From the freezing rain to the extreme snow fall, car dealerships are battling the weather to make quota. The good news, customers are still buying a new ride and buying big.
Earl Bredenburg is sold on a 2014 Chevy Cruise. He says, “I love it. I think it’s going to be a great car.”
Bredenburg says nothing is stopping him from making a car purchase, not even the snow. He says, “We basically made the move because of the discount for President’s Day and the fact the GM card gave us extra money towards a new car.”
Steve Ball is the General Manager at Apple Chevrolet and Cadillac. He says despite having to close on day in February, sales are steady.
“What we’re finding is the days after the storm, we’re actually a lot busier than normal. They still need service and need to buy a car,” says Ball.
And maybe some people are looking for something bigger.
Ball says, “Either their cars are breaking down because of severe cold, people have waited too long and they want a sports utility vehicle.”
Car sales in January are up at Apple Chevy compared to last year. Ball says February sales are pacing to be up as well.
But at Red Lion Chevrolet, General Manager Wes McCullar says, “Our dealership specifically is undergoing its required construction remodel. As a result for a few months visually from the road we looked closed. Combine that with the consistent snows, one after another it posed a huge challenge for us in both sales and service.”
McCullar says sales were down this year in volume by approximately 50%. This is due largely to construction. But he says a grand re-opening is scheduled for April.
Back at Apple Chevy, Ball says it’s still been a challenge to keep their lot inviting. He says employees have to, “move cars forward, or we’ll leave them and move them after we scrape the snow. They’re shift is usually an 8 hour shift, but it’s typically a 12 hour shift, maybe a couple of days in a row.”
An adjustment that helps when handing over the keys to a new owner.
