USED CAR NEWS
September 18, 2017 • 5
Hurricane - from page 1
70 Years Can’t Be Wrong!
DON’T TAKE A CHANCE
KNOW AT A GLANCE The NADA MarketValues app gives you quick access to all the information you need for making smart decisions at auction: NADA Values, AuctionNet® data and vehicle history reports from Experian AutoCheck® and CARFAX®.* With NADA MarketValues, you’ll always know at a glance which vehicles to bid on. Subscriptions start at just $50 / month.
Get 30 days free by downloading today! †
* Separate subscription(s) required. † App download fee is $1.99, with a limit of 10 look-ups. Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google Inc. NADA Used Car Guide and its logo are registered trademarks of National Automobile Dealers Association, used under license by J.D. Power and Associates.
Houston is the 10th largest vehicle market, but it ranks even higher as a truck market, with some of the biggest pick-up truck dealerships located there. In addition, the massive amount of construction needed to rebuild the city will also increase demand for trucks. Trucks have already outperformed the overall wholesale market and prices should only climb higher. Smitka said dealers would be smart to start stocking trucks now before demand increases even more as those insurance checks arrive.
There are already press reports of prices climbing at auctions as far away as Ohio. “Replacement demand combined with a reduction in available supply will cause wholesale inventories to tighten for the next two to three months,” said Cox Automotive chief economist Jonathan Smoke. “Supply will be pulled from other regions, so the impact to the wholesale market will be widespread, providing additional support for continued wholesale price gains for at least the next two months.”
Industry Aids Those in Need The automotive industry is rallying to the aid of its dealers and customers in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. The NIADA Foundation has established an emergency relief fund to provide a venue for members of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association to assist fellow dealers and others in the automotive community devastated by the efects of Hurricane Harvey. Steve Jordan, CEO of NIADA and president of the NIADA Foundation board of trustees, said 100 percent of all contributions received will be donated to provide relief from the efects of looding, help repair property damage and assist with other disaster-related needs attributable to the catastrophic weather event that struck Houston and other areas along the Texas coast. Jordan said the foundation’s goal is to raise $100,000 for the fund. Donations will be made in collaboration with the Texas IADA – NIADA’s state ailiate – and will be considered on a case-by-case basis as identiied through the collaborative disbursement relationship. “We are committed to helping our friends and colleagues in the automotive industry get through this trying time,” Jordan said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those afected or displaced by this massive storm.” On the franchise side, The NADA Foundation has mobilized its Emergency Relief Fund to assist dealership employees who have been impacted by personal property damage caused by the hurricane and looding. The National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD) has spearheaded the NAMAD Disaster Relief Fund to assist employees and families of NAMAD Dealer Members in areas afected by hurricanes. In a member-wide “Call to Action,” NAMAD has asked dealer members to contribute $2,000 for
each dealership they own to this fund. NAMAD has already collected more than $400,000 towards our goal of raising $1 million. Even its dealerships in the afected areas have donated. All of the monies raised will be distributed to NAMAD member dealer employees and their families to help them deal with the loss of income, housing and stability hurricanes Harvey and Irma have created. Some service providers are contributing by donating free use of their systems to afected dealers. For example, Tax Refund Services Tax Max donated a full year of its Tax Max Marketing Program to 100 locations in Houston, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Beaumont and the surrounding afected areas of Hurricane Harvey. “We had to do something to help our friends and customers in Houston and the surrounding areas,” said TRS Tax Max CEO William J. Neylan III. “Being that we are based in Tampa, Fla., we understand full well the devastation from tropical systems, and this is some of the worst we have ever seen. We also know the need will not end when the news cameras go away and donations slow down, so our organization wanted to do something that had a longer lasting efect.” Many auto inance irms are deferring payments for customers in the afected areas. In addition, Toyota and Lexus Financial Services have donated pre-owned Toyota and Lexus cars, SUVs, and trucks to organizations involved in helping move people and property in the recovery eforts. “Access to reliable means of transportation is a critical element to any disaster relief and recovery efort,” said Mike Grof, president and CEO of Toyota Financial Services. “We hope that our donated vehicles will help meet the needs of those afected by Hurricane Harvey.”