MOUNT VERNON, Iowa -

ServNet revealed some news from its member auctions Tuesday, with one Iowa facility set to celebrate its 50th anniversary next week.

Plaza Auto Auction of Iowa is gearing up for its 50th anniversary sale, which is scheduled for Aug. 28.

The auction shared that the celebration will include drawings for $50,000 in prizes, and the presentation of Plaza's Dealer of the Year Award. 

This award is an annual tradition for the auction, owner Mark Greb shared. And the winner is determined by the auction employees, who are given ten nominees to consider several months in advance of the anniversary sale before voting for the dealer they feel should be named Dealer of the Year, Greb further explained.

"Determining the Dealer of the Year isn't as simple as calculating a top buyer or seller," said Greb. "This award really reflects the strength of the relationship that has developed between a dealer and our auction, and involves everyone on our staff. The Award means a great deal to both our customers and our employees, and is the highlight of our anniversary celebration."

As for the cash prizes, the buzz began in early summer, with customers qualifying for cash and prizes at in early June.

For example, the dealer selling the most vehicles between the first week of June and the Anniversary Sale will win $2,500, while the top buyer will also win $2,500.

Other buyers who will be recognized at the anniversary sale include:

—The top buyer in the Second Chance Auction will win $2,500
—The top seller in the OVE sale will win $2,500
—Dealers buying or selling more than 50 vehicles during the June to August 28th period will win a $1,000 in cash.
—All buyers and sellers in August qualify for a drawing for a number of $1,000 drawings.

Topping the prize giveaways will be a drawing for a Polaris PZR 800 Ranger, company officials reported.

Greb said, "We wanted to make sure that all our buyers have an opportunity to win something during our 50th Anniversary Celebration, so we've planned a number of different giveaways that will include both large- and small-volume buyers."

"It is a great year to be celebrating 50 years," concluded Greb. "Business continues to be excellent for our dealers, and we are well ahead of last year in terms of the numbers of vehicles consigned and sold. We're all looking forward to a fun and exciting celebration at our Anniversary event in August."

Greb also touched on recent company growth as the auction approaches the century half-way mark. The auction recently opened an additional lane to accommodate the increase in consignment.

The auction is also installing a new auction management system, and upgrading the auction arena with new video equipment.  Furthermore, the auction is also remodeling and expanding its mechanic shop to increase its post-sale services to its customers; exterior improvements include new asphalt and a lighting upgrade.

Sparkling City Auto Auction Expands Facilities

A little father west, San Antonio’s Sparkling City Auto Auction is building consignment, expanding facilities and adding acreage to "keep pace with increasing volume," officials say.

The auction opened three years ago, and most recently opened a fifth lane for auction days.

Auction owner Wade Walker also reports that major construction is underway on a new mechanic garage, detail shop and body shop.

"It seems that we've been in almost constant growth mode since we opened the auction in 2010," said Walker. "Our sale day volume now exceeds more than 500 cars and trucks every week, and we're very pleased to announce that we've added a fifth lane of auction selling at Sparkling City San Antonio."

The auction has also changed its start time on sale days to make room for the increased volume; the sale will now begin every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

"We're the first sale of the week in our region, and the dealers crowd the lanes to bid on the best inventory in the area," said Walker. "We have a tremendous selection of fleet/lease and repo vehicles from our commercial consignors as well as new car dealers trades from all the major auto groups in the area."

Jeremy Cason, auction operations manager, said he expects that the new garage, detail and body shop will be completed later this fall.

"We are excited to expand the scope of services we offer with the addition of the new shop space," said Cason. "We continue to hear how much our customers appreciate our friendliness, our attention to detail and personal service. Those are the qualities that have made our auction successful from the start, and they will continue to shape our business as we continue to grow."

Edtior's Note: Auto Remarketing will have more news from ServNet auctions throughout the week. Stay tuned.

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