Used Car News 11/2/2020

UCN

Used Car News

usedcarnews

11/2/2020

Policy Conference Reviews COVID-19 Response

By Jeffrey Bellant

karglobal.com

In This Issue:

• FTC UPDATE • RETAIL MARKETS

Rush - Dated Material

• TONY MOORBY

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association couldn’t go to Washington D.C. this year, so instead it joined other trade groups by going virtual with its National Policy Conference.

One session of the event included Shaun Petersen, SVP of legal and government affairs, speaking with Sante Esposito, principal of Key Advocates, a lobbying group, just a few weeks before the presidential election.

The pair talked about how the nation and the industry changed as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S. and how the industry responded.

Government bodies initially shut down business to combat the pandemic.

“Fear grabbed hold of everyone,” Petersen said, resulting in some “pretty severe” governmental lockdowns.

As cities, counties and states shut down many businesses, others were deemed “essential.”

Once that happened, NIADA leaders went to work with their state and local associations to disseminate information to everyone from county commissioners to governors. “(We wanted them to realize) the vital impact that automotive sales and services had on the economy,” Petersen said, “particularly for those people that were in other essential businesses.”

NIADA also sent a letter to the National Governors Association and Municipal League Asso-

ciations, encouraging them to formally deem automotive sales and services as essential.

Federal entities, like the Department of Homeland Security, also prepared lists of several critical essential businesses.

“The initial list did not include automotive retail sales,” Petersen said.

“Automotive service was included.”

NIADA wrote a letter to President Donald Trump, conversed with officials at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and with allies in Congress.

“We wanted to make sure they understand how important it was that retail automotive sales remain open,” Petersen said.

NIADA officials told stories of essential workers who totaled their cars but were unable to replace them during the pandemic if retail sales were deemed non-essential. “ U l t i m a t e l y, the Administration saw our point of view and changed

that ‘essential businesses document’ to include retail auto sales and service,” Petersen said.

The result has been booming sales during the pandemic.

NIADA also lobbied hard for additional relief for dealers to help them with the costs of keeping people on the payroll. Along with many other businesses and industries, NIADA saw a need to help keep operations funded.

Eventually, several COVID-19 related legislative initiatives were debated.

The initiatives that passed were the $3 trillion CARES Act, in March, which included the Paycheck Protection Program Act. The PPP provide $400 billion for small businesses in the form of loans and grants for businesses with fewer than 500 employees. These loans were forgivable under certain circumstances.

In June, the PPP Flexibility Act became law, reacting to concerns over the initial PPP, Esposito said.

“Basically, that program made three changes (to-

Cont. on page 6

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Law & Regulation 11/2/2020

Auto Industry ‘Huge Priority for the FTC’ in Recent Years

By Jeffrey Bellant

A recent presentation by a staffer from the Federal Trade Commission offers tips for dealers on how to avoid falling into the crosshairs of the group.

Malini Mithal, associate director of the FTC’s division of financial practices, discussed these issues during the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s Virtual National Policy Conference.

Shaun Petersen, senior vice president of legal and government affairs, kicked off the discussion by asking how the focus of the FTC has shifted in recent years.

“It seems like over the last halfdozen years or so, automotive issues have started to creep up in importance. We’re seeing more activity in the automotive space,” he said.

Mithal agreed.

“Auto has been a huge priority for the FTC for a number of years,” she said.

There are several reasons for that, least of which is that a car is one of the biggest purchases a consumer makes, Mithal said.

“So, we’re really focused on protecting consumers in this space,” she said. “We also know that for lawabiding dealerships, there is almost nothing more frustrating than seeing that dealership down the road that’s making a deceptive claim in its advertising to get people in the door.

“We’re really focused on making sure people are able to compete on truthful terms.”

As a result, Mithal said, one of the big focuses of the FTC has been on deceptive advertising and taking action against those ads.

“In addition, we focused on a number of financing practices,” Mithal said. “The FTC has recently brought a Fair Lending case. We’ve done a loan falsification case. We’ve done cases involving privacy and data security. We’ve done cases involving add-on products and services.”

One of those Fair Lending cases involved Bronx Honda in New York, where the commission charged the dealership and its general manager with discriminating against black and Hispanic consumers.

Mithal said that in the complaint, the dealership had a discretionary pricing policy where they had “unfettered discretion” to mark up the buy rate.

“We found that, on average, African-American consumers were

paying $163 more and Hispanic consumers were paying $211 more than other consumers,” Mithal said.

In the complaint, the FTC noted there were a lot of things that ended up in the consumer’s contract that caused them to pay more than they were expecting, Mithal said.

For example, the FTC said the dealership was adding on bogus fees to customers for purchasing cars under Honda’s CPO program.

Some customers were charged extra for reconditioning, even though the CPO program requires cars to be reconditioned as part of the certification, Mithal said.

The dealership was also accused of charging $695 for doc fees when the state caps those rates at $75.

Other hidden charges were also in the contract, Mithal said.

The FTC order required a $1.5 million payment from the dealership and general manager, while requiring the dealership to have a Fair Lending Compliance program.

Mithal said this compliance program can provide a blueprint or tips for any dealership.

The Bronx Honda order requires the dealership to appoint a fair lending officer.

“They also have to conduct training for new employees, as well as yearly training for existing employees,” Mithal said.

In terms of the interest rate markup, there are three things a dealership can do – any one of them would be sufficient.

No. 1, it can decide not to have any markup at all. Secondly, the dealership can have a set markup with no deviation.

“The third option allows for deviation, but there are a lot more controls in place,” Mithal said.

The markup can be set no higher than 180 basis points above the buy rate and the dealer can only deviate for specific enumerated reasons listed in the Bronx Honda order.

One deviation can occur when the finance company has a different interest rate. A second is when the manufacturer offers a different interest rate. The third is when the consumer requests a different interest rate, either because of a competitive offer from another dealer or because they want to lower their monthly payment.

However, under the order, there has to be written documentation, signed by the employee, under the penalty of perjury, saying specifically what the customer requested and

why the consumer is getting the lower markup, Mithal said.

The dealership was required to “clearly and conspicuously” disclose that consumers can negotiate their rate, that others may have paid lower rates and the dealership does offer different rates.

Dealers can look at the details of that case at FTC’s website, Mithal said.

In the FTC’s decision, two of the commissioners did suggest there should be an auto rule regarding markups, Mithal said.

One of the commissioners actually is urging the FTC staff to work on a rule that would regulate markups.

Another case was focused on four dealerships involved in a loan falsification scheme in New Mexico and Arizona.

The dealers, according to the FTC, were falsifying consumers’ down payment and income information.

Dealer employees would fill out the paperwork and rush consumers to just sign the last page.

One of the dealer’s former financing sources was also concerned when they noticed high levels of defaults and repossessions and did audits of the dealerships.

“They found, for example, that one of the dealerships whose applications were reviewed, 44 percent of the applications inflated the income,” Mithal said. “As a result, that financing entity stopped working with the dealership.”

The FTC settled with the four dealerships, which are in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The FTC entered into a settlement with the bankruptcy trustee for $7 million. The FTC is an unsecured creditor in the bankruptcy, Mithal said.

The case also involved deceptive ads, one which involved a YouTube ad that promised consumers they could have a car in their driveway for a certain monthly payment but didn’t disclose it was a lease.

This summer, FTC made a case against Traffic Jam Events, an advertising agency for auto dealerships, accusing it of advertising stimulus relief under a COVID-19 program

Shaun Petersen just to lure consumers to the lot.

Mithal said they send out a mailer that said “Important Stimulus Documents Enclosed” on the front and when it was opened, there would be the Great Seal of the United States and inside was a mock check. It listed the address of a relief headquarters to bring the check.

“When you got there, it was a usedcar dealership,” Mithal said.

Dealers should check out the ad agencies they use and maybe even require them to get a compliance check by an attorney, Petersen said.

A warning to dealers is the FTC is not just targeting the businesses.

“After Dodd-Frank, we did ramp up our auto enforcement and a lot of the cases we brought focused only on the dealerships,” Mithal said.

“Now, more and more, you are going to start to see individuals also being the subject of our cases.”

She added that the current slate of FTC commissioners is very focused on individual liability. The legal test under the FTC Act looks at whether you are an officer of a company, particularly a smaller company. In those cases, individuals can be liable under circumstances.

The FTC does offer certain workshops and conferences to help businesses learn about how to do business legally and properly.

3

Used Car News

UCN usedcarnews

11/2/2020

Volume 26 | No.11

Supply, Seasonality and Prices Shift in 2020

By Jeffrey Bellant

Kelley Blue Book’s Eric Ibarra said what many in the industry were thinking at the start of 2020.

“Prior to COVID, we were all looking forward to a very strong year,” Ibarra said. “We’d had five years of 17 million-plus (new-car) sales and there was no indication that this year would have been any different.”

Concerns were focused on issues of excessive incentives or the drift away from cars.

However, everything has changed since then, said Ibarra in an October panel discussion on residual values during the Virtual Conference of Automotive Remarketing.

Joe Halovanic, of RVI Group, said worries over excessive supply in 2020 was one of his concerns before COVID came.

However, a recent trend was unex-

4

pected.

“What we’ve seen on the used-car side is that used-car values have just been incredible strong – stronger than we would have anticipated before this happened.”

Black Book’s Alex Yurchenko said he had been preparing clients for a mild recession, but nothing like this.

He said what we’re seeing now is a “classical supply-and-demand model.”

Panel moderator Charlie Vogelheim of TPC Management Co., asked the group when the auto market might move into more of a historic predictive path “so to speak.”

Panelists said there is a big unknown regarding any second wave or double-dip recession.

“But what we’re seeing now is used-car values that are highly elevated (as of mid-October), with

new-car sales having declined.

Three years from now, there will be fewer of those model 2020- 2021 vehicles out there for people to buy,” Halovanic said.

“But it’s really tough to figure out how this all is going to end.”

Even the National Automobile Dealers Association is making its upcoming conference virtual, Vogelheim said.

Ibara added, even after vaccines are available, many people will still be wearing masks and others will be reluctant to board a plane, along with other trends which will impact the industry.

“Is work-from-home going to be permanent?” he said. “Are people going to be taking Uber less? A lot of these questions remain to be answered.”

Vogelheim questioned whether seasonality has gone away.

“Earlier this year, seasonality went out the window,” Ibara said. “It seems like used-car values peaked over the summer and we are starting to see them decline as they normally do this time of year.

“The only difference is they started out at a much higher position. So hopefully, the decline over the fall will be a little more palatable than in normal years.

Ibara added he’s curious to see where these prices end up at the end of the year.

“I suspect they will be higher than they were at the end of last year,” he said, based on inventories of both new and used cars.

Halovanic agrees that seasonality is started to return. He said it’s like it was as people adjusted to the Great Recession.

“It’s kind of the new normal, for now,” he said. “Things will be different, but it will follow some of the same patterns.”

Yurchenko said when it comes to seasonality, he’ll have to throw out 2020. Moving forward, he expects stronger Q2s and Q3s and weaker Q4s.

In terms of demand for specific product, consumer preference for SUVs continues unabated, Ibara said.

“They’re just as strong as ever,” he said.

The rideshare industry has suffered from people’s reluctance to use these services for personal travel, Ibara said.

Continued on next page

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Laws & Regulation 11/2/2020

Vehicle Values – Continued from prior page But at the same time, demand for services like Uber Eats and Grubhub are here to stay.

Ibara said, “It seems like we’re at a crossroads for society and it’s very difficult to call which way it will go.”

Both Ibarra and Halovanic said interest rates will remain unchanged for the near future, as that’s what the Fed has signaled.

“Our biggest concern is not the interest rates,” Halovanic said, “it’s length of term for people purchasing these vehicles.”

He said when he was a child, the longest term his parents could buy a car on was 36 months.

“By the time I was going to buy my first car, 60 (months) was normal,” he said. “As we get out longer and longer, to 72-, 84- and even 96-month terms, that’s really bad for the industry.

Yurchenko said too many people will be “upside down on their vehicles and don’t get back into the marketplace quick enough.”

He added OEMs are happy with these sales, but the captive finance companies are worried about the exposure to risk with these long terms.

In terms of vehicle types, cars seem to be fading out in the wake of SUVs and trucks.

But Yurchenko said don’t count cars out yet.

“There is still demand for sedans,”

he said. “It’s an entry vehicle and used to be a popular vehicle on the commercial fleet side.”

Yurchenko added that there have been complaints from commercial fleet companies that they cannot get cheaper domestic sedans.

“So, they have to pay premium for the same size of car,” he said. “Same with rental fleet companies. So the demand is there. It’s much smaller than it was 10 years ago. But it’s still there.

“Affordability is still important to a large number of consumers.”

However, as the demand for sedans has dropped in recent years, it has led to less supply which has helped prices.

Yurchenko said strong demand for larger pick-up trucks, like crew cabs or extended cabs, remain strong.

“When you start to look at the price point of these vehicles, and how well the interior looks these days – a lot of them are luxury vehicles,” Halovanic said.

“So, customers like getting a luxury vehicle with the utility of a pickup truck. Nobody wants the single cab anymore.”

Also, the idea of “luxury” has expanded based on the price and equipment of with how some vehicles are equipped.

“There isn’t that much separating the mainstream brands with the luxury brands as there used to be,”

Photo by Jeffrey Bellant VALUES: Eric Ibarra of Kelley Blue Book, shown at a 2017 event, recently participated in a virtual industry panel discussing residuals and other pricing trends in the used-car industry.

Halovanic said.

“So many of the mainstream brands keep going upmarket and with the cost of vehicles rising higher, and wages remaining stable, that becomes a bit of a challenge for luxury brands.”

Yurchenko agreed that the line between a regular brand and a luxury brand is blurred.

“When you have Ford Explorer prices going into the $60,000s, is it a mainstream or luxury vehicle,” he said.

Even an entry model Nissan Versa has equipment you might find in a Mercedes, he said.

New technology may start popping up in luxury brands but it moves into non-luxury brands very quickly.

Election Results Will Not Change Association Agenda

By Jeffrey Bellant

Recalls, taxes and spending will loom large in 2021, no matter who wins in the election.

The National Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s consulting lobbyist, Sante Esposito, discussed NIADA’s agenda for 2021 and how the election results might affect the association’s plans on several key issues.

But making predictions after 2020 may be a fool’s game.

“People just don’t know at this point,” Esposito said, at press time, before the election.

“There’s just so much up in the air.”

Esposito said next year the deficit is going to be a huge issue, no matter who is in office.

Also, both Trump and Biden have talked about infrastructure

proposals, so that will likely be on the agenda.

Otherwise it’s too early to tell, he said.

But issues specific to the usedcar industry will be NIADA’s focus whatever happens.

Recalls remain a very important issue to NIADA and its members.

“For years, we’ve taken the position that we’re opposed to any legislation that prohibits the sale or lease of any motor vehicle that’s subject to a recall, unless and until that recall remedy has been cured,” Esposito said.

In 2020, one Democrat has proposed a recall bill that would go against the NIADA’s position.

Esposito said NIADA has worked very closely with Republicans both in the White House and in Congress.

“They have been our allies on

this issue,’ he said.

If Trump wins and the GOP holds the Senate, next year NIADA will stay the course, stand with its allies and fend off efforts to limit the sale of vehicles with recalls.

“If it’s a Democratic president and Senate, that’s a whole new ballgame,” Esposito said. “I’m sure they’re going to be very, very aggressive on issues that deal with consumers and this is one of them.

“We’re going to have to decide what our strategy is going to be at that point and go forward with that.”

Taxes will be another area that will shift, depending on who wins the White House and Senate.

Esposito believes that regardless of which party wins, something will be done on taxes because of the huge spending and deficits built

up in the battle against the pandemic.

“I see different approaches though,” Esposito said. “If the Democrats win, I see them going after corporate America and highincome folks.

“I think the bigger effort on the Republican side will be cutting spending, reining that in, as opposed to working on the tax (increase) side.”

He expects Democrats to cut spending as well, while increasing taxes.

Shaun Petersen said NIADA will continue to be active working with both sides of the aisle through its lobbying and its political action committee spending.

“But they (politicians) need to be committed to working with small businesses in our industry,” he said.

5

News 11/2/2020

Policy - Continued from page 1

Photo by Jeffrey Bellant MAKING THE CASE : Lobbyist Sante Esposito of Key Advocates is shown in Washington at a past National Policy Conference working with NIADA members to fight for industry issues.

the PPP),” Esposito said.

The original bill required small businesses to spend PPP money within eight weeks, while the new bill extended that to 24 weeks. It reduced to 60 percent from 75 percent the amount of payroll costs needed to be covered in order to qualify for loan forgiveness. Lastly, it extended the PPP program until the end of December, where the original bill would have closed in August.

Two bills remain in the House, which are two versions of the HEROES Act. The HEALS Act remained in the Senate prior to press time.

NIADA had originally believed that buy-here, pay-here (BHPH) dealers that had their own separate related finance companies would be eligible for PPP loans.

“The Small Business Administration took a different position,” Petersen said. At press time, NIADA was still lobbying with other related industries to extend PPPs to BHPH. NIADA is also lobbying for legislation that would make PPP loans under $150,000 or less receive essentially automatic forgiveness. Petersen added that NIADA wants to clear up the issue of tax deductibility for those expenses that are being paid for by PPP loans.

“Stay tuned for that,” he said.

Esposito added that any pending legislation that does not get passed by the end of this session dies.

At press time, Congress had passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through Dec. 11, Esposito said.

“Indications are that Congress will again pass another continuing resolution by Dec. 11, since the likelihood of passing appropriation bills to fund the government will not happen by then.

“The significance of the continuing resolution this time around are two-fold,” Esposito said. “One, it guarantees a lame duck session, which presents an opportunity to get something done when Congress members are scrambling to get things done.

“The second thing it did is reauthorize the Highway Program for one year.”

That is relevant to NIADA because that bill is targeted as a vehicle to add industry-related legislation.

Since that legislation has been extended to Sept. 30, 2021, the opportunity is lost, Esposito said.

Petersen asked Esposito about scenarios involving the presidential election.

“The lame-duck session will be totally driven by the results of the election,” Esposito said. “If the President wins re-election and the Republicans hold the Senate, it will be business as usual. Members will move ahead on legislation that is pending before the end of the session.”

If Biden wins and the Senate flips to Democrats, Esposito’s guess is that most of the legislation will spill over into next year.

If it’s a split – Trump wins and the Senate flips, or Biden wins and the Senate holds – it’s anybody’s guess what will happen, Esposito said.

Unprecedented Times.

Unprecedented Results.

There’s nothing like a pandemic to knock you off your game.

We chose to up ours.

When our Washington State auctions were forced to cease in-person sales, we hoped it would only last a few weeks. It’s been seven months. We’ve missed our customers and we look forward to the day when we can safely welcome them all back into our lanes for sales and promotional events.

In the meantime, we’ve poured our collective heart and soul into building customer confidence. We’ve evolved, adapted, and delivered and the results are in: McConkey Auction Group is stronger than ever.

Thank you for your trust during these unprecedented times.

07_UCN.indd 1

10/25/20 6:01 PM

Retail Markets 11/2/2020 Compiled by Ed Fitzgerald

CONNECTICUT Sean Hutchings, owner, Lee Motor Sales, Hartford, Conn.: “I’ve been here for 25 years, but my spot has been open since 1942. We’re right on Main Street in Hartford.

We’ve been here forever.

“We didn’t have to shut down for COVID. We’re wearing face masks and we’re always disinfecting the cars. I like to do the sales by appointment. When you do appointments, if they can’t come, they call, but most of them come when they say they will. We were doing some appointments beforehand, but not as much as we do now.

“We keep an average of 20 vehicles. We sell about 15 cars a month, sometimes more, sometimes less.

“I sell a lot of SUVs, Ford Explorers, Ford Escapes, anything all-wheel-drive.

Most of the cars I have right

8

now are AWD or 4x4s.

“I sell about the same, between domestics and imports. If people like a Chevy, they want a Chevy. You’re not going to get a person who likes a Chevy to buy a Toyota Highlander. It’s not going to happen. People who like Toyotas are not going to buy a Ford. That’s how it is.

“We get cars from Central Auto Auction and Southern Auction. Central is about 35 miles away and Southern is about 15 miles away. We don’t have to travel too far.

“We do a little buy-here, pay-here. We have used some GPS and starter interrupt systems. You know, it’s crazy, we put ’em in cars but most people pay. I can count on one hand the people that we’ve had to go and find. I’ve been lucky. We’re a mom ‘n’ pop place so we usually sell cars to people we’ve sold to before, or family members.

That’s my main customer – repeat business. Every

now and then you get someone you’ve got to chase, but that’s just the car business.

“Our average down payment is $1,000 with a length under two years.

“Our reconditioning costs can vary. I figure the average car you put on the lot you’re going to spend $300-400.

Some work we do here, but we farm out most of it.

“As far as the average age of our cars, I’m all over the place. If I see something old and it’s clean and it runs good, I can sell it. The oldest car we have out there now is a ’94 Nissan. I’m not really afraid of the year of the car.

“The last car I sold was a ’05 black Tundra pickup truck. It had 180,000 miles and the guy was chasing me down for the last two weeks trying to beat me up on the price. After he did his research I was the lowest in town. Mine had a few more miles on it, but it was like brand new. You could eat off

its floor. It was listed on the I feel like I can see signs of a web site at $2,000 down and second wave on the horizon. $75 a week.”

“The percentage of Americans behind on rent or mortUTAH gage payments, pending Clint Martin, president, auto loan defaults, and rising Automaxx, Oren, Utah: cases of COVID contributing “I have been in the car to further job disruptions business for 27 years. I have may lead to a dismal winter. owned my own place for 22 “Of course, the Feds are years, since 1998. looking at another round “COVID has had a dra- of stimulus money, which matic effect on our business. would help ease the effects, Due to the disruptions in the but I feel like caution is in supply chain; auctions clos- order. ing, repo’s postponed, etc., “I’m trying to keep my inventory has been difficult days’ supply of inventory in to source. line, watch any aging inven“The 3 trillion dollars of tory pieces and take action government stimulus money to get them sold, and try to has made its way into the keep the morale of the emmarket, creating strong re- ployees up. tail demand. The result has “America is a country full been textbook inflation, too of brave and resilient people, many dollars chasing too and long term this will be few goods. seen in the rearview mirror “Anyone who has watched of history as only a speed the auction price and book bump. But it is a time to dig values of an F-150 truck deep, improve systems, reclimb $10,000 over the sum- train employees, and get mer is a witness to this fact. ready for a brighter future.”

Wholesale Markets 11/2/2020 Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant

NEVADA Russ Norrish, managing partner, DAA of Las Vegas, LLC., North Las Vegas, Nev.: “We’re now part of the McConkey Auction Group.

The deal finalized, I think, in August. Discussions have been on and off for about 12 months. I’ve stepped back as managing partner. We hired a new guy, Joe Lemonds, as general manager. Dan Thomas is now vice president.

“McConkey Auto Group has the tools and data that we didn’t have.

“We had a breakout sale recently, a re-grand opening.

We ran 550 cars and we sold, like, 340. We’re running live sales and driving cars across the block. We’re getting a lot of feedback on that.

“We also just rented a 56,000-square-foot warehouse next door and turned

10

it into a detail shop, a recon shop and a mechanic shop.

“We ran some cars from American Auto Financing.

They shipped some Canadian trucks down from Spokane, Wash., (DAA Northwest) and those ran.

“We had new-car stores who came in to check us out and started sending us cars.

“We sold a $50,000 Jeep and a couple of $48,000 trucks.

In previous sales, our average price was probably $6,500 to $7,000. I’ll bet you at this last sale, it jumped up to $13,000.

“When things were rocking and rolling, we’d have 80-percent sales and were averaging 72 to 77 percent.

We were selling more cars than we were getting in.

“But the market is getting a little soft. Nobody wants the cheaper stuff. Cars are starting to get a scarcer.

“We also got some irons in the fire here. We picked up some accounts and we’re hiring more salespeople.

“I think the fleet/lease volume is going to grow a bit and you’re going start seeing a lot of repos in the market.

“I’m really excited about this partnership, it’s a good thing for us. We raised a few eyebrows in Las Vegas.”

NEW MEXICO Ray Vickers, owner, Farmington Auto Auction, Farmington, N.M.: “We have one lane.

“Volume has been about 100 (units) per week. Conversion rates have been about 80 percent.

“When COVID-19 hit, we closed for one week. We reopened, but it was bad at the start. We sold three cars one week. We tried to push it online for simulcast, but it was horrible for two months.

“Still, we had a sale every week and also had to take care of our GSA account.

“Then we kind of turned it around.

“Sales have been pretty good. We had a little stretch there where the prices were really high and it was tough to get inventory.

“The last couple of weeks it came back a little bit and the prices are holding.

“As far as average price – I’m just guessing – for our normal dealer sale, it’s about $5,000. We do some repos/fleet/lease. The repos have been kind of down.

We haven’t been getting that many repos because people got money. Plus, because of the COVID-19, the repo agents weren’t allowed to go out.

“I think repossessions are going to be heavy in the first quarter of 2021.

“On the retail side, dealers

have said it was really good for six or eight weeks, but now it’s kind of tapered off.

“I think it’s been about the same for both new- and used-car dealers. They both had an upswing when the (stimulus) money came into the market. Now it’s starting to taper off a bit and I think it’s affected everybody.

“We also have a monthly GSA sale. We had that (Oct. 21) and we ran 108. Sold them all.

“Going into the end of the year, I have no idea what to expect. Normally you’d say, in past times, that dealers would start buying and loading up for tax time. But it seems we just had a tax time.

“Plus, election years are always weird. It depends on how the election turns out.

“But we already have 100 on the ground for our next GSA sale on Nov. 18. We’re expecting about 150.”

Wholesale Numbers UCN usedcarnews 11/2/2020

Type -------Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Car Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck Truck

Model -Honda Civic Toyota Camry Toyota Corolla Nissan Altima Chevrolet Malibu Ford Fusion Nissan Sentra Hyundai Elantra Ford Mustang Volkswagen Jetta Ford F150 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ram 1500 Toyota RAV4 Chevrolet Equinox Jeep Grand Cherokee Ford Escape Ford Explorer GMC Sierra 1500 Toyota Tacoma Honda Civic Toyota Camry Toyota Corolla Nissan Altima Chevrolet Malibu Ford Fusion Nissan Sentra Hyundai Elantra Ford Mustang Volkswagen Jetta Ford F150 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ram 1500 Toyota RAV4 Chevrolet Equinox Jeep Grand Cherokee Ford Escape Ford Explorer GMC Sierra 1500 Toyota Tacoma Honda Civic Toyota Camry Toyota Corolla Nissan Altima Chevrolet Malibu Ford Fusion Nissan Sentra Hyundai Elantra Ford Mustang Volkswagen Jetta Ford F150 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Ram 1500 Toyota RAV4 Chevrolet Equinox Jeep Grand Cherokee Ford Escape Ford Explorer GMC Sierra 1500 Toyota Tacoma Honda Civic Toyota Camry Toyota Corolla Nissan Altima Chevrolet Malibu Ford Fusion Nissan Sentra Hyundai Elantra Ford Mustang Volkswagen Jetta Ford F150 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Toyota RAV4 Chevrolet Equinox Jeep Grand Cherokee Ford Escape Ford Explorer GMC Sierra 1500 Toyota Tacoma

2019-11-01 --------------10850 11450 10450 9750 11600 10400 8850 8450 14600 9250 24000 26200 22300 13800 11750 17250 11250 19300 26300 24425 12200 13000 11650 11450 12450 11900 10150 10050 16300 10900 26200 28000 23800 15300 13425 20725 12600 21600 28200 25650 13750 16250 12900 13200 14250 12950 11250 11100 18000 12700 27700 30000 25100 17000 16050 23475 14450 24850 30000 27000 15400 17800 13750 14650 15250 14150 12400 12150 20000 14300 30200 34800 19050 18450 27000 17100 28275 35700 28200

2020-05-01 ---------9850 10500 8500 8650 11000 8550 6400 6600 12800 8200 22000 23500 20400 12650 10700 14525 10000 16550 23800 21925 11200 12250 10100 10450 12200 10700 8050 8400 14250 9750 24500 24700 21500 14200 12525 18925 11450 19950 24800 23950 12700 15600 11450 12050 13700 11850 9450 9400 15600 10850 25500 26200 23000 16100 14150 20925 13050 22075 26200 25475 14450 16900 12750 14000 14800 13600 10650 10800 18050 12350 26800 31000 19250 15700 24900 15550 25175 32000 27175

2020-11-01 ---------11000 10650 8750 8750 10975 9400 6800 7500 15200 8700 26400 27400 23700 13500 10800 16000 10100 17225 27500 26050 12100 12825 10800 10900 12900 11500 9050 9400 16700 10500 29300 29900 26700 15650 12950 21125 11850 21850 29000 28075 14050 15400 12250 12425 13800 12575 10800 10650 18250 12100 31600 31700 28000 17675 14300 23075 13350 23725 31000 30225 15300 16375 13700 15350 15450 13875 12150 11650 19950 14750 33300 36800 20600 15775 25400 15350 25075 37200 31425

2021-11-01 ---------8150 7675 6400 6175 7975 6825 4525 5050 10400 5650 18150 20750 17325 9450 6250 10250 6400 10600 21175 19725 9125 9125 7775 7550 9400 8375 5975 6375 11600 6900 20200 22775 19550 10850 7600 13325 7425 13150 22675 21450 10600 11025 8850 8650 10275 9275 7275 7300 12875 8050 22500 24425 20850 12250 8875 14900 8450 14725 24550 23200 11750 11900 9925 10525 11775 10400 8375 8175 14125 9950 24200 28500 14425 10075 16975 9875 16400 29450 24300

2022-11-01 ---------- ---------7125 6875 5750 5575 6575 5700 3825 4200 8675 4525 15650 18325 15200 8650 5375 9325 5750 9050 18650 18450 8100 8025 6875 6675 7775 6975 4975 5325 9800 5600 17450 20250 17150 9850 6575 11850 6600 10925 20300 20275 9400 9725 7850 7675 8675 7800 6125 6150 11050 6575 20025 21975 18625 11100 8025 13525 7600 12625 22200 22050 10600 10650 8800 9350 10175 8875 7250 6975 12150 8225 21950 25575 13200 9325 15875 9025 14750 26525 23300

Actual Wholesale and Projected Residual Values

M/Y --------2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2016 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2018 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019 2019

Source: Black Book

Wholesale Markets

UCN usedcarnews

Business As Usual?

Not Quite!

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Disconnected Jottings From

Tony Moorby 11/2/2020

I’ve spent a good while bemoaning the miseries of COVID-19 and it continues to plague millions, in spite of our leadership’s continued insistence that we’re “rounding the curve and the end is in sight.”

It’s easy to elicit all the old platitudes about necessity being the mother of invention or that opportunity knocks as one door closes while another one opens, but Americans are proving these things to be true. I’ve noted many approaches to innovative thinking in recent articles.

Whilst I’m fortunately not dependent on conquering the vicissitudes of getting bread on the table, our family has been sharing our various capabilities at cookery.

We’ve taken advantage of being able to eat outside – one of our daughters has a perfect backyard setup for

getting together carefully.

A covered patio with a grill and fireplace provide a terrific spot for a spread, with a few libations for those who aren’t driving.

Family favorites have joined some more adventurous culinary experiments while honing skills making cakes and breads. I know bread making has become a popular pastime, judging by the lack of some of the necessary ingredients to be had at the grocery store.

I’ve been keeping sourdough starters, one from 2015 and another a couple of years younger, both still alive and well and living in the fridge to be revitalized whenever the need arises (pun intended). I love the beery aroma that wafts from the top as the yeasts come back to life, promising to impart that slightly tart flavor to the next loaf.

I used to have a fairly broad collection of wines, which has dwindled (deliciously) over the past few years.

Some survived the passage of time and aged with grace, though some of the California whites don’t seem to have the shoulders to stand up to long cellaring.

So rather than pour the stuff wastefully down the drain, I’ve been making vinegar for the last four or five years. With discipline and patience I’ve been rewarded with some great results and during the pandemic I must have looked like an alchemist, experimenting with flavors from fruits and herbs to increase the choices that now line the larder as shelves in the garage look like something from a chemistry lab.

I have always enjoyed cooking that requires a process, sometimes over days, as

By Myles Mellor

Across 1. Bentley model, 2 words 6. Range of vehicles produced by Ford in the 60s, 70s and 80s 8. Spoil 10. Word describing a car which has wifi 11. Maker of Rodeos and Troopers 12. Headquarters of Hyundai 14. Cullinan is one 16. Sportage, for one 17. Opposing vote 18. Ford 7-seater 20. 16th President 21. Copper symbol 23. Compass point 26. SUV from Buick 27. Model 3, Model X and Model S 29. Car club

31. Smash into 32. Charge for traveling 33. Off-road goer, for short 34. Lemon colored 37. Trial period 39. Caravan maker 40. NX maker 41. Before, as a prefix 42. Abbreviated dietary datum 43. Former VW 44. Curves in the road Down 1. Compact Ford 2. Chevrolet dealership that made custom muscle cars - now very collectible vehicles 3. It indicates speed on the dash

the results give so much satisfaction, sometimes for very little money.

For instance I love to make my own bacon – one can buy great slabs of pork belly very cheaply from Costco and after spending a few days in salty rubs or marinades, drying then cold smoking, the whole family feasts on the results for ages.

I change the rubs to induce a more savory result with some, using lots of garlic and herbs or change the pace with something sweeter with maple syrup and brown sugar. I bought an inexpensive slicer and, hey presto, the finished product looks almost professional.

Luckily I have lots of smoking and grilling equipment in the back yard and can come up with everything from very convincing southern barbecue to smoked salmon or haddock. If I had

• 50-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 • NAAA Hall of Famer • IARA Circle of Excellence To see past columns from Tony Moorby, visit www.usedcarnews.com/ columnists/tony-moorby

somewhere to hang them, I’d have a go at making sausages. Anything to do with charcuterie fascinates me.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m fortunate, but I am trying to make the most out of what could be a very trying time indeed. Stay safe and wear your mask.

Play Online at Us e d C a r N e ws. c o m 4. Maker of the L300 sedan 5. Excessively 6. ___ Vegas 7. Highway haulers 8. ______ Galant 9. Legacy maker 13. Electric fish 15. Rowboat equipment 18. Subcompact Ford 19. Cadillac SUV in hip-hop videos 22. Enclosed vehicle 23. Safety strap, 2 words 24. Posting at JFK 25. Compact hatchback from Toyota 28. Started a camp fire 30. St. intersector

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Solution to this puzzle in the 11/23/2020 issue. Call 1.800.794.0760 for a FREE subscription.

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Tony Moorby

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Solution to the 10/12/2020 puzzle

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