May 20, 2009 5:51 pm US/Central
Shopping For Deals At Closing Chrysler Dealerships
LAKE ELMO, Minn. (WCCO) ―
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At Fury Dodge-Chrysler in Lake Elmo, a red Chrysler Sebring convertible originally listed at $36,650 is now priced at $26,904.
CBS
Eighteen Minnesota car dealers received bad news last week that, starting June 10, they won't be Chrysler dealers anymore. The dealers can't give the cars back. They own them, and they have to sell them quickly.
At Fury Dodge-Chrysler in Lake Elmo, a small dog follows around co-owner and General Manager Jim Leonard. Leonard said his dog, Cowboy, often seals the deal.
"We hope to think it's what we're doing right," said Leonard. "But he's doing something right."
For the dealers at Fury, selling cars is more important than ever. Fury is among 25 percent of Chrysler dealerships slated to shut down.
"We are more motivated to put a car deal together than we ever have been," said Leonard. "We need to show Chrysler why we should stay in business here, so we're taking deals right now that we would never normally take."
A red Chrysler Sebring convertible originally listed at $36,650 is now priced at $26,904. Leonard figures he'll make about $79 on this sale.
He and other dealers have become accustomed to lower margins.
"In today's market, with the tough economy that it is, if you sell a new car at one percent over your cost, you're probably doing quite well," said Leonard.
Jon Bailey was looking at crossover SUVs in the Fury showroom on Monday. He retired a couple months back and now has time for more travel and wants a roomier ride.
"Yeah, I like the space," he said as he checked out the Dodge Journey.
Bailey suspected Fury might be on Chrysler's closing list.
"I looked on the Internet to see actually if they were on it," he said. "I was kinda wondering if they'd be on the list or not because they're in a small community like this instead of the mega-dealers down on 494."
Bailey thought the prices seemed low.
"That seems very attractive to me. I looked at the sticker, and that's a significant discount. I'm not sure if it's the 'final price' or not," he said with a chuckle.
The final price will depend on how well he negotiates and how much the dealer wants to sell the cars. Because Leonard and his brother own another Chrysler dealership in South St. Paul, they have a way of moving the vehicles even if their Lake Elmo dealership stays on the closure list.
However, they hope it doesn't come to that.
"We're one of the most profitable Chrysler dealers in the country based on sales," said Leonard. "There's still a lot of negotiation left. We're in the first or second inning of a baseball game right now, and it's a nine inning game."
Other dealerships forced to get rid of their cars by June 9 may turn to their former competitors. Since Chrysler has temporarily stopped producing cars, many dealers are low on inventory. They're expected to buy shuttered dealerships' inventory at cost.
Paula Engelking, Producer
Contact Paula
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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