Dealership closings in your area...?

[SVT666]

So, can I forward you my resume?

Mechanical engineer?  Sure.  Otherwise.......

[S204STi]

Our best regional DCJ dealer closed, and a bunch of major dealers made a bit move out to a big commercial development between Loveland and Greeley, CO, and are now paying for it.  They have massive notes out on these places, and they are dying in the vine.

The upshot is that dealers within Fort Collins are doing alright.  We're definitely the strongest of them all atm, and we continue to maintain a full crew despite some people moving on.  On the whole Fort Collins is amazingly well insulated from this recession.

[S204STi]

In terms of sales figures, I think we're staying steady, mainly because we can rely on our used car business to make money, plus service is carrying us.

Actual numbers for decenber were 63 hondas and 17 GMs.

[sparkplug]

I know of a Ford dealership in that had been in business since 1920's that stopped being a dealership and started selling used cars and trucks last year.

[r0tor]

Mechanical engineer?  Sure.  Otherwise.......

hmm.... doing what?

[S204STi]

I know of a Ford dealership in that had been in business since 1920's that stopped being a dealership and started selling used cars and trucks last year.

Used cars can be quite profitable.

[FlatBlackCaddy]

In town we have buick/pontiac, chevrolet/cadillac, ford, chrysler/mitsu.

Out of those the ford and chrysler/mitsu dealers have closed, i'm sure the buick/pontiac dealer won't be too far behind.

[Onslaught]

Our new car lot is bare...I believe I counted 25 cars on the line.  That was practically what we sold new per month a year ago.  (Keep in mind we're a small dealership).

We haven't got a new car in for almost a year and a half at the main Ford dealership.

But then again our roof is pouring water all over the place. Even on the electrical stuff.
Most of the lights in the building are out.
The gas heaters are only half working and the others a leaking and making my head hurt. So it's either cold or pain.
The exhaust fan fell out of the building the other day.
The floor in the building isn't level anymore and this makes working on frames kind of hard. Probably has to do with the 10 year old water leak under the building. The one that gave us a $4K water bill every month I think it was. And none ever asked why the bill was so high.
Many of the windows are out and so the cold rolls in.
The parking lot is a disaster with holes all over the place. People have fallen and been hurt.
The air compressor is about to fail
The 2 paint booths are both broken.
And on and on and on.

Well, time to start drinking now that I think about going back to work Monday. 

[TBR]

We haven't got a new car in for almost a year and a half at the main Ford dealership.

But then again our roof is pouring water all over the place. Even on the electrical stuff.
Most of the lights in the building are out.
The gas heaters are only half working and the others a leaking and making my head hurt. So it's either cold or pain.
The exhaust fan fell out of the building the other day.
The floor in the building isn't level anymore and this makes working on frames kind of hard. Probably has to do with the 10 year old water leak under the building. The one that gave us a $4K water bill every month I think it was. And none ever asked why the bill was so high.
Many of the windows are out and so the cold rolls in.
The parking lot is a disaster with holes all over the place. People have fallen and been hurt.
The air compressor is about to fail
The 2 paint booths are both broken.
And on and on and on.

Well, time to start drinking now that I think about going back to work Monday. 

Sounds like a dealer that has been on the edge for a long time.

[JWC]

Our best regional DCJ dealer closed, and a bunch of major dealers made a bit move out to a big commercial development between Loveland and Greeley, CO, and are now paying for it.  They have massive notes out on these places, and they are dying in the vine.

The upshot is that dealers within Fort Collins are doing alright.  We're definitely the strongest of them all atm, and we continue to maintain a full crew despite some people moving on.  On the whole Fort Collins is amazingly well insulated from this recession.

My area has been well insulated, till this past year.  Now, it seems to be catching up with everyone.  I'm not familiar with Fort Collins, but until six months ago, everyone thought this area was recession proof.  We have the largest regional university hospital and the largest university east of Wilson NC.  Apartment buildings are still being built for university students, which I question the feasibility of. 

This is unfamiliar economic territory for many people in their late thirties and in their forties.  As expenses rise, the university is raising its tuition, which will eliminate some students from being able to attend the university.  For other families to be able to afford to send two or more kids to a university, off campus housing will no longer be a luxury they can afford.  This will lead to a flooded housing market, which will drive home values down further...which means no second or third mortgage to borrow on to use as tuition.

When I mentioned my beliefs this past week to the dealer owners about the local housing market and the continued construction, pointing out that the entry level homes that were finished this past fall across the street remain empty, they all stated that the university will provide students who will rent them. 

I'm not that optimistic...I believe that caution is called for and that carrying on as if nothing has changed will lead to more problems later.  I also believe that the continued media coverage of 825 billion dollar stimulus package furthers restraints in consumer spending, not encourages it.

[Onslaught]

Sounds like a dealer that has been on the edge for a long time.

At one time it was the biggest in the South East and if they told the truth then the top seller in the US for a few years. But some legal trouble put the smack down on the owner who was always just a glorified redneck used car salesman. So he's been letting it fall apart knowing that he'd have to sell at some point. But he was always cheap and we never had "nice" stuff anyway. I only worked there because
A. I got to work on lots of Mazda's
B. He pays more than any body shop in town.

[SVT666]

hmm.... doing what?

HVAC and plumbing.

[JWC]

My dealer remodeled four or five years ago, all new shop equipment etc.  Even put up siding on the outside of the building.  Even if he decides to get out, he'll have a really premium piece of real estate to sell.   If he had let it run down as Onslaught's dealer principle has, he'll would never unload it.

[Onslaught]

My dealer remodeled four or five years ago, all new shop equipment etc.  Even put up siding on the outside of the building.  Even if he decides to get out, he'll have a really premium piece of real estate to sell.   If he had let it run down as Onslaught's dealer principle has, he'll would never unload it.

It was all about location for my boss. He could sell it no problem. And he just did.

[dazzleman]

We haven't got a new car in for almost a year and a half at the main Ford dealership.

But then again our roof is pouring water all over the place. Even on the electrical stuff.
Most of the lights in the building are out.
The gas heaters are only half working and the others a leaking and making my head hurt. So it's either cold or pain.
The exhaust fan fell out of the building the other day.
The floor in the building isn't level anymore and this makes working on frames kind of hard. Probably has to do with the 10 year old water leak under the building. The one that gave us a $4K water bill every month I think it was. And none ever asked why the bill was so high.
Many of the windows are out and so the cold rolls in.
The parking lot is a disaster with holes all over the place. People have fallen and been hurt.
The air compressor is about to fail
The 2 paint booths are both broken.
And on and on and on.

Well, time to start drinking now that I think about going back to work Monday. 

Are you sure you don't work in a housing project?  That place sounds like hell on earth.

[JWC]

Are you sure you don't work in a housing project?  That place sounds like hell on earth.

Slum lord.

[Onslaught]

Are you sure you don't work in a housing project?  That place sounds like hell on earth.

Oh it's not just the building, I write my own estimates for our adjuster because they don't know how to. I make a paper copy and then they put it on the computer. Most of the time taking a little time off of it so the insurance people don't get mad. So now I just make it twice as high as it should be. That way when they cut it up it's close to what it should be. And when the insurance adjusters come out to inspect a car I have to go over it with them because the people in the office don't know how to show them anything. So I have to deal with the butt holes. Most of the time I order my parts. If I don't then I never get the right stuff.
I also have to put the orders in for our supplies when we need something or we'd never get enough stuff to work with.

Now keep in mind I only work for commission and don't get paid anything for the stuff I just listed. They get paid by the hour to do this stuff but can't and if I don't do it then none will and I'll never make any money. But it's always been like this regardless of management and all the body men who've worked at other places tell me it's the same there too. So going to a new place wouldn't help. Like I said, the ONLY reason I've put up with this shit for 15 years is that we get paid more than what other shops do. And at the end of the day all I care about is $ when I'm at work. If our pay was to change under our new owners I'd pack my stuff up that day.

[rohan]

I heard a subaru dealership in South Bend closed because of no business- otherwise everyone that I know of is still holding on.

[Onslaught]

I forgot that one of our only Lincon Mercury dealers went under. On the way to the Mountains a few weeks ago I noticed MANY small dealerships closed in the little towns around the state.

[sportyaccordy]

HVAC and plumbing.

Do you guys have an office in the US...

[Soup DeVille]

Gage Oldsmobile went out of business a few years ago, I'm not sure why...

[93JC]

HVAC and plumbing.

So I can have a job if I get fired from my current employer, right? We're talking a couple years of experience right here, doing just that. Raza doesn't know a chiller from a fire damper.

[SVT666]

So I can have a job if I get fired from my current employer, right? We're talking a couple years of experience right here, doing just that. Raza doesn't know a chiller from a fire damper.

If you want a job, I could get you an interview for next week.  Our office manager will fly out to Calgary to do the interview.  We just opened a Vancouver office last week and we're opening a Calgary office as soon as we can find a senior engineer willing to run the office.  If we hired you we would pay for all your moving expenses to get you out here.

[SVT666]

Do you guys have an office in the US...

No.

[93JC]

I'm alright for now, but thanks for the offer.

[sportyaccordy]

No.

That's a bummer. I've been commissioning a gut renovation for the global HQ of one of the last banks standing for the last year. You name it (besides boilers & generators), if it's in a high rise I have commissioned it.

[S204STi]

My area has been well insulated, till this past year.  Now, it seems to be catching up with everyone.  I'm not familiar with Fort Collins, but until six months ago, everyone thought this area was recession proof.  We have the largest regional university hospital and the largest university east of Wilson NC.  Apartment buildings are still being built for university students, which I question the feasibility of. 

This is unfamiliar economic territory for many people in their late thirties and in their forties.  As expenses rise, the university is raising its tuition, which will eliminate some students from being able to attend the university.  For other families to be able to afford to send two or more kids to a university, off campus housing will no longer be a luxury they can afford.  This will lead to a flooded housing market, which will drive home values down further...which means no second or third mortgage to borrow on to use as tuition.

When I mentioned my beliefs this past week to the dealer owners about the local housing market and the continued construction, pointing out that the entry level homes that were finished this past fall across the street remain empty, they all stated that the university will provide students who will rent them. 

I'm not that optimistic...I believe that caution is called for and that carrying on as if nothing has changed will lead to more problems later.  I also believe that the continued media coverage of 825 billion dollar stimulus package furthers restraints in consumer spending, not encourages it.

That's interesting, in that our region is driven by the college and by tech jobs, which are by no means insulated from the economy for very long, and some other sectors.  But we currently have a huge housing inventory, and there are some more apartments going up just down the street.

Also, I wasn't there, but I've been told that the big speech at the 08 christmas party was basically, "What recession?"  Basically the management are burying their heads in the sand and are determined to just ride it out as they are.  Maybe it will work; like I said, our service and used car departments are carrying the dealership, but who knows what will happen?

Personally I am pretty certain that if my wife and I decide to move back to NH in the near future the chances are that I won't be able to unload my house too easily.

[Catman]

The town I work in lost it's only new car dealership, a Ford one.  Next town over lost it's Dodge dealer last year.

[dazzleman]

That's interesting, in that our region is driven by the college and by tech jobs, which are by no means insulated from the economy for very long, and some other sectors.  But we currently have a huge housing inventory, and there are some more apartments going up just down the street.

Also, I wasn't there, but I've been told that the big speech at the 08 christmas party was basically, "What recession?"  Basically the management are burying their heads in the sand and are determined to just ride it out as they are.  Maybe it will work; like I said, our service and used car departments are carrying the dealership, but who knows what will happen?

Personally I am pretty certain that if my wife and I decide to move back to NH in the near future the chances are that I won't be able to unload my house too easily.

Are you thinking of moving back?

[S204STi]

Are you thinking of moving back?

Yeah, my wife realized when she saw her three nephews (two twins adopted last year, and another one popped out around the same time, plus her sister has another one in the oven) that she is going to miss watching them grow up. 

Probably a couple of years down the pipeline though.