Local car dealers say buyers looking for deals, efficiency
By David Sharos For The Sun June 1, 2011 3:04PM
Kevin Louie of Naperville listens as Gartner Hyundai sales executive Michael Miranda shows off the engine of a Hyundai Elantra. Jeff Cagle / For Sun-Times Media
Updated: June 7, 2011 3:14PM
Higher gas prices and a still recovering economy have car buyers out and looking for deals.
In some cases, local dealers say they can’t even keep up with demand.
“We are in a unique situation due to the cars we have in the Hyundai line, the gas prices and the fact that Toyota and Honda are having trouble with supplies due to the earthquake,” said Jim Whitgrove, general manager for Gartner Hyundai/Saab in Aurora.
“We have cars that are selling before they get here. In the last week or so, we sold 10 hybrids within five days of their arrival on the truck, and frankly, Hyundai never planned for this type of growth based on gas prices and the earthquake. It’s been a perfect storm that has turned out well for us.”
Whitgrove said that corporate officials planned for a 13 percent growth rate in national sales, but that predictions now say that total could reach nearly 40 percent.
At Chevrolet of Naperville, general sales manager Wayne Michor said the dealership is on a sales pace that will likely shatter all previous records. The trend toward fuel efficiency is showing itself differently there.
“Gas prices are certainly driving sales, but the movement towards the hybrids is not what is making the biggest difference,” Michor observes. “The fact is, hybrids often cost more money, and people today are trading for cars that are just more fuel efficient.”
Michor said at the current sales levels, Chevrolet of Naperville will exceed its sales figures of last year by 60 percent or better. Sales of models such as the Malibu and Equinox are strong, he said, along with the 42 mpg Cruz model. Dealers note, however, that while consumers have faced rising gas prices before, this price crunch has brought with it a shift in buying habits.
“We’ve been through this before where people ditch their big cars and go small,” said Ed Burke, owner of Jeep/Dodge of Naperville. “But today, a lot of people are just buying bigger cars because they’re more fuel efficient.
“Instead of the V8s, people buy the V6 engines, and we’re finding they want these vehicles whether gas prices are up or down. People want the space and the fuel economy improvements, and that means they don’t have to go small this time around. They get the largest car they can with the best mileage.”
The new and used car markets have been equally affected by buyer demand. Sam Santoro, used car sales manager at Fair Oaks Ford in Naperville, said 4-cylinder used car prices have risen as much as $2,000 compared to a year ago and that many sell at retail level for the auction list price.
“It’s a very confusing market right now since it’s hard to tell if prices are up because of gas prices and the demand for smaller cars is high, or because there is a problem with inventory from some manufacturers throughout the country,” Santoro said. “In the new car sales area, we’re selling a lot of the Focus and Fusion models, and as of Memorial Day weekend, we’re sold out of the Fiesta model.”
Despite brisk sales, some dealers believe there may be even more buyers waiting to make purchases who are looking for incentives which, for now, have pretty much dried up.
“We’re still in sort of a transition and prices, in some cases, are up because of the earthquake in Japan,” said Joel Weinberger, owner of three Naperville-area dealerships, including Continental Mazda, Audi and Acura in Naperville.
“As gas prices reached over $4 a gallon, people start to opt for more fuel-efficient choices, and sales of things like our Mazda 3 and Acura TSX have jumped.
“But because of the events in Japan, discount incentives are down, and it’s going to be August or September before things catch up, so there are others waiting to buy for reasons unrelated to gas prices.”
“It likely will be August or September before things sort of return to where they were before the earthquake,” adds Don Davis, general manager of Valley Honda in Aurora. “As far as gas prices go, it’s not like it was the last time when people were ditching their cars. Our sales are up about 15 percent over last year, and we haven’t raised our prices because of what’s happened in Japan. It’s not the customer’s fault.”
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