As Dealers Auto Auction of Oklahoma City celebrated Mardi Gras in February, staff members at Flint Auto Auction — who are no strangers to snow and cold temperatures, being located in Michigan — successfully tackled the latest winter event that impacted much of the U.S.

When Mother Nature drops a lots of snow all at once, ServNet auctions understand that the situation presents a special challenge to prepare for sale day. And Flint AA auction has seen its share of the snow and ice during this year’s winter.

When everyone arrived for work on Feb. 2, Flint AA recapped that the staff had to switch to “special operations” mode in order to clear more than a foot of snow that fell less than 12 hours earlier in order to get the lot — and 1,900 vehicles — ready for the sale just two days later.

"We had expected some snow over the weekend, but we got a lot more than we bargained for,” Flint Auto Auction operations manager Robert Tebo said. “When we got to work on Monday morning, we all put on our snow gear and headed out to the lot to uncover the cars and shovel the snow.”

Tebo highlighted that everyone with an arm and a snow jacket went out to help in the snow removal effort. Owners John Luce and Bill Williams, general manager Lawrence Cubitt and assistant GM Greg Price were joined by members of the office staff, lot operations and the shops to move tons of snow.

“If you live in snow country, you know what a huge job it is to clear the lot,” Tebo said. "You have to push the snow off each of the cars, then move the snow from each of the lanes, moving cars in and out of position in order to clear each lane and make way for the huge gravel trucks that come to take the snow away.

“It’s exhausting work, but we all pulled together and got the job done, and had everything ready to go for the sale on Wednesday morning,” he continued.

Cubitt reported the sale on Feb. 4 was an excellent one, in spite of the fact that consignment was affected due to the weekend storm’s impact on transportation. Dealers from throughout the region braved the elements to attend the sale. By day’s end, the auction reported that 976 vehicles had sold out of a total of 1,935.

“We’re grateful to everyone who pitched in to help us dig out and get all those cars ready to cross the block,” Cubitt said. “We’ve got an amazing team here at Flint Auto Auction, whose dedication is clear even in the most challenging of times.”

DAA/OKC Brings Mardis Gras to the Auction

There’s nothing quite like a Mardi Gras celebration, and Dealers Auto Auction of Oklahoma City (DAA/OKC) brought a festive flair to the auction lanes this past Thursday.

Combining the sights, sounds and tastes of Mardi Gras with the season’s best selection of cars, trucks and SUVs crossing the auction block, DAA/OKC welcomed customers from far and wide to join the staff for the celebration, which combined two auction events on the same day.

The celebration started bright and early at 8:30 a.m. with a sale that included more than 1,000 vehicles. Featured consignors included Ally Financial, ARI, Automotive Solutions, Avis Budget Group, BF Remarketing, Enterprise, FW Remarketing, Hertz, Hertz Carco, RSA, Santander, The Key Financial and Thrifty Car Rental.

The auction also had enthusiastic participation by dealerships throughout the region, including Bob Moore Auto Group, David Stanley Auto Group, Group 1 Automotive, Jaguar Volvo of OKC, Littleton Motor Co., Mercedes-Benz/Jaguar of OKC and Reynolds Auto Group.

DAA/OKC said that no Mardi Gras event would be complete without great food, and there was lots of it.

Customers enjoyed Cajun-style cuisine topped off by three King Cakes. Adding to the fun, several consignors held prize drawings in their lanes, including

— Avis Budget Group for a restaurant card
— FW Remarketing for Redhawks Tickets
— Key Financial for a Visa gift card.

In addition, Littleton Motor Co. drew for $100 after every fifth vehicle sold.

At the end of the sale, all buyers qualified for drawings for six $100 gift cards to the area’s own taste of New Orleans: The Bourbon Street Café in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown.

With a Mardi Gras celebration in full swing, management said one sale is never enough. So DAA/OKC conducted its second sale of the day starting at 12:30 p.m. The session was a GM open sale event, which included more than 400 units.

Leading up to the Mardis Gras celebration, DAA/OKC opened its doors to the public, holding a GSA sale on Feb. 12. The auction also hosted two closed GM factory sales this month on Feb. 3 and Feb. 17.

More than 500 vehicles crossed the block at each of the closed sales, and drawings were held for four $50 Outback Gift Cards to complete the days' activities.