What a difference a few years can make. NADA this year was festive and packed with people, including dealers, vendors, and providers of all variety of services. At the numerous summits, seminars, and conferences held before and during NADA, buy sell was a popular topic. Some events were focused on buy sell. More importantly, general events often included panels or speakers discussing different aspects of dealership buy sell.
I attended the buy sell panel at J.D. Power’s 2015 Automotive Summit. It was a stellar group of smart dealers – Mark Iuppenlatz, vice president of corporate development for Group 1 Auto, Franklin McLarty, CEO of RML Automotive, and Ed Napleton, president of Napleton Dealership Group. A few days ago, Ed and I discussed in more detail the topic of my story this week, the importance of real estate knowledge for a buyer or a seller.
Another interesting tidbit gleaned from that panel: Group 1 has seen an increase in “unmotivated” sellers in the market who have unrealistic price expectations. “I think they will settle down,” said Iuppenlatz.
DMS expert Sandi Jerome returns to our publication this week with a companion piece to the column a few weeks ago by Mark Counts. Sandi relates a real-life situation she encountered regarding a DMS contract and suggests ways to ensure that your DMS contract is a plus rather than a minus if you decide to sale your store five years down the line.
We also have the always-popular Transaction News.
Enjoy!
Alysha Webb, Editor and Publisher