HOUSTON -

In the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac that hit the Gulf Coast just last week, Group 1 Automotive said it is looking into damage to 12 of its coastal dealerships after the storm.

The company — which recently came in at No. 6 on Auto Remarketing’s Top 125 Used-Car Dealer Groups list — noted preliminary assessments show the storm inflicted “minor damage to some facilities and inventory due to the heavy rain and winds.”

Furthermore, there was a slowdown in business “due to store closures, evacuations, the inability for consumers to obtain personal vehicle insurance and loss of power in the surrounding areas.”

In fact, Group 1’s four New Orleans dealerships were closed for six days, including part of the Labor Day weekend. The remaining eight dealerships in the Gulfport, Miss.; Mobile, Ala.; and Florida Panhandle areas were closed for four to six days.

That said, the dealer group assured the public none of the 12 Gulf Coast stores — which represented 6.3 percent of Group 1’s total revenues in the second quarter ending June 30, 2012 — have “significant damage,” and are all open for business.

However, until the surrounding areas have had power restored and the roads are cleared, customer access to the dealerships will continue to be affected.

"Group 1’s primary concern is to assist its employees in the areas affected by Hurricane Isaac," said Earl Hesterberg, Group 1’s president and chief executive officer.

"We are also working to quickly assess and repair the damage at our dealerships in order to restore full operations for the local residents,” he added.

Lastly, the company noted “it is insured and estimates it will incur a $250,000 pre-tax deductible charge for the facilities’ damages, as well as incur some small losses, estimated at less than $100,000 for inventory damage at the impacted locations in the third quarter.”

And Group 1 isn’t the only company in the industry affected by the wake of Hurricane Isaac.

Just last week, Manheim told Auto Remarketing how it prepared for the storm. 

In a message sent to Auto Remarketing late Thursday, Kyle Ohman, Manheim’s market vice president for the Southeast, explained how the company prepared for the storm that state and federal officials said came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane and dumped several inches of rain while leaving more than 900,000 homes and businesses without power in Louisiana alone.

Ohman said, “Our goal was to ensure that our employees were fully aware of the storm and made plans to ensure their safety, the safety and security of our auctions and how to communicate with us through our company alert system.”

Ohman noted that the company’s preparations started in Florida as Manheim Pensacola management closed the facility last Tuesday afternoon.

Manheim New Orleans and Manheim Mississippi — locations in the more highly affected areas — experienced a bit more of Isaac’s impact.

At Manheim New Orleans, Ohman said management closed operations on last Tuesday afternoon as well as Wednesday “as employee and customer safety were our greatest concerns.”

Manheim New Orleans reopened for business on Thursday. 

At Manheim Mississippi, management modified business hours on Wednesday but full operations came back a day later.

As far as Manheim’s Total Resource Auctions sales in Mobile, Ala., and Lafayette, La., Ohman indicated management ran its regular Wednesday sales last week.

For more information, see the Auto Remarketing story here.