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ADESA, Inc. ..................................................................5AutoTrader.com ............................................Back CoverCars.com .......................................... Inside Front CoverColumbus Fair Auto Auction..........................................9Corry Auto Dealers Exchange ....................................15Dealer Funding ............................................................7DiamondWarranty Corporation ..................................3Friendly Finance Corporation .................................... 13Manheim.com ............................................................11SmartAuction .................................... Inside Back CoverWestern General / Protective ....................................17

NATIONAL INDEPENDENTAUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATIONWWW.NIADA.COM•WWW.NIADA.TVNIADA HEADQUARTERS:2521 BROWN BLVD. • ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203PHONE (817) 640-3838FOR ADVERTISING INFORMATION CONTACT: TROY GRAFF(800) 682-3837 OR [email protected] OHIO INDEPENDENT DEALER NEWS IS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BY THENATIONAL INDEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERSASSOCIATION SERVICESCORPORATION, 2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203; PHONE (817)640-3838. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT DALLAS, TX AND AT ADDITIONAL OF-FICES. POSTMASTER: SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO NIADA STATE PUBLICATIONS,2521 BROWN BLVD., ARLINGTON, TX 76006-5203. THE STATEMENTS ANDOPIN-IONSEXPRESSEDHEREINARE THOSEOF THE INDIVIDUALAUTHORSANDDONOTNECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWSOFOHIO INDEPENDENT DEALERNEWS, THEOHIOINDEPENDENTAUTOMOBILEDEALERSASSOCIATION,ORTHENATIONAL IN-DEPENDENT AUTOMOBILE DEALERS ASSOCIATION. LIKEWISE, THE APPEARANCEOF ADVERTISERS, OR THEIR IDENTIFICATION ASMEMBERS OF OIADAOR NIADA,DOESNOTCONSTITUTEANENDORSEMENTOF THE PRODUCTSORSERVICES FEA-TURED. COPYRIGHT2010BYNIADASERVICES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

STATE MAGAZINEMGR./SALES: TroyGraff • [email protected]: MikeHarbour •[email protected]/PRODUCTIONMGR.: ChristyHaynes • [email protected]:NiemanPrinting

T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 w w w . o h i a d a . o r g

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FOR INFORMATION ON HOWTO BECOME A MEMBERCONTACT JAMES R. MITCHELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

OIADA • 2040 BRICE ROAD • SUITE #110REYNOLDSBURG, OH 43068

PO BOX 216 • BRICE, OH 43109-0216

OFFICE: 614-863-5800 • CELL: 614-436-3393 • FAX: [email protected] • WWW.OHIADA.ORG

DON’T FORGET TO VISIT OURWEBSITE FOR IMPORTANT INFO:

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10 Keeping YourWebsite Ahead of the Curve12 Business, Family & Quality14 From PC to Pocket: Connecting with Shoppers18 OIADAGolf Tournament Results

MAGAZINECONTENTS

ADVERTISERSINDEX

John McElroy is host of the long-running"AutolineDetroit" television program, covering allaspects of the automotive industry. In this presen-tation, McElroy provides a thorough and insight-ful review of where we've been, where we noware, and where our industry is headed. Taped atthe Automotive Fleet & Leasing Association'sAnnual Conference.

THE CURRENT STATEOFTHEAUTO INDUSTRY

CATCH THISONWWW.NIADA.TV

WESTERN FUNDING TO USELOANPLUS PRODUCTS

ProconGPS, Inc., the leader in asset management solutions for the auto-motive finance industry, announced in September it will provide its lineupof customized LoanPlus GPS product offerings and services by WesternFunding, Inc., of Las Vegas, Nev. The LoanPlus brand of GPS technology bythe Lender Services division of ProconGPS, Inc., provides customized program-ming, Web services, account management support and state-of-the-art electronicsto finance companies and banks.“We sincerely appreciate being selected byWestern Funding to assist them across

the country with our LoanPlus GPS product services,” said Jim Giammarco, exec-utive vice president of ProconGPS, Inc. “Western Funding has been a valuable fi-nancial resource to dealers for over 48 years and we are very pleased to help themcontinue in that tradition.”

Western Funding purchases auto-motive contracts primarily from in-dependent dealers in the BuyHere-Pay Here (BHPH) market.“We are excited about our alliance

with ProconGPS and their LoanPlusGPS device and servicing providedby the Lender Services division,” saidGary Shannon, vice president of salesand marketing for Western Funding.“Our partnership with ProconGPSwill be a tremendous help in buildingour presence within the independentdealer marketplace.”

vAuto becomes part of AutoTrader.comAutoTrader.com and vAuto announced in September an agreement

under which AutoTrader.com will acquire vAuto, the automotive retail in-dustry’s leading provider of advanced software tools for used vehiclemanagement, pricing and inventory optimization. The terms of the deal arenot being disclosed.

vAuto will operate as a subsidiary of AutoTrader.com and the two companieswill operate largely independently, although they will collaborate in the areas ofproduct development and customer training. Going forward, dealer customers ofbothAutoTrader.com and vAuto can expect to see enhancements to both compa-nies’ products and services, such as more real-time, market demand-driven toolsthat will benefit their businesses.

“Over the past decade, the Internet has enabled consumers to have a tremen-dously more transparent view of used vehicle availability and pricing on a local,regional and national basis,” saidAutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry.“This change in the way consumers shop for cars has created a strong need fordealers to efficiently manage and merchandise their vehicles in a way that en-sures they remain competitive. As a result of these trends, the many dealers whouse third party classifieds sites like AutoTrader.com and who also employ state-of-the-art inventory management and pricing tools like vAuto are generatingstrong growth and profitability even in the face of a soft automotive market.”

vAuto will maintain its management team; founder Dale Pollak and presidentKeith Jezek will remain with the company at its headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill.

“I am excited to see vAuto join forces with AutoTrader.com because our twocompanies share a common passion for helping dealers leverage the Internetthrough strong product innovation and customer service,” said Pollak. “Togetherwe are intent on ensuring that customers of both vAuto andAutoTrader.com willcontinue to benefit from the expertise and consulting services that they’ve cometo depend on and trust.

AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, whichalso owns auction giant Manheim.

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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 8

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Recently, I met with a young manwho had called our office and askedfor help. He was a newly licensed usedcar dealer in Ohio and had many ques-tions on how to legally do business be-cause he wanted to succeed in the newventure. Sitting there with him, I realizedonce again how important it was for allnewly licensed independent dealers, andmany of the veterans, to have a source toaccess answers to questions and a placeto count on to provide help……always.This meeting was certainly not a uniquerequest, nor is it new. I personally spendan average of 75,000-plus minutes on mycell phone every year, most of which areused helping our members. We spendhours upon hours helping dealers inmany other ways, such as providing pro-grams to increase profits or programs thataide in reducing the expenses in adealer’s business.However, after my meeting with this

particular young man, I got into my car,hit the highway, set my cruise control andbegan the two-hour trek back to the of-fice. On my return trip I couldn’t help butremember that every time I answered oneof this dealer’s questions, his responsewas the same: “Just one more question,Jim.”I realize the huge importance of edu-

cation, as I have personally spent manythousands of dollars during earlier yearspaying for my son, step-son, step-daugh-ter and wife to attend college. I also real-ize how important it is to know the lawsand regulations in conducting a businesssuccessfully, having been involved in fiveof my own over the years. Now here wasa person who was so hungry for knowl-edge he was ready to spend all day andall night learning how to do things legaland proper. But it was the statement herepeated that was stuck in my head; “Justone more question, Jim.”All dealers have faced this considera-

tion many times throughout their careers.Remember when you were a salespersonand to get that monthly bonus, all youneeded was just one more sale? Or howabout when you were in management andthe boss announced there was going to bea contest with a big bonus if you sold acertain amount of cars, so here it was, the

end of the month, and all you needed wasjust one more sale?As a dealer, you may have looked at

your end-of-year statement and toutedyou would’ve had a profitable year if youcould’ve sold just one more vehicle everymonth. The statement “just one more”has meant the difference between win-ning and losing and success and failurebut it can also mean the difference be-tween growth and stagnation. This bringsus back to the purpose of this article andwhy it is entitled “Just One More.”On my return trip to the office, all of a

sudden I started to think like the youngdealer saying over and over, “just onemore, just one more.” All of a sudden,you could see the light bulb above myhead glow bright. The OIADA is con-stantly trying to sign up more membersevery day, but somehow we need to getthis message of becoming a member outto all independent used car dealersthroughout the state. How can this bedone with the utmost efficiency and suc-cess?“Just one more” began to represent a

thought that all we need as an associationis just one more; if every one of our cur-rent members would simply sign up onemore dealer, we could become a forcewithin our industry. The OIADA wouldbe able to help many more dealers as theythemselves strive for success.This is actually a very simple thing to

do for every member who cares abouttheir industry and their chosen profes-sion. Very simply put, sign up just onenew member before the end of the year.That doesn’t sound so hard, does it? I’vebeen doing it for seven years and I havesigned up hundreds. The OIADA has atotal of 587 members right now and wework hard every day to help all of ourmen and women by providing them withthe biggest and best return on their in-vestment.First of all, we need to ask the ques-

tion; should every dealer licensed to sellused vehicles in Ohio become a memberof the OIADA? The answer is simple;why not? It’s your duty to be activewithin your industry and, in particular, tosupport your dealer association which,after all, supports you. If it’s not out of

your duty to support your industry, howabout the duty to yourself and to yourfamily? Used vehicle dealers deserve toavail themselves to all avenues providingan opportunity of being a success. TheOIADA is a one-stop place for all of yourquestions and needs. There are programsthat provide opportunities for dealers toincrease the income per retail unit (IPRU)sold by more than $500. There are otherprograms designed to reduce expenses byas much as $8,000 per year. That’s equalto the average profit on selling at least 12more vehicles per year. And, in additionto all the profit potential, a member of theOIADA has the power of knowledge inthe palm of their hand because any mem-ber can contact the OIADA for answersto questions and help with any otherneeds that may arise.There are some statistics all of you

non-members need to understand, digest,and then take serious inventory of yourfuture goals. Ask yourself one question:do I want to succeed or just exist? Thesestatements are representative of Ohio in-dependent used vehicle dealers.

“JUSTONEMORE”

IREALIZEHOWIMPORTANT IT IS TO

KNOWTHE LAWSANDREGULATIONS IN

BY JAMES R. MITCHELL,EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CONDUCTING ABUSINESS SUCCESSFULLY,HAVING BEEN INVOLVED

IN FIVE OFMYOWNOVER THE YEARS-------

J ames R . Mit ch el l

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w w w . o h i a d a . o r gT H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

FACT: More than 800 used car dealersclose their doors every year.

FACT: The biggest reason independentdealers get sued is for non-compli-ant paperwork.

FACT: Most used vehicle dealers are un-dercapitalized, which causes themajority of business failures.

FACT: If you are an independent dealer inOhio, but aren’t a member of theOIADA, you need to ask ourmem-bersWHYTHEYBELONG.

The OIADA has been operational since1983 with one purpose in mind: organizeand help the independent used vehicledealers in Ohio and provide top-notch ed-ucation programs, superior programs de-signed to assist in the dealer’s profitabilityand protect the dealer’s best interests leg-islatively. To date, we have accomplishedalmost every goal we’ve established. Theonly goal missed was for the OIADA tolegislate mandatory pre-licensing educa-tion. This one piece of new legislationwould have set the standards higher forall individuals who apply for a used vehi-cle dealer license. Unfortunately, therewas a great deal of opposition from thefranchised dealer association and quitefrankly, there are more members of the

OADA than there are in the OIADA.Larger numbers will always prevail.We have seen to it every independent

dealer in Ohio will receive our bimonthlymagazine so there are many of you read-ing this article who think you’re already apart of the OIADA. The truth of the mat-ter is really quite simple: you can’t getsomething for nothing! If you want all ofthe benefits, programs, discounts and an-swers to all of your questions, there is aprice to pay. It’s an insignificant price, butnonetheless, the payment of membershipdues is necessary and required to be a partof the best help for an independent dealersince the Internet.To make it easy for all members of the

OIADA to spread the good news help isavailable, and to sign up just one moremember, there is a membership applica-tion available in every issue of Independ-ent Dealer Magazine. If the applicationseems to be too burdensome, simply goto www.ohiada.org to download the ap-plication or simply navigate to the BUYNOW segment and pay online to becomea member immediately.We are all members of organizations

such as our community church, theVFW,The Eagles, AAA, Country Clubs andmore. Why not invest in your future forless than a daily cup of coffee and notonly do your duty but do what is best foryou, your business and your family?

8

C O N T I N U E D F R O M PA G E 6 • “JUSTONEMORE”

TOMAKE IT EASY FORALLMEMBERSOF THE

OIADA TOSPREADTHEGOODNEWS

HELP ISAVAILABLE,AND TO SIGN UP JUSTONEMOREMEMBER,

THERE IS AMEMBERSHIPAPPLICATION AVAILABLE IN

EVERY ISSUEOFINDEPENDENT DEALER

MAGAZINE.

AUCTION DIRECTORY

ABC – Detroit/Toledo9797 Fremont PikePerrysburg, OH 43551Phone: (419) 872-0872www.auctionbroadcasting.com

ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton4400 William C. Good BoulevardFranklin, OH 45005Phone: (937) 746-4000www.adesa.com

ADESA Cleveland210 East Twinsburg RoadNorthfield, OH 44067Phone: (330) 467-8280www.adesa.com

Akron Auto Auction2471 Ley DriveAkron, OH 44319Phone: (330) 773-8245www.akronautoauction.com

Columbus FairAuto Auction4700 Groveport RoadColumbus, OH 43207Phone: (614) 497-2000www.cfaa.com

Corry Auto Dealers ExchangePhone: (800) 776-0411www.corryade.com

Complete Auto AuctionEdward Broesamie21799 Northwest ParkwayMarysville, OH 43040Phone: (937) 642-1937www.completeautoauction.com

Greater ClevelandAuto Auction5801 Engle RoadCleveland, OH 44142Phone: (216) 433-7777www.gcaacars.com

Manheim Cincinnati4969 Mulhauser RoadHamilton, OH 45011Phone: (513) 874-9310www.cincyaa.com

Manheim Ohio3905 Jackson PikeGrove City, OH 43123Phone: (614) 871-2771www.ohioautoauction.net

Montpelier Auto Auctionof Ohio, LLC14125 County Road M-50 OhioTurnpike Exit 13Montpelier, OH 43543Phone: (419) 485-3101www.premier-auctions.com

Value Auto Auction LLC3776 St Rte 93 NECrooksville, OH 43731Phone: 740-982-3030Fax: 740-982-3055Email: [email protected]

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Despite many articles you’ve read, just hav-ing a Twitter, Facebook, MySpace orLinkedIn account is not going to sell youmore cars. The realpower of social media isallowing your customersto share your inventoryonline to the friends intheir social network.Take advantage of thefact Billy has 2,500friends and when hisfriends or family place avehicle from your dealership on his socialnetworking page, your dealership is in-stantly exposed to everyone in his network.

There are many free tools in themarketplace you add to your site ifyour provider hasn’t already implementedthem for you. The following is a list of thetop three sites where you can get free sharingtools to add to your website.

By simply adding these sharing tools toyour site, you are opening up your dealer-ship to the masses and allowing yourself tomake a viral jump in the social mediarealm.

ADDING A BLOG TO YOUR SITESearch engines love to see site growth on

the weekly visits to your dealership site, aswell as links from valuable sources con-necting to it. Offsite blogs are great for bothof these, as you can link to your dealershipsite from your blog. Most blogs allow youto have a section you can paste into yoursite to showcase the most recent blog post-ing to your potential customers. Becausesearch engines try to match the words peo-ple are typing into them to websites, addingautomotive related terms in your blog willhelp tremendously with search engine op-timization (SEO).Here is a list of the top 3 free websites

that you can sign up for and link to yourdealership website.

The above listed sites allow you to cre-ate your own blog for your dealership aswell as customize the design to implementyour dealership graphical logos to matchthe current branding of your dealership.The more avenues that you give the internetwith content pertaining to your dealership,the larger the footprint that you will leaveon the internet.

MANAGING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIAWith all of the social media tools avail-

able online, it can become a painstakingprocess to make sure you keep them all upto date. Between Twitter, Facebook, My-

Technology has advanced andchangedmore in the last ten years thanit has in the last 100 years combined.This is mainly due to the Internet era andthings are looking like they’ll only speedup from here.

When consumers purchase a vehiclefrom your dealership, the first thing theyhave the option to do is to make it theirown by adding custom accessories. Web-sites are very similar, and there are manyaftermarket accessories you also can addon to your site to make it unique. Makingsure your site and computer are up to dateis easier than you think, and doing so willallow you the ability to get the maximumbenefit with the least amount of effort.

Over the last several years, websiteproviders have been slowly shifting theability and power over to the webmasteror site owner. This puts you in the driver’sseat by allowing you more access to addfunctionality by editing the content,changing out photos and even addingsimple HTML code. If your websiteprovider does not allow you to edit con-tent on your site, you still can utilize theitems listed below by having your siteprovider add them for you.

BROWSER UPDATESNow you can’t put the cart in front of the

horse, as they say, so we need to startwith updating the browser you use on

your computer.This is how youlog onto the Internet.The following isa list of the latestbrowsers so youcan determine ifyou either wantto update theversion you havenow or switch toa differentbrowser.

Knowingwhat your potential customer isusing on his or her computer might help youmake a decision onwhat browser you shoulduse, too. We’ve included a list of the latestversions of the top five browsers so youmay download the correct version for yourcomputer. You can find these free down-loads by simply searching for the belowlisted items in any search engine:1. Internet Explorer: version 82. Mozilla Firefox: version 3.6.103. Google Chrome: automatic updates4. Safari: version 55. Opera: version 10.6.2

By updating to the latest version or evenswitching to a different browser, you’llhave the ability to keep all of the contentsaved in your old browser and transfer it tothe new version or new browser of yourchoice along with your favorite websites.

Now that your operating system is up todate and in place, let’s make sure you havethe ability to correctly track the resultsyour site is bringing to your dealership.

WEBSITE TRACKING TOOLSMost sites do come with an analytics

section, but Google has developed a freetracking system called Google Analyticsthat’s 100-percent free and can beinstalled by your website administrator.This tracking system is far more in depththan what’s traditionally provided byyour website provider. You can create afree account with Google and gain freeaccess to this tracking system by visitingwww.google.com/analytics.

This system will allow you to track vis-itors viewing your website in extreme de-tail including, but not limited, to thefollowing:• Mobile visitor tracking• Data benchmarking• Internal site search features• Flash tracking• Video and social network applicationtracking

• Advanced segmentation of data• Advanced analysis tools• Analytics intelligence• Custom reporting• Custom set variables• Easy-to-use dashboards• Data exports to transfer all data from thesystem to spreadsheetsIt is impossible to improve upon the re-

sults of your website if you don’t knowthem. This system will allow you to viewany of the data from your site visitors, aswell as set up goals for your website trafficso you can reach the desired benchmarksyou set for your company with ease.

SOCIAL MEDIA SHARING TOOLSSocial media is going viral on the Inter-

net and dealers need to take advantage of it.

KeepingYourWebsite Aheadof the Curve

YOURWEBSITE

www.AddThis.com

www.AddToAny.com

www.ShareThis.com


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Space, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr, FriendFeed, MSN Messenger,AIM Messenger, Google Talk and Yahoo! Chat, you could easilyspend all day just updating your social media outlets as you jumpfrom site to site. That’s wherewww.Yoono.com comes in; it’s a social mediamanagement platform that’s free and allowsyou the ability to update all your social mediaoutlets with one of the mouse.

Yoono.com offers a browser add-on (rec-ommended) specifically for Mozilla Firefoxand Google Chrome browsers; however, fordifferent browsers, you can download a desk-top application for Windows (Internet Ex-plorer), Macintosh (Apple), Linux or USB tomanage all of your social media channels.

This tool allows you to update your statusacross the board as well as share links, im-ages, videos and stay connected on all of yourinstant messaging channels.

Time equals money, and money equals time.The more of both you save will allow you the ability to work moreefficiently and accomplish more for your dealership on a daily basis.

Making sure you’re utilizing all of the above listed features inyour website will tremendously increase your results. By simplysetting site traffic goals and staying aware of amount of trafficyou’re receiving, you’ll be able to improve upon it on a monthly,quarterly and annual basis.

www.Blogger.com

www.WordPress.com

Yoono.com

www.MyBlogSite.com

By Michael D. Jackson, CEO,Auto Search Technologies, Inc.

(949) 608-0809 (Direct Line)[email protected] NIADA.COM

ALL NEW FOR YOU!NIADA has unveiled a brand new

website that’s easy to navigate andoffers many new technologically-ad-vanced features for dealer members.Among them:

• The entire NIADA membership rosteris now included on the home page via a statemap, and dealer members can opt-in to add morecontact info to their online membership listing.

• All state magazines published by NIADA can nowbe viewed inclusive of advertisements. The maga-zines also will be archived on the site. Plus, thosesame state associations will have direct links fromtheir websites to our site promoting readership oftheir particular state magazine. To view these mag-azines go to http://www.niada.com/state_maga-zines.php

• NIADA National Corporate Partners (NCP) will nowhave the ability to add a company or product-specificvideo next to their NCP description.

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Some time ago, while reading anarticle in the Wall Street Journal onthe quality of family life experiencedby high-energy entrepreneurs, somecommon denominators became ob-vious. The article talked about severalincidents in which aggressive businessowners significantly (and often perma-nently) damaged their family lives inorder to spend more time making thebusiness successful.There is a belief the retail auto business

most certainly qualifies as one of Amer-ica’s most time-intensive, owner-involvedbusinesses. Operating a car dealership de-mands a tremendous time commitmentbecause of the many aspects and variednature of the business, such as lengthy op-erating hours, heavy risk exposure, andextreme stress factors.Many dealers spendas many as 80 hours a week at the dealer-ship or on the road for business-related ac-tivities (auctions, meetings, trainingseminars, etc.) at a time when their fami-lies are young.Statistics show owners 25 to 39 years

old begin 56 percent of the nation’s busi-nesses. Is it any wonder children in thesefamilies often live through their most im-pressionable years competing with thebusiness for their father’s attention? Then,is it any wonder so many successor-can-didates and dealer-fathers have difficultycommunicating with each other? Afterpersonally spendingmore than 25 years inauto dealerships, if you asked me to sayone word that caused the vast majority ofissues at the store, it would be communi-cations. At the end of the day, the prob-lems and situations that normally occurredalways involved a breakdown in commu-nications between employees and depart-ments within the dealership.Experts in the field state proper busi-

ness practices and quality dynamics beginat the very outset of the dealership. It is inthese early years long-term habits and pos-itive relationships are established which,unless properly handled and negotiated,can cause irreparable damage to the fam-ily life and the business if a successor is inthe future plans.For those of us who’ve traveled down

this road, let’s recognize the fact and statenothing less than total commitment to anauto dealership is most vital during itsearly years.At this stage, all family mem-bers need to acknowledge this commit-

ment, because obviously the stakes arehigh. The real problem is many of theseearly commitments are quite seductive be-cause of newfound power and control, butthey are allowed to continue long afterthey are needed.Please do not fail to see here that, even

in our industry, there is life after work.Remember, you are not alone at the top.

You can learn from the mistakes of manywho have already traveled your path.Mostof us spend long hours for countless yearschasing a buck while rationalizing thedamage to family relationships by saying,“I want my children to have all the thingsI didn’t,” or, “I have to protect all that Ihave worked so hard for,” or, “My familyand friends just don’t understand what ittakes to make this place profitable.”I’m a self-proclaimed expert on this

subject and one of those who built a verysuccessful career in this business over a25-year period, yet it partially eroded myown personal family life. I’ve used someof the very excuses listed above and evenadded some ofmy own to the list. The dif-ference is now it’s time to admit all ofthose noble reasons for selling my soul tothe company store were nothing but 100-percent cop-outs.Obviously, it takes a rare breed and a

special type of individual to persevere inthe auto industry and many times, the realmotivation is we’re obsessed with win-ning. So do not be fooled into believingthat obsessive commitment to the dealer-ship can be beneficial for the overall wellbeing of you and your family relation-ships. That mindset is, obviously, a fallacy.Balance and quality time are buzz

words which we’ve started to hear in re-cent years. Unfortunately, it’s not soonenough for my two kids to have somesemblance of a normal family life, butsoon enough to force me to create somevery special bonding situations with them.This simple priority change has greatly en-richedmy life and causedme to repositionmy attitude. It’s time to begin to fully ap-preciate and understand the simple thingsin life.Balance (for the purpose of this article)

is the manner in which our time is dividedbetween business pursuits and qualityfamily interaction. Now being fully con-vinced the important part of this balanc-ing act between business and family is notnecessarily equal, I realistically know the

business will win the largest piece of thetime, hands down. That’s OK, but the realfactor here is quality time!What real purpose is served here if you

declare you’re leaving work early someday, go home and spend that newfoundtime flicking through the channels of yourbig screen TV or waste hours surfing theNet? Please show me the logic in stayingaway from the dealership on a given Sat-urday, but spend it playing a round of golfwith some industry friends, while theother members of your immediate familycarry on their own individual pursuits ofhappiness without you being involved.In conclusion, allow me to suggest

some self-evaluation. Let’s put on thoseobjective glasses, stand upright, look intothat mirror and say, “Life is too short andthere is life after work.” Remember thatyour in-box will always be full of e-mailsand there is no need to kill yourself tryingto empty it daily. Let each one of us take afew minutes at the start of every day andmake sure our priorities in life are in order.If you’re able to reposition your thinkingand prioritize the really important issuesof the day, chances are good you’ll realizethere are enough hours in the day to besuccessful in business and successful inyour family relationships.All the success, all the goals and objec-

tives you accomplish and every rung ofthat ladder you’re climbing will be muchmore rewarding with your family in tow.Mr. Dealer, look at that calendar, block

off some quality family time, make theplans and DO IT NOW! Yesterday isashes, tomorrow is wood, but only todaydoes the flame burn brightly!Let’s make finding a solution a higher

priority than placing blame.

RodA. HeasleyNational Director of SalesCharterWarranty/Autosave Division

ROD HEASLEY IS THE DIRECTOR OF SALESIN THE US AND CANADA FOR CHARTERWARRANTY/AUTOSAVE DIV IS ION. AU-TOSAVE IS THE NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED“ORIG INAL” 5 YEAR/100,000 MILEENGINE AND TRANSMISS ION WARRANTYPROGRAM. ROD HAS OVER 26 YEARS AU-TOMOTIVE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE INRETAIL SALES & MANAGEMENT OPERA-T IONS , AND MOTIVAT IONAL AUTO SALESTRAINING. ROD CAN BE REACHED AT 800-684-1175 OR [email protected].

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Business, Family & Quality

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Cars.com dealers using the com-pany’s free online chat functionalitycan now communicate with customersfrom their Internet-enabled smart-phones. The company added on-the-goaccess to its chat platform to create newopportunities for dealers to connect withbuyers.

“Mobile chat allows salespeople to bemore responsive to shoppers' inquiries,even if they've stepped away from theirdesk," said Michael Page, Cars.com vicepresident of advertising products. "Deal-ers can respond at shoppers' conven-ience, giving them the information theyneed to take the next step toward a pur-chase. With the popularity of smart-phones in the store, dealers can use thiscapability to enhance their customer serv-ice and sell more cars."

At Buster Miles Chevrolet Dealership in

Heflin, Ala., sales consultant Phil Amasonsaid he appreciates the immediacy ofchat. "It’s definitely been a plus for ourstore. It’s a better way for customers toreach us live and for us to respond. Theyget immediate access to the informationthey need, and I think that’s really key.”

Amason, who added online chat abouta year ago, reported an increase in busi-ness after he began testing the new mo-bile chat enhancement. “I was able toaccept two chats last month that I wouldnot have been available for if it weren'tfor mobile chat. I know this resulted in twosales. They were two hard, trackablesales," he said. “In my experience, ap-pointment rates are higher with live chatcompared to traditional email and phoneappointments. There seems to be a betterquality interaction because of minimaldelay in response."

Dealers interested in adding chat func-tionality to their online advertising pack-age can contact their sales representative.To help dealership sales teams incorpo-rate chat into their sales process,Cars.com presented “Chat Up Your In-ventory: Leverage Chat to Reach In-Mar-ket Shoppers and Win Sales" through itsDealerADvantage Live webinar series. Arecording of the free workshop is avail-able at http://dealers.cars.com/live.

Cars.com launched online chat for itscustomers in January 2009 at no additional charge as a way to help dealers connect with more online shop-pers. The technology is delivered througha partnership with Contact At Once!

Mobile chat capabilities are madeavailable as part of a renewed agree-ment, also announced last month, be-tween the two companies.

>> on-the-go accessCars.com Extends Online Chat to Mobile Devices to Help Dealers Connect with Shoppers

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FROM PC TO POCKET: CONNECTING WITH SHOPPERSON THE MOVE

6.2 “At any given time, about 50 million Americans are shopping for a car, and up to 6.2 MILLIONare using their mobile phones during that process.

Internet access from mobile devices is ahot topic for automotive marketers. It’s alsoan important one. Mobile Web growth is so strong,it’s suggested mobile usage will overtake tradi-tional Web access from wired devices (desktopsand laptops) in just three years. That means youneed to start thiking today about how this technol-ogy might affect your business in the near future.First, let’s define the mobile Web. It refers to

any browser-based access to the Internet or Webapplications (or apps) using a mobile device. Thereare many different types of mobile devices, but bythis time next year, smart phones (i.e., the iPhone,Blackberry, Android, etc.) will be the dominanttype of phone. This information is important be-cause smart phones are the most efficient and ef-fective mobile devices for accessing the Internet.More importantly, it’s on the smart phone whereadvertising and shopper engagement can happen. Now let’s talk about how consumers use mobile

devices as part of the vehicle shopping process. Atany given time, about 50 million Americans areshopping for a car, and up to 6.2 million are usingtheir mobile phones during that process. However,there are some key differences in shopping behav-ior when car shoppers are on the go versus using aPC or laptop from their home or office.

FOR EXAMPLE, MOBILE SHOPPERS ARE TYPICALLY:

• Closer to making a purchase• More likely to be looking at content

related to their final selection and/orpurchase

• Not close to a PC and therefore notconducting extensive research

In addition, the mobile shopping cycle appearsto complement the traditional online shoppingcycle. According to AutoTrader.com site statistics,online traffic from a laptop or PC is the highest atthe beginning of the week and gradually declinesas the weekend approaches. But how does mobileWeb use compare? AutoTrader.com site usage alsoshows a dramatic increase in mobile access to oursite over the weekend. This information reveals there is a natural con-

tinuity between the research that car shoppers aredoing Monday through Friday and their trips todealerships at the weekend. The most valuablething you can do as a dealer is develop a strategyto stay connected to vehicle shoppers when theytake that shopping experience from their PC totheir pocket.

MOBILE CONSIDERATIONS FOR YOUR DEALERSHIPTALK TO YOUR WEBSITE PROVIDER Ask your website vendor if your site is mobile

device-friendly. Go ahead and check it out fromyour own phone. What do you see? As you evolveyour dealership for the future, think about opti-mizing your virtual showroom for the mobile web.

KEEP YOUR LISTINGS IN FRONT OF IN-MARKET CAR SHOPPERS WHEREVER THEY ARE Make sure your inventory is listed on third-party

sites that offer a satisfying mobile web experiencefor car shoppers. Independent sites such as Auto-Trader.com have streamlined mobile sites thatallow dealers to stay connected to in-market shop-pers when they go mobile.

ENSURE YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION ISFRONT AND CENTER ON YOUR DEALER-SHIP SITERemember earlier when I mentioned consumers

aren’t conducting extensive research on their mo-bile phones but instead are more likely to be in thefinal stages of making a purchase decision?What if that decision was to walk into your

dealership but they need to look up your street ad-dress or phone number from their mobile device?Make it easy for them. Keep your dealership con-tact information prominent on your homepage.Even from wired devices, consumers don’t like tonavigate through several pages to find basic infor-mation, and they’re even less likely to do it on theircell phone where the screen is small and the pageloading time is slower.

BASIC BLOCKING AND TACKLING IS STILLTHE MOST IMPORTANT THING Advances in the technology for the mobile web

are great opportunities for dealers to stay con-nected to car shoppers during all stages of theshopping process. However, effective online mer-chandising should be the higher priority before in-vesting time and money in mobile platforms. Tori Morandi has more than 10 years of ex-

perience as a public speaker and expert traineras well as extensive in-dealership experience.As an industry educator for AutoTrader.com,she covers what's happening in the automotivemarket, consumer car shopping behavior,emerging trends, and what's new with adver-tising and marketing on the Internet.

BY TORI MORANDI,manager of industry education, AutoTrader.com


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6.2 “At any given time, about 50 million Americans are shopping for a car, and up to 6.2 MILLIONare using their mobile phones during that process.

Manheim Corporate SecurityDate: Aug. 18, 2010

TO: All GM’s and AGM’s

CC: All Front Office Managers andAll Security Managers

FROM: Alan Walker, Director Corporate Security

STATUS: High Importance

ISSUE:Interstate Suspect Alert #3

Suspect: PRICE, Shawn D. - BlackMale Adult, 5ft 11 ins tall 230lbs. D.O.B. 09/13/74(It is believed this suspect isthe same person who wasusing the name, Marcus ED-WARDS and a fake IL DL pic-tured in prior alerts)Our Interstate Suspects have

struck again. The suspect listedabove is using a fake WisconsinDrivers License as identifica-tion. He stole 3 vehicles fromNashville Auto Auction TN inthe evening of Monday August16th. The gate releases hadbeen left at security after 3 sep-arate phone calls had beenplaced to the front office re-questing No Sale releases. Hisdescription matches the personwho is responsible for vehiclethefts from our auctions inFredericksburg VA, ManheimPA and Atlanta GA.

This is preventable; if youhave all personnel who receivephone requests for No Sale Re-leases from an individual theydo know, confirm the requestwith the Dealership/Ownerusing contact info from ourrecords.

SECURITY ALERT

URGENT MESSAGE FORALL AUCTIONMEMBERS ATTN: BUYERS

WE GOTCARS!!

ATTN: SELLERSBE APARTOF IT!!

WE GOT CARS • WWW.CORRYADE.COM • WE GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411

WE GOT CARS • WWW.CORRYADE.COM • WE GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411

• WE GOT CARS • W

WW.CORRYADE.COM • W

E GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411 •WE GOT CARS • W


E GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411 •

• WE GOT CARS • W


E GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411 •WE GOT CARS • W


E GOT CARS • 1-800-776-0411 •

PITTSBURGH / WHEELING W. VABUFFALO / ROCHESTER • ERIECLEVELAND / YOUNGSTOWN

www.corryade.com

1-800-776-0411

AFFILLIATIONS: NAAA, EAAA, NIADA, PIADA, NYIADA, OIADA, AFLA, IARA, TPC MGMT.

www.auctionaccess.com

“SERVICE IS THE KEY”@CORRYADE

WEEKLY DEALER CONSIGNMENT FEATURING:HARTLEY BUICK/HONDA – HUMES C/P/D

A. CRIVELLI DEALERSHIPS – PADDOCK CHEVYTOM CLARK CHEVY – CUNNINGHAM

WEEKLY FLEET CONSIGNMENTS FEATURING:

PLUS MANY OTHER NATIONAL ACCOUNTS


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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010

Imagineif your busi-

ness coulduse it as a mo-bile credit cardprocessor, aswipe -and -gosystem for ring-ing up payments

wherever youroam. Who might want to use amobile credit card reader? The guywho comes to your home to detail yourcar, the repairman who comes to fix abroken faucet, the person who doesyour landscaping or snow removal.Businesses can now process credit

cards without using dedicated wirelessdevices. Mobile ePay allows you toprocess credit cards directly from yourmobile phone with your existing cellu-lar carrier. The most popular phones onthe market can now be your credit cardterminal.

HOW IT WORKSBusinesses using iPhones, Black-

berrys, Androids, or Windows Mobilephones download the Mobile ePay ap-plication for free from their respectivephone’s App Store, and ElectronicMerchant Systems supplies a MobileePay license key that connects thephone application with an EMS-sup-plied payment gateway. The conven-ience and savings achieved by swipinga credit card is also available with ei-ther a Bluetooth-connected or iPhoneCradle peripheral.The Mobile ePay software has an

extremely user-friendly interface ac-cessed on the phone via a business-de-fined PIN entry. The intuitiveselect-and-click interface allows busi-nesses to quickly and easily processsales, credit, voids, authorization andcaptures on credit cards as well as viewthe records of transactions right on thephone.

SECURITYBusinesses need not worry about

what happens if their phone gets lost,stolen or breaks – Mobile ePay puts allthese worries to rest. The transactionsprocessed through the Mobile ePaysoftware on their phone are alwaysstored on the payment gateway and noton the phone. This means the businesswill never lose any of its transactionsbecause they’re all securely stored onthe gateway. All transactions being processed

through the Mobile ePay software are100-percent secure. When the softwaresends out the transactions from thephone to the payment gateway, itpasses all the data through a securesocket layer (SSL) which ensures alldata is properly encrypted and cannotbe compromised. The software is alsopassword/PIN protected and install-keyvalidated so if the phone is ever lost, orfalls into the wrong hands, the softwarecan be revoked on the gateway leveland no one can use it.

VPOS FUNCTIONALITYMobile ePay businesses also have

access to the payment gateway’s Vir-tual Point of Sale (VPOS). This allowsadditional users back at the office torun transactions and pull reports via aninternet-connected computer. Since alltransactions done through the busi-ness’s mobile phone route through thepayment gateway, the system capturesand stores all transactions securely andgenerates reports and statistics on thesetransactions in real-time. Businesseswith multiple phones or multiple usersfor every phone can tell which transac-tion came from which phone and fromwhich user.Mobile phones are rapidly morphing

into multi-functional devices, so for thesmall-ticket mobile business with asmart phone in their pocket, the EMSMobile ePay application is a great fit!

OIADA IS ONCE AGAIN PROUD TOANNOUNCE THE CONTINUATION OF ELECTRONIC MERCHANT SYSTEMS AS A “PREFERRED PARTNER” FOR OUR MEMBERS.What if your smart phone took plastic?

Autotrader.com is dedicated to help-ing independent dealers succeed in allforms of their Internet advertising.Here’s an overview of best practices thatcan be implemented into your dealership’swebsite as well as your listings on thirdparty, independent sites likeAutotrader.com.Great photos can motivate customers to

stop, look and, ultimately, buy. Use multi-ple pictures to give a virtual walkaround ofthe vehicle and help sell the features toshoppers. Listings with more photos per-form significantly better than listings with-out photos. Having a single photo willmore than double a click-thru rate (100–120 percent). Each additional photo willincrease your click through rate by about 5percent.Show a variety of interior and exterior

shots. The car you are taking a picture ofshould be the only one in the photo – don’ttake pictures of the car while it is in inven-tory line! Light up the dash when takinginterior photos and let the customer see ifthere are any controls on the steeringwheel. Don’t just take a picture of therims on a car, but turn the wheel to theright to give a good shot of the rim and theamount of tread on the tire. Show a mini-mum of nine pictures the shopper wouldwant to see.Don’t rely on a VIN explosion system to

market your car. Tell the story: each vehi-cle is unique and it should be portrayed inyour comments. This isn’t the newspaper,so get wordy! How does the car look, feeland sound? Does it still have that new carsmell? Has that vehicle won any awards?Is it a one owner? Are there any aftermar-ket options? Give the customer peace ofmind and tell them any repairs you havedone to get the vehicle ready for sale.Focus on how the vehicle can meet the cus-tomer’s needs.Include the price! Listings without a

price turn customers off because they thinkthe vehicle costs too much. Listings withprice receive 580 percent more clicks onthe Autotrader.com Search Results Pageand 650 percent more on the Vehicles De-tail Page. Shoppers aren’t always lookingfor the lowest price – just a fair one. Doyour homework, use a market compar-ison tool and price your vehiclescompetitively within your market.Be consistent with pricing, usethe same price for each vehiclethrough all forms of advertising.For more information on how

Autotrader.com works for you, con-tact your local Advertising Consultant!

KEYS TO ONLINE MERCHANDISING SUCCESS

The InternetMinute

Submitted by Cricket Miller and Joe Ciardelli,Autotrader.com

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THE HELICOPTER BALL DROP

G O L D S P O N S O R SColumbus Fair Auto Auction * Manheim Ohio Auto Auction *AutoTrader.com National Auto Care * Adesa Cleveland Auto Auction *Adesa Cincinnati Auto Auction

S I L V E R S P O N S O R SAutoZone*Manheim Cincinnati Auto Auction*The Milby Group CompManagement*CompManagement Health Systems*Diamond Warranty Cars.Com *Huntington Insurance *Motorists Mutual Insurance Group

B R O N Z E S P O N S O R SAlpha Omega Group *AFC *ABC Toledo Auto Auction*Corry Auto Dealers ExchangeChase Custom Finance*Car Financial Services*Columbus Finance*Route One Floor Plans Inc / BHPH Funding*Electronic Merchant Systems*Credit Acceptance Corp Smart Auction*DSC*Grafmiller & Davis Insurance Agency*Ohio Auto DeliveryMcMurray, Petersen & Schuster*Nationwide Acceptance*Value Auto AuctionFrazer*Passtime*Automotive Business Consultants*Westlake Financial

S P E C I A L D O O R P R I Z E SGuardian Finance Company*First Bank of Ohio*Dana & Pariser Co., LPA*Cars.Com Motorists Mutual Insurance Group*Edward Jones*AutoSave*Sentry*Auto Zone

This years’ event rewarded attendees with personalized coolers, hats, golf balls, tees, more than a dozencontests, money rewards, golf equipment, several door prizes a great tournament course to play, heavenlyweather, gourmet food, drinks and more fun than a carnival.

Trophies were presented to four places this year, First Place Champions, Second Place, ThirdPlace and Last Place.

THE FIRST PLACE WINNERS WERE:Steve Cummings, Rob Wellnitz, Nick VanSky and Bob Black

THE SECOND PLACE FOURSOME WAS:John Gallicchio, Dan Columbini, George Smith, Matt Neuman

THE THIRD PLACE FOURSOME WAS:Shaun Petersen, Umi Saito, John Hay, Frank Tyo

The last place finishers worked very hard to score as well as they did. Each player got a turn on everyshot on every hole and they got to take the best shot of the four to play. Even with all those handicapsagainst them they were able to turn in the highest score of the day and walk away with the last placetrophies.

This foursome was comprised of:David Napier, Steve Sofocleous, Phil Courtney, Eddie Poirrier

Last but certainly not least are the unselfish individuals who come to the OIADA Annual Golf Tourna-ment and don’t play golf. These are the volunteers representing many different companies and dealer-ships who come to help us every year just so they can do what they can for the cause or as we all say “For the Firm.”

R E G I S T E R E D V O L U N T E E R SJack Rees - USGA Rules OfficialBrad LeBlanc – Alpha Omega GroupBrady Bulger – Automotive Business ConsultantsSarah Mendenhall – Grafmiller & Davis Insurance AgencyJ. R. Jones – PasstimeTheresa Heasley - AUTOSAVEAnna Newman – The Milby GroupSteve Rybalt – Car Financial ServicesLJ Marhefka – LJ King & AssociatesSusan Marhefka – LJ King & Associates And our very own BOBBY VAUGHAN owner of Vaughan Motor Car Company

Thank you to everyone who attended and we hope that you all had a great time. Thank you to all the volunteers, the management and employees of the Little Turtle Golf Club and especially to all the Spon-sors who made it all possible. See you all next year.

Friday, Aug. 13, 2010,will go down in OIADAhistory as a day to re-member. The 11th An-nual OIADA GolfTournament started outwith clear skies, lots todrink, a lot of moneyand prizes to win andthe first-ever HelicopterBall Drop. The golf godswere merciful and gaveus a great, very hot dayto play.

Every year, we doour best to see thateveryone has a greattime at this event withplenty of games, prizes,food, drink and fun. Wehave been truly blessedto have great weatherfor the 11th straightyear and we thank Godfor his blessings. Wealso have been blessedwith the continuous helpfrom many sponsorsthat made this day spe-cial for everyone. Itcosts a great deal ofmoney to put on afundraiser like this oneand it’s because of spon-sors like ours that everyyear is better than thenext. If you’re a dealertrying to be successful inthis industry, contact oneor all of the sponsorslisted below and I knowthey’ll do everything intheir power to help you.These companies sup-port you daily so pleasegive them a call and seewhy they are the best atwhat they do in our in-dustry. These companiesmake up the who’s whoin the car business in thestate of Ohio and themajority of them dobusiness on a nationallevel as well. Here theyare, the best of the bestand the main reason forour success

Tops the 11th Annual OIADA Golf Tournament

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In this economy, it’s imperativethat your dealership take advantageof every opportunity to get yourcustomers financed. Each deal isunique, but your best chance tofund each and every deal is to payattention to the basics. Let’s focus ona key tenet: your finance source selec-tion and partnership. Know the finance source policies.

Knowing and following your financesources’ guidelines for receiving applica-tions can make or break your approvalsuccess rate. Additionally, understand-ing how to package your final deal willalso speed your funding. Find out yourfinance sources’ policies regarding cashdown, credit scores and scoring models,model year/mileage restrictions, PTI, andLTV. What about the lender’s book value(which book do they advance on?) Isyour value accurate? Verify contract accuracy. Verify the ac-

curacy of your contract prior to submis-sion to the finance source. Are yousending the customer application to thefinance source most likely to fund thatcandidate? Check customer quality, ve-hicle selection and advance sought. Create a complete funding package.

Know the stipulations prior to delivery!Always create a checklist, whetherpackaging the deal on your own orproviding to a clerk. Make sure youinclude all relevant data. Verify allstipulations prior to sending, andverify that all standard docu-ments are included, completeand accurate. For example, apromissory note for $500 downcould cost you time and effortto track down, maybe even a$500 write off. The missingstipulations for POI could costyour dealership $25,000 in fund-ing, or worse, loss of an approvaldue to expiration - not to mention

the frustration if the bank decidesnot to re-approve!Ensure your customer meets program

guidelines. In times past, ’cash wasking’. This is not necessarily true any-more. It’s possible that your customercould meet 99 percent of minimum pro-

gram guidelines – but missing that onepercent could cost you the deal! So makeit easy on yourself. Don’t submit a dealwith $250 cash down knowing the pro-gram minimum is $500. You may not re-ceive a counter offer for an additional$250 down - you may just receive an “au-tomated turn down”. (Did you knowsome finance sources have policieswhich prevent them from rehashing aturndown?)Avoid “shot gunning” deals. Shot

gunning does not work to your advan-tage or speed your process. Actually, itdoes just the opposite. These days, fi-nance sources are very tightly manag-ing risk and cost. As a result, look tobook and risk portfolio management aremore critical than ever. Build relationships. It’s important for

you, the dealer, to build a solid relation-ship with your lenders. Get to know themand request that they provide you or yourstaff the training, education or feedbackneeded to have a successful partnership. Be accurate. Avoid vehicle value errors

or ‘power booking’, ‘grossing up,’ or oth-erwise enhancing the truth. It may seemharmless to round up an applicant’s in-come to the nearest “x”, or even providea luxury vehicle with all of the bells andwhistles, but it is not in either your, or thefinance sources’, best interest. Your cus-tomer could have provided an applicationfor credit using a different income at adifferent location, thus creating a dis-crepancy. This could delay your ap-proval, create additional stipulations orworse, cause a decline. Additionally, many finance sources

are now completing their own customerinterviews, either at random or generatedbased on the finance source’s risk as-sessment of your dealership’s perform-ance or repossession rate. The ‘powerbooked’ car may have provided a niceadvance and appearance of profit to yourdealership, but if a discrepancy is found,you could be charged back, or even losea finance source. Most importantly, communicate

with your lenders at every turn. It’snever too late to be a great partner.Good selling!

BEST PRACTICES FOR GETTING YOUR CUSTOMERS FINANCED

B Y G E O R G E H A R T M A N Director, national business d evelopment, RouteOne LLC

George Hartman is the directorof national business developmentat RouteOne LLC, a free, onlinecredit application managementservice for franchised and inde-pendent dealers nationwide.

RouteOne’s credit platform al-lows automotive dealers to submitcredit applications to a wide variety of lenders, including prime,sub-prime, banks and creditunions. RouteOne offers dealers avast array of F&I tools includingcredit bureau access, DSP integration, free reporting, and a host of subscription-based tools,with no long-term fees or contractsrequired at any time. RouteOne offers dealers a common platformfor all their credit application financing needs.

More information is available by contacting Hartman directly at 248-862-7050 or [email protected]. Dealersmay also contact RouteOne SalesSupport at 866-933-0663 or [email protected].


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In an effort to keep dealers up-to-date on the latest tools,technology and buying/selling trends in an ever-changingmarketplace, NADA University and ADESA have teamed upto present a series of free lunchtime educational seminarscalled “Industry Insight.” ADESA’s Tom Kontos, president of customer strategies and

analytics, was one of a panel of four experts giving industryviews to dealers during the first Industry Insights seminar enti-tled, “What’s Now? What’s Next?” held at ADESA Dallas onSeptember 15.Kontos talked about the used car market’s vehicle supply for

rental, lease, repos and dealer consignment. He explained thatthe remarketing industry obtains supply from a broad array ofsources so that it’s not dependent on any one outlet—which, asa result, have kept auction volumes relatively constant. How-ever, the mix of vehicles has shifted. The turnover of rental fleets was at its lowest in 2009, but has

begun to rebound somewhat this year. Fleet sales in 2010 are anindicator of future increases in wholesale used vehicle supply inthe lane and online. Through August, total sales volume forrental, commercial and government vehicles has increased about39 percent from 2009. Kontos added both new vehicle sales andlease penetration are on the rise as well as new vehicle lease orig-ination. This means there will likely be more off-lease vehicleson the market in about three years.Kontos noted off-lease volumes will drop slightly this year

and then fall significantly during 2011 through 2012. After that,off-lease volumes should begin to recover. As credit tightened

and new vehicle sales fell, auto loans and outstanding leases de-clined. Kontos said, “It’s no surprise that repos reached an all-time high during the recession—but this should begin to taperas the economy improves.”Speaking of economic recovery, Kontos said new and used ve-

hicles sales in 2010 are significantly improved from last year.For both the U.S. and Canada, Kontos pointed out that new ve-hicle sales are up—and that truck sales have grown more than carsales.Since bottoming in November 2008, average wholesale prices

have firmed and are likely to continue to be up on a year-over-year basis, albeit more moderately and with typical seasonal upsand downs, during 2010.Tim Zierden, ADESA’s vice president of dealer sales and serv-

ices, facilitated the event’s lively discussion. Other industry ex-perts who spoke at ADESA Dallas during the “Industry Insight”seminar were:■ Les Abrams, NADA Academy instructor, who discussed usedvehicle inventories and today’s best practices■ Dale Pollak, vAuto’s chairman and founder, who talked aboutnew technologies, and■ George Heppe, GigglePop’s president and owner, who ex-plained new mobile Developments.Attendance at the seminar was favorable with about 50

dealers participating. Please contact NADA University at (800) 557-6232 for information about future Industry Insightevents.

New Industry Insight Series Educates Dealers with Free Seminars

OH_1110:Layout 1 10/18/10 11:47 AM

PO Box 216 • Brice, OH 43109-0216 -OR- Fax to: 614-863-5801


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T H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 w w w . o h i a d a . o r gT H E I N D E P E N D E N T D E A L E R NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2010 w w w . o h i a d a . o r g

INSURANCEDEALERSHIP LIABILITY INSURANCE GRAFMILLER & DAVIS INSURANCESARAH MENDENHALL103-A COMMERCE PARK DRIVEWESTERVILLE, OH 43082TEL: 614-818-9467 [email protected]

MEDICAL INSURANCEWELLS FARGO INSURANCE SERVICES, USA, INCJAMIE ZELEWICZ580 N. FOURTH STREETCOLUMBUS, OH 43215TEL: [email protected]

WORKERS COMP GROUP INSURANCECOMPMANAGEMENT INC.GENNY HART6377 EMERALD PKWYDUBLIN, OH 43017TEL: [email protected]

LIFE – DISABILITY – RETIREMENT INSURANCEMUTUAL OF OMAHA INSURANCE CO.8800 LYRA DRIVE, SUITE 530COLUMBUS, OH 43240TEL: (614)[email protected]

CREDIT CARD PROCESSINGELECTRONIC MERCHANT SYSTEMS5005 ROCKSIDE ROADPENTHOUSE 100INDEPENDENCE, OHIO 44131TEL: 888.558.4367HTTP://WWW.EMSCORPORATE.COM

INTERNET, WEBSITE, COMPANIESAUTOTRADER.COMCOLUMBUS, OHIOTONY [email protected] TURNOVER, LLCROBERT "JAKE" JACOBSON22 BROOK LANESHELBURNE VT 05482TEL: [email protected]

WAYNE REAVES COMPUTER SYSTEMSWAYNE REAVES6211 THOMASTON RD.MACON, GA 31220TEL: [email protected]

FORMS – DEALERAUTOMOTIVE DEALER RESOURCES NANCY CHAPMAN55 E. LONG LAKE ROADTROY, MI 48085TEL: [email protected]

GPS – STARTER INTERRUPT PASSTIMEJ R JONES861 SOUTHPARK DR. SUITE #200LITTLETON, CO 80120TEL: [email protected]

DOCUMENT MANAGEMENTINTELLINETICSJIM PERRY2190 DIVIDEND DRIVECOLUMBUS, OH 43228-3806 TEL: [email protected]

VEHICLE LOCATOR SERVICEEBUY AUTO.COMFRANK WERTENBACH160 CLIFTON DR SUITE CWARREN OH 44484TEL: [email protected]

AUTOMOTIVE PARTS PROGRAMAUTO ZONETOM EDGERTON463 WATERBURY CT STE BGAHANNA, OH 43230TEL: [email protected]

SERVICE CONTRACTSA U L CORPORATIONKEVIN CULLOP1250 MAIN ST, STE 300NAPA, CA 94559TEL: 800-826-3207 EXT - [email protected]

AUTOSAVE-CHARTER WARRANTY COMPANYROD HEASLEY29108 LORIE LANEWIXOM, MI 48393TEL: [email protected]

DIAMOND WARRANTY CORPORATIONSAMUEL MCARTHUR/JIM LIMONGELLI9 N MAIN STPITTSTON, PA 18640TEL: [email protected]

THE MILBY GROUPMIKE MILBY210 PERSHING DR. SUITE ALANCASTER, OH 43130TEL: [email protected]

NATIONAL AUTO CARECHRISTINA SCHRANK575 WESTAR XINGWESTERVILLE, OH 43082TEL: [email protected]

DEALER SUPPLIES & DISPLAYSDISPLAYABILITY.COMTOM WILLIAMS P.O. BOX 100 EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, MO 64024 TEL: [email protected]

OIADA MEMBERBENEFIT VENDOR GUIDE

A U C T I O N - F E E - D I S C O U N T S

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Past ChairmanThomas SmithSmittys’ Auto Sales668 S. 7th StreetGreenfield, OH 45123Tel: 937-981-4317Fax: 937-481-9317Cell: 937-218-3658 Email: [email protected]

Chairman Thomas OnestiCar PortPO Box 9943Youngstown, OH 44513Tel: 330-726-6633Fax: 330-726-2633Cell: 330-565-6833Email: [email protected]

President Jay NorthJay North LLC501 E. Columbia StreetSpringfield, OH 45503Tel: 937-325-3748Fax: 937-398-1075Cell: 937-206-0575Email: [email protected]

Vice President Ron HausRon Haus Auto Group, Inc.4141 Boardman Canfield RoadCanfield, Oh 44406 Tel: 330-702-4287Fax: 330-627-9777Cell: 330-565-4422Email: [email protected]

Secretary Daniel ReelReel’s Auto Sales LLC547 East Main StreetOrwell, OH 44076Tel: 440-437-5893Fax: 440-437-5758Cell: 440-319-1247Email: [email protected]

Treasurer Mark MeadowsMiracle Motor Mart2380 Morse RoadColumbus, OH 43229Tel: 614-437-0037Fax: 614-337-1063Cell: 614-348-6503Email: [email protected]

Executive Director James R. Mitchell,OIADAPO Box 216Brice, OH 43109Tel: 614-436-3393Fax: 614-916-3023Email: [email protected]

Jeff RaderRader Car Company1429 Schrock RoadColumbus, OH 43229Tel: 614-888-3111Fax: 614-888-3811Cell: 614-582-1822Email: [email protected]

John RemyRemy’s Auto Group58905 US 50McArthur, OH 45651Tel: 740-596-4694Fax: 740-740-596-5526Cell: 740-395-4214Email: [email protected]

Robert VaughanVaughan Motor Car Company808 Parsons AvenueColumbus, OH 43206Tel: 614-444-7839Fax: 614-444-1133Cell: 614-565-5682Email: [email protected]

Ty WhittenburgCarMax Auto Superstores2700 Farmers Dr.Columbus, OH 43235Tel: 614-799-8077Fax: 614-799-6547Cell: 614-493-8294Email: Manager_7176- [email protected]

Terry ReinekeRino’s Auto Sales Inc1610 Industrial PkwyCelina, OH 45822Tel: 419-586-6161Fax: 419-586-8700Cell: 419-305-4009Email: [email protected]

Robert FaheyFairdale Auto Sales6209 Glenn Rd.Cambridge, OH 43725Tel: 740-432-4185 Fax: 740-435-0765Cell: 740-607-4011Email: [email protected]

George PolceJenroc Auto, Inc.101 N. Tuscarawas Ave Dover, OH 44622Tel: 330-364-2525Fax: 330-364-6726Cell: 330-268-4724Email: [email protected]

Shawn R. PayneAutos Direct Online, Inc5212 Mills Industrial ParkwayNorth Ridgeville, OH 44039Tel: 440-327-9780Fax: 440-815-2100Cell: 216-219-5926Email: [email protected]

Lauren Bowden ThomasBowden Motors1426 South Main StreetBellfontaine, OH 43311Tel: 937-593-0014Fax: 937-593-0514Cell: 914-216-4994Email: [email protected]

Randy GriesdornComplete Automotive Repair & Sales, Inc.123 East Main StreetColdwater, OH 45828Tel: 419-678-3969Fax: 419-678-3575Cell: 419-852-331Email: [email protected]

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

FOR INFORMATION ON HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER CONTACT JAMES R. MITCHELL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

OIADA • 2040 BRICE ROAD • SUITE #110 REYNOLDSBURG, OH 43068

PO BOX 216 • BRICE, OH 43109-0216

OFFICE: 614-863-5800 • CELL: 614-436-3393 • FAX: [email protected] • WWW.OHIADA.ORG

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What DRIVESConsumers Toward Certain Models?

Given a choice of five fac-tors, 37 percent of con-sumers indicated theirdecision to buy a vehiclewas most heavily affectedby the model’s quality, ac-cording to a recent CarMaxsurvey.

The poll, done via tele-phone, posed the followingquestion to respondents:“Which of the following factorsmost influences your car-buy-ing decision?”

Following quality, the sec-ond most-cited factor wassafety, as 28 percent countedit as their top choice. Twenty-two percent claimed thebiggest influence was safety,while environmental or greenfactors were cited by 6 percentof respondents.

Four percent pointed to thevehicle’s resale value.

Breaking it down by gender,43 percent of men said qualitywas most important, while 34percent said the same. Qualitywas No. 1 for both males andfemales.

Interestingly enough, this isa change from what womenclaimed was the top factor ayear ago, when they pointedto price. That particular surveywas done online, officialsnoted.

“We want consumers to getthe most for their money, andbuying a used vehicle is agreat way to get more car forless,” stated Rod Baker, who isvice president of service oper-ations for the Phoenix region.

“It’s why we put our carsthrough a rigorous CertifiedQuality Inspection, checkingmore than 125 points to meetour high-quality standards,” headded.

Ipsos Public Affairs did thepolling for CarMax, contactingover 1,000 adults in the U.S.This was done between Aug.19 and Aug. 22. Just threeconsumers did not respond.


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W E B I N A R

“Best Practicesfor Financing Customers and Protecting Your Dealership”November 16,201011:00 AM EST


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WHITE HOUSE REFORM REQUEST On September 23 and September 29, Federal Advocates was contacted by the White

House, which is trying to organize and schedule a meeting to include “people who are work-ing to setup the CFPB.” This meeting is in response to a letter sent by NIADA to President

Obama requesting “the opportunity to work with you to reform our industry in common-senseways that achieve real safeguards for consumers, that promote accountability and trans-

parency, and that really work.”

SMALL BUSINESS JOBS AND CREDIT ACT OF 2010On September 23, the House passed the Senate-passed bill, which includes an increase in

the amount the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Dealer Floor Plan Financing programcan guarantee. This permits the SBA to guarantee bank and finance company loans up to $5million, which should help, the committee believes, expand dealer access to floorplan lines ofcredit. We worked with Louisiana Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu’s committee and personalstaff, in conjunction with others, on this. This bill may be the subject of subsequent meetings

with Capitol Hill and the SBA on how the

WALL STREET/CONSUMER FINANCIAL SERVICES REFORM BILL

On September 21, Keith Whann and Federal Advocates met with staff of the Federal TradeCommission (FTC): James Dolan, assistant director; Carole Reynolds, senior attorney, Divisionof Financial Practices; Rebecca Kuehn, assistant director, Division of Privacy and Identity Pro-tection; Katherine Worthman, attorney, Division of Financial Practices; and Daniel Hanks, at-torney, Division of Marketing Practices. The meeting covered implementation of the above billand its impact on the auto industry. Following discussion of various issues, including Buy Here-Pay Here issues, with NIADA General Counsel Keith Whann leading the discussion and an-swering various questions as to how the auto industry segments work, which also covered theauto auction process, it was decided to schedule another half day session in the following

weeks to allow for a more detailed discussion of issues.To review, on July 22, President Obama signed into law the so-called Wall Street Reform

Bill. As reported previously, the new law exempts certain auto dealers from increased over-sight with respect to dealer-assisted financing. To get to that result, advocacy activities overthe past month included numerous meetings, strategy phone conference calls, letters, talkingpoints, legislative alerts and more. The law does grant increased powers to the FTC regardingdealer oversight. Also, it requires coordination with the Defense Department (DOD) to ensure

service members and their families are treated fairly by automobile dealers.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSERegarding the issue of “how to ensure that service members and their families are treated

fairly by automobile dealers,” Keith Whann and Federal Advocates also met on September21 with Frank Emery of the Defense Department’s Family Policy Outreach Directorate. Whannrelayed a specific example of how he helped a service member at Fort Bragg, N.C., regard-ing an automobile situation, working with the base Judge Advocate General’s office and oth-ers. He also talked about a plan for a special program to teach dealers on how to deal fairlywith service members and their families. Emery mentioned a November conference in Denver

where Keith could give a presentation. Details are to be finalized at a later date.

FEDERAL ADVOCATES IS NIADA’S GOVERNMENTAL ADVOCACY PARTNER. To read past lobbying reports, visit http://www.niada.com/legislative_and_legal.php

FEDERAL ADVOCATESLOBBYING REPORT

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OHIO INDEPENDENT DEALER

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