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Dealers say auto sales have shifted down to first gear
Their lots are full of cars but empty of customers, Loudoun auto dealers say. Sales figures released last week showed that auto retail sales nationwide were down 12.8 percent in September compared to sales last year during the same month.
Local dealers said the poor economy and worries about the stock market have kept customers away.
“It's a very tough market,” said Jeffrey Collins, general manager of Dulles Motorcars on Catoctin Circle in Leesburg. “You just have to stay lean and hope the market will come back.” Dulles Motorcars sells Jeeps, Subarus and Kias.
Bigger cars like Jeeps, Collins said, are not selling as a result of higher gas prices.
To add to this, used cars are being valued lower, making trade-ins less profitable to buyers, he said.
Collins said he recently had a customer trying to trade in his 2006 Jeep, bought for about $26,000. The man decided to hold onto his car because its trade-in value had dropped to about $8,000.
“People can't get out of their cars and get into a new one,” Collins said of the devaluing of used sport utility vehicles like Jeeps. “No one wants to buy [used SUVs] because they are gas guzzlers.”
Those who want to buy are having a harder time getting the loan they need, he said.
“The banks are a little tighter than they were and a little more selective than they were,” he said.
Up the street from Collins at the Pohanka Automotive Group, which sells Chrysler and Dodge automobiles, sales are down about 12 percent, according to the store's representatives.
At Jerry's Leesburg Chevy on Fort Evans Road, sales have also seen a decrease.
“We're doing like everyone else,” said General Manager Walter Franzen. “We're down 30 percent” in sales.
“All cars are being devalued if they are not fuel-efficient,” he said. “If you buy a big Toyota, it could be worth half its value” in a short time.
Franzen, who also oversees Jerry's Suzuki on East Market Street in Leesburg, says sales at the Suzuki are better.
“Their cars are smaller and get good mileage,” he said.
That's the trend, Collins said -- small is in, big cars are out.
Unfortunately, some of the local dealerships have stocked up on larger automobiles, which sit on their lots, noticed but not wanted.
“Saturdays used to be 15 to 20 cars a weekend,” Collins said. “Those days are gone.”
Dulles Motorcars has extended its store hours to include Sundays, which are busier than Saturdays now, Collin said.
But it's not all gloom and doom for local auto dealers, said Paul Sheridan, Dulles Motorcars' new car manager.
“In the car business, I see people driving down their cars,” he said. “They are going to have to replace them eventually, so we'll get their sale eventually.”
For buyers who can afford to buy, now is a great time to purchase a new car, auto dealers said.
“The dealerships are ready to make deals,” Collins said. “We'll take any deal.”
Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com
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