when you’re horizontal on a hospital bed to reason with someone who’s just charged you $5 for a Tylenol or administered a major anesthetic at $17,000 a throw.

I hear the government has yet to reconcile where billions of dollars, in cash, went when we handed it out in Iraq. All those billions of dollars worth of equipment we’ve sent over there in the last 11 years ain’t coming back. We’re leaving it there on the basis that it will cost too much to bring it all home.

If you thought that you might fancy an ex-military Hummer to cruise around the neighborhood then forget it. You couldn’t afford the gas anyway!

In the meantime we continue - that is you and I - to

give $529 million to Valmet Automotive to build a car in Finland! Tesla, another automotive black hole adored by this administration, has been on the nipple to the tune of half a billion dollars, only to tell the SEC that they’re in financial trouble and will need further help. Try that in the private sector. Or better yet, tell your bank that you can’t afford to pay the mortgage and see what happens.

Refinancing is hardly an option as new rules apply and the banking industry employs proctologists to help them make credit decisions.

Meanwhile, with millions of people in this wonderful country, the GOP can’t come up with a better slate of potential presidents than we’re looking at now. How sad.

To see past columns from Tony Moorby, log on to www.usedcarnews.com/ columnists/tony-moorby

Sponsored by INSURANCE AUTO AUCTIONS

By Miles Mellor

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Across 1. Toyota SUV (2 words) 7. Ford Explorer, e.g.

9. Popular iconic sports car 12. Small distance 14. ____ Ready 16. Wrecker’s job 17. Proposal 19. Hyundai sedan 20. Well-put 22. Concerning 23. Attraction 25. Come to a stop due to a mechanical problem 27. New President of the NAAA, Charlotte 29. GM’s On____ service 30. Secure 31. Usually requires a driver 34. 116 is one

6. Avis offering 7. Manheim President, Sandy ______ 8. Tour 10. Certain neck 11. Jason Witten’s position, for short 13. Company, abbr.

15. Red light, for example 18. Italian “500” 21. Shade of green 24. America 26. To do ____ 27. ____ Cruiser 28. Survey choice 32. Insurance 33. Sine ___ non 35. Single sign on, for short (in computers) 37. ____ -friendly 38. “Professional ____, closed course” 39. High mpg car brand

Answers to this puzzle in the 11/21/11 issue. Call 1.800.794.0760 for a FREE subscription.

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36. iQ, for one 38. An off-roader often collects it 40. Engine stats.

42. ___ 1500 Quad Cab 43. Eat away 45. Expression at a concept car show perhaps 46. Electrical power measurement 48. Hyundai SUV 49. GMC Passenger van 50. Audi ___ RS coupe 51. Old VW 52. Tourer 53. Protection features (2 words) Down 1. Buick sedan 2. Neither’s alternative 3. Maker of the Sonic 4. Beyond the usual 5. Wall __

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Answers to the 10/17 /11 puzzle

40. Salvage auction chain 41. Cut 43. E-mail marketing tracking statistic 44. It’s shown on a GPS 47. Car items that were a problem for Toyota 49. ____aru 51. Through

D T S B H S H O C P S E M E D T R O U R E P O V E R L C B S I P V I R A A R I C A P A

C A M S M A K S I I D O N A J B L E S C E R A T E U I E V O R I N G E A T P C I T O

A R O A R L G C C I D E O V R P E D A S R H O O T E I F A L P I J O A K A R G N A U D I N A T I A R S T

A A U N T I O L S X K I N A M A E W R A E X

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10/27/11

4:26 PM

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Thank You for 25 Years!

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10/31/11

12:55 PM

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