Gain Best Practices to Drive Remarketing Efforts on both Retail, Wholesale Side of Business

By Jennifer Reed, Auto Group Editor
August 27, 2008

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CARY, N.C. — In the current atmosphere remarketing executives are really feeling the pressure on their recovery values. A mixed portfolio can make all the difference; however, certain vehicle segments continue to falter in the lanes under less dealer demand.

In response to this challenge, the National Remarketing Conference and Used-Car Expo, slated for Oct. 22 to 24 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego, is bringing together a panel of experts to address this issue in "The Right Cars at the Right Price."

This panel will feature Norm Olson, sales operations manager of Toyota Certified Used Vehicles; Dan Kennedy, national sales manager for General Motors remarketing; and Larry Gamache, director of communications at Carfax, who will serve as moderator. More speakers for this panel will be announced in the coming days.

According to Bill Zadeits, conference co-chair, the session is designed to help industry professionals, "get practical advice from leading remarketing experts that can help you weather today's tough economy.

"This panel discussion will explore real life best practices that show you how to be successful in your remarketing efforts from finance and service, bidding on and preparing vehicles for auction and buying for retail," he continued.

Offering further insight into this panel and the current auction environment, Gamache, added, "It seems the only thing in the used-car market that's certain is uncertainty.

"There are, however, valuable lessons that successful companies have learned that are helping them weather these hard times. I hope that attendees take away some practical advice that'll have a positive impact on their bottom lines right away. Helping our customers make more money on every used car is what Carfax is all about," he highlighted.

Giving a bit of a dealer perspective, Olson said he has never seen his automaker's certified brand as popular as it is today. With sales struggling across the board at stores throughout the country, used has become even more vital to each store's bottom line.

Even more important is the certified branding, he stressed, as consumers who may not be willing to commit to a new vehicle are turning to CPO units as viable alternatives.

"It has never been more important to get all the info you can on our certified program," Olson explained.

In the past, he said the industry has changed in an "evolutionary" manner. However, given the current economy and credit challenges, the industry is now changing in a "revolutionary" manner, Olson stated, indicating that auto professionals need to keep up.

Olson said, "If you're not on top of your game, specifically in the used-car business, you're not going to take advantage of all the opportunities available. New dealers are joining our certified program daily. For years, some dealers have said ‘No, no, no,' but now these dealers are saying ‘This is the right thing to do.'"

If fact, he pointed out that "dealers are just clamoring to get in" Toyota's CPO program.

Finally, Kennedy couldn't stress enough the importance of attending NRC to learn about all the latest trends and best practices, which can help auto professionals throughout all areas of business.

"These National Remarketing Conference panels are an excellent way to access what is happening in this fast-changing used-vehicle market and share best practices, from both the wholesale and retail sides of the business," he explained.

Who should attend NRC? Industry executives from throughout all areas are welcome, including officials representing auction companies, manufacturers, banks and finance companies, in addition to technology companies and more.

Early registration is $795 and lasts until Sept. 22. After that time, registration is $995.

Discounted rooms at Manchester Grand Hyatt San Diego are available at $269 per night until Sept. 29. To reserve your room, please call (800) 233-1234 and use the group code G-CPUN.

For more information on the agenda or to register for the conference, visit www.autoremarketingconferences.com.