Sister companies ADESA, AFC and Insurance Auto Auctions are partnering to benefit the NIADA Foundation for Scholarships and Education.
The three companies have donated a BMW 328XI, which will be auctioned off on the last day of this week's 68th annual NIADA Convention and Expo at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The car will be auctioned off to benefit the NIADA Foundation, which awards scholarships to college-bound students across the United States and provides training and educational opportunities to automobile dealers as well as the general public.
The auction is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Thursday in the Dealers Lounge area in the center of the Expo Hall, the companies said.
The sporty ride is an alpine white 2011 BMW 328XI with 27,015 miles on it.
It has a premium package, leather and a sunroof, and will be on display in the Dealer Lounge for the entire convention, which began Monday.
ADESA will transport the vehicle free for the winning bidder to any location in the United State.
The car will be auctioned off by Ben DeBruhl, the newly crowned world champion auto auctioneer.
During last year’s NIADA Convention and Expo, an ADESA and AFC sponsored auction raised $19,000 for the NIADA Foundation from the sale of a pearl white 2010 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ.
The winning bid came from Frank Fuzy of Century Motors of South Florida.
Dealers Auto Auction of Oklahoma City (DAA/OKC) is celebrating the arrival of the peak summer market with its Mid-Year Party Sale, set for Thursday. Planning for a consignment topping 2,000 vehicles and more than $20,000 in giveaways, DAA/OKC management promised a full day of fun, food and prizes to accompany blazing hot action in the auction lanes.
“Our Mid-Year Party Sale is the biggest and most exciting auction in the state of Oklahoma, and we’re all looking forward to a spectacular day of buying and selling,” DAA/OKC general manager Jon Reininger said.
“A highlight of the day will be the special interest units and Collector Car Corral, which will catch the eye of anyone who loves classics and hot-rods the way we do,” Reininger continued. “Customers from far and wide are bringing their specialty vehicles to show and sell. With so many classic and special interest cars, it may feel more like Hot August nights than mid-June, but it will be a great event for all our customers.”
Topping the list of featured consignors at DAA/OKC’s Mid-Year Party Sale are Ally Auto Remarketing, Santander Consumer USA, Avis/Budget Group, Littleton Motors, Midwest Car, and Hertz Corp.
Reininger explained that these consignors are also sponsoring prize giveaways in their lanes. Buyers will qualify for drawings for a flat screen TV (Santander Consumer USA), $100 after every fifth car sold (Littleton Motors), and Garmin GPS units (Midwest Car and Hertz).
At the conclusion of the sale, all buyers and sellers will enter the drawing for an array of prizes, including 70-inch flat screen TV’s, barbecue grills and smokers, telephones for home and office, electric key boards, Visa cash cards, microwaves, remote control cars, mountain bikes, cameras, tablets, iPods, surround sound stereo systems, even a popcorn machine.
“A sale like this wouldn’t be complete without great food, and we’re happy to announce that Ross Magness, who managed our cafe in years past and has catered many a party sale since, will be back to fire up the grill,” Reininger said. “No one can cook for a crowd the way Ross can, and he’s planning a menu that will satisfy even the biggest appetites, with grilled chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, shrimp, hot links, Polish sausages, shish kabobs, wings and gumbo.”
Reininger made one more point about the event.
“Summer is here and we’re looking forward to celebrating in a big way at our Mid-Year Party Sale,” he said. “We’ll have one of the best selections of vehicles in the region, ranging from late-model, low-mileage units to classics, and everything in between, and we know that buyers will be out in force to bid on them all.”
Brasher’s Portland Auto Auction and Brasher’s Northwest Auto Auction are giving customers the option of attending United Vehicle Auctions (UVA) Booksheet Sales in an all-new technology-driven space in Beaverton, Ore.
Brasher’s Portland Auto Auction general manager Jerry Hinton explained that the new facility hosts a weekly UVA Booksheet sale on Tuesdays at noon. That’s when buyers gather to bid on front-line ready inventory from franchised dealers throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Dubbed the “Man Cave,” the Pacific Northwest UVA facility is located at 8235 SW Cirrus Drive in Beaverton. It boasts a state of the art sound system and multiple visual screens. Just opened in late May, Pacific Northwest UVA has targeted Tuesday for a special promotion, with more than 150 vehicles, food and multiple door prizes, including rafting and fishing trips, golfing and tickets to the MLS All-Star game.
Hinton emphasized that Brasher’s UVA Booksheet sale is designed specifically to help franchised dealers meet the challenges in today’s marketplace.
“Our UVA Sales include inventory from new cars dealers who are finding great success in selling their aged inventory in a trusted environment at a fair market price without removing the vehicles from their front line,” Hinton said. “Buyers benefit by knowing that every vehicle offered in the sale has a clean Carfax report, has a booksheet that is guaranteed to be accurate, and is front-line ready.”
Hinton noted that dealers meet for a catered lunch prior to each weekly UVA event, or participate online.
Founded by Ed Hebert and Chris Langley, UVA has been working with franchised dealers in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2007. The company was purchased by Brasher’s Auctions in April of last year. UVA now offers more than 750 vehicles for sale weekly at six locations: Sacramento, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.;Beaverton, Ore.; San Jose, Calif.; Salt Lake City and Atlanta.
Dealers may view sale inventory and participate in UVA sales online at www.unitedvehicleauctions.com.
Insurance Auto Auctions is ramping up its presence in Colorado’s capital with a brand new facility.
The salvage auto auction company announced Wednesday the opening of a new branch, Denver East, in Commerce City, Colo.
The new facility is located at 8510 Brighton Road, and grows IAA’s capacity in the Denver market to more than 60 acres.
The Denver East facility will host its official grand opening on July 1.
"IAA is committed to giving our customers the highest level of customer service and the easiest options at auction — whether buying or selling vehicles," said John Kett, chief executive officer and president at IAA. "We have experienced strong growth in Denver and we are pleased to demonstrate our commitment to the local community with a new environmentally friendly facility in Commerce City. We continue to hold the largest footprint in our industry, with more than 165 locations in North America and growing."
The company built the new facility with energy efficiency and environmental sustainability on the mind, management said.
The new site features LED lighting, enhanced insulation materials and the use of recycled asphalt for the surface, fly ash for the base material and recycled concrete for the rock base.
For more information, call the IAA Denver East branch at 303-287-9737, or go to IAA's branch Information page at www.iaai.com .
You might not have gone to summer camp since you were 12, but Manheim’s here this season to provide a similar experience — minus the tents and mosquitoes.
In an effort to increase traffic at its auctions during the months as well as help dealers build inventory for the busy third quarter, the company is offering customers a new summer promotion called Camp Manheim.
Each Manheim location will host camp-themed promotions, including drawings games and contests — and the chance to win $25,000.
The summer promotion began Monday and runs through Aug. 1.
And a separate promotion for OVE.com will be held, as well.
“We know the summer months can be a very busy time for our customers away from work with the Memorial Day and Fourth of July holidays and vacations,” said Stephen Smith, senior director of marketing for Manheim. “We have created this promotion to encourage dealers to attend our sales this summer and build their inventories as we take advantage of improving market conditions to promote traffic at our operating locations.
“Our customers have a high demand for pre-owned vehicles during the summer months as they prepare for a traditionally busy third-quarter.”
Each location will award one semifinalist the opportunity to win a $25,000 grand prize.
Manheim customers must be present to win, and registered dealers as of June 10 are eligible to win the grand prize, the company said.
Locations will select 10 semifinal winners each week from June 16 to July 25, and one will selected to the chance to win a $25,000 grand prize. The grand prize contest will be held between July 28 and Aug. 1.
Manheim announced more than a handful of new general managers on Thursday, promoting six of its auction leaders to GM roles.
The promotions include:
Bo Beason (Manheim Mississippi)
Donny Cohen (Manheim Daytona Beach and Manheim Jacksonville)
Doug Kramer (Manheim Central Florida)
Eddie Pope (Manheim Houston)
Carter Theissen (Manheim Minneapolis)
Kim Waterman (Manheim Central California).
All six new GMs have started in their positions.
“A key part of motivating talent and providing solid customer experience is to have the right leaders in place,” said Mike McKinney, who is the region vice president for East Region Operations at Manheim.
“We are happy to promote these talented individuals, who have long tenures with our company. This group of dynamic leaders will help our company grow and provide solutions for our customers,” McKinney continued.
Rock Anderson, RVP for West Region Operations, said: “It truly is Manheim’s goal to put the right leaders in place to help us drive business growth and expand our customer base. Our customers will benefit from the leadership of this experienced group. They all possess extensive industry knowledge and insights that will surely help our customers attain results.”
Without giving specific figures, Copart chief executive officer Jay Adair described salvage vehicle prices as “what we would expect,” when the company discussed the financial performance of the third quarter of its fiscal year.
Reflecting on the span that wrapped up on April 30, Adair indicated that pricing for salvage units “tends to peak in the second and third quarters and comes off as you enter into the summer. That’s what we’ve seen. We’ve had what I would say no question was a peak in the second quarter, and it’s been relative to that number since. One month it will be up a little; one month down a little bit compared to that number.
“The returns look strong,” he continued during the company’s conference call with investment analysts. “We’ve talked to our customers. Right now they’re very happy with what we’re seeing in terms of percentage of (actual cash value) and in whole dollars.”
A Wall Street observer wondered how salvage prices compare to this juncture a year ago, but Adair explained how that’s not a fair contrast.
“A year ago, we were selling Hurricane Sandy cars, and they sold for more money,” Adair said. “You really can’t compare since those were cars that didn’t have collision damage. Those are vehicles that are going to bring more money at auction. With Sandy involved, you just can’t compare year-over-year.”
Copart is still pushing units damaged during Hurricane Sandy through its system even though the storm hit the Northeast more than 18 months ago. The company indicated its overall inventory level was 19 percent higher at the end of the third quarter than a year earlier. However, excluding Sandy vehicles, that inventory level settled 12 percent higher.
Adair said the company is pleased that inventory has climbed during each of the past four quarters.
“At this point, I would say the only thing we’re not happy with right now internally is SG&A costs,” the Copart boss said. “We’ve got increased costs associated with technology, some of it being one-time costs associated with moving out of California. That’s all going to be rationalized in the next four quarters. So we’re very focused on identifying every single asset we have and to make sure it provides value and to make sure we realize the return on that.
“If we have costs that don’t belong or we don’t need, we’re going to go through the process of rationalizing it. I can’t give predictions, but I suspect over the next four quarters that we’ll see those costs coming down,” Adair went on to say.
Q3 Financial Performance
For the three months that ended April 30, Copart reported that its revenue, gross margin and net income came in at $309.7 million, $132.3 million and $40.9 million, respectively. Those figures represented increases in revenue of $32.1 million, or 11.6 percent; and in gross margin of $16.7 million, or 14.4 percent; and a decrease in net income of $12.4 million, or 23.2 percent, respectively, from the same quarter last year.
The company’s fully diluted earnings per share for the three months were $0.31 compared to $0.41 last year, a decrease of 24.4 percent.
For the first nine months of its fiscal year, Copart indicated its revenue, gross margin and net income totaled $876.0 million, $351.6 million and $127.6 million, respectively. Those amounts constituted increases in revenue of $93.4 million, or 11.9 percent; and in gross margin of $33.8 million, or 10.6 percent; and a decrease in net income of $11.1 million, or 8.0 percent, respectively, from the same period last year.
Fully diluted earnings per share for the nine-month span were $0.97 compared to $1.07 last year, a decrease of 9.3 percent.
Included in operating results of the most recent quarter was an impairment charge of $29.1 million. Copart officials elaborated about the accounting entry.
“In a prior fiscal year, the company initiated the development of a third-party enterprise operating system to address its international expansion needs and to eventually replace its proprietary operating system, which is currently utilized in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates. During the quarter, the company reassessed this strategy based on the projected cost to complete, deployment risk and certain other factors,” officials said.
“As a result of this assessment, the company decided to cease development of the third-party enterprise operating system and address its international technology needs through an internally-developed proprietary solution. Accordingly, during the quarter, the company recognized an impairment charge resulting primarily from the abandonment of work previously capitalized in connection with the development of the third-party solution,” they went on to say.
Included in the operating results of the third quarter of the prior fiscal year were the incremental revenues and operating expenses associated with incremental unit volume generated by Hurricane Sandy, which were estimated to be $12.7 million and $7.2 million, respectively.
From new employees to a visit with a heavyweight boxing champion, remarketing meets rock 'n' roll this summer at ServNet auctions.
"ServNet's summer promotions have become a fixture in the industry," said Patty Stanley, ServNet president. "In June, July and August, ServNet auctions hold huge events that have a tremendous impact on the market."
The promotions debut in Anchorage, with DAA of Alaska’s Motors and Music Sale on Wednesday, during extended daylight hours. Entertainment will include country band the Kentucky Lineman, and featured consignors include Kendall Auto Alaska, PAR North America and Worthington Ford.
Brasher's Idaho Auto Auction will hold its 15th annual Smoker Sale in Boise, Idaho on June 18-19, featuring two sales, 2,500 cars and trucks, and boxing matches of local dealers, a member of Brasher's mechanic shop staff, and others from the automotive industry.
Celebrity guest is Evander Holyfield, five-time world heavyweight champion. Following the boxing matches, auction owner Doug Brasher will host Last Man Standing, to raise money for local charities.
"Since instituting the Last Man Standing event four years ago, we've raised more than $216,000 for local charities including the Idaho Food Bank Juvenile Diabetes Research, Boise Burnout Fund, American Indian Services and Ronald McDonald House," said Brasher.
Rock band Cheap Trick will take the stage at DAA Northwest's 19th annual Rock & Roll Sale on July 16-17 in Spokane, Wash.
The event begins with a 1,000-unit, fleet/lease and MotorSports auction, followed by the private concert and party featuring Cheap Trick. DAA Northwest's own Greg Mahugh and Pat Simmons will open the show with their own band, local and industry favorites The Cronkites.
Thursday's auction will bring customers back to the lanes for an additional 2,500 units and $30,000 in post-sale prizes.
KCI Kansas City's Guitars and Cars, known as the Midwest's Biggest Auto Auction Event, will feature 2,500 units over a two-day period on August 27-28, offering thousands in post-sale prizes and a live country concert featuring four-time Academy of Country Music nominee Lee Brice.
This is KCI’s fifth Guitars and Cars sale, said Doug Doll, co-owner of KCI Kansas City. The event begins with a fleet/lease sale offering more than 500 cars, trucks and vans. That evening, the auction hosts the private party and concert, followed by the Guitars and Cars Main Event Sale on Thursday, offering more than 2,000 vehicles. Customers participating in the sale will have a chance to win part of $15,000 in post-sale prize giveaways.
More News from ServNet Auctions
Elsewhere, State Line Auto Auction has honored 25-year employee Durward Schwartzhoff, who manages a large part of lot operations at the auction, for his customer service expertise. By tradition at State Line, Schwartzhoff now qualifies to take a full month of vacation.
Next up, the annual Buffalo Sale at Brasher's Portland Auto Auction reported consignment of more than 1,200 vehicles, resulting in a 72-percent sale.
The auction also celebrated its 20th year of selling for Honda and Acura Remarketing.
Meanwhile, in another event, Dealers Auto Auction of the Rockies began the second quarter with a Mystery Trip Giveaway on April 24, following eight weeks of qualifying by customers, who presented their invoices each week to be entered into the drawing.
"After last year's Mystery Trip success, we decided to make this an annual promotion," said Michele Noblitt, executive vice president of DAA Rockies. "Our customers were really excited about the drawing and made sure they signed up every week."
Winners of the trip were Angela and Jake Aragon of I-76 Auto Sales LLC; the destination was Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.
Next at DAA Rockies is the fourth annual Live Charity Auction on June 26, following DAA’ regular sale. The charity auction benefits The Family Tree.
The charity auction will include appearances from Denver Broncos’ mascot Miles, two Denver Broncos' cheerleaders, and Miss Colorado.
There were 8.2 million used cars sold at the National Auto Auction Association’s North American member locations in 2013, according to NAAA’s 17th annual survey, conducted by CliftonLarsonAllen LLP. Sales of these vehicles were worth a grand total of $75.7 billion.
The survey also found there were 15.2 million cars entering these auctions last year, which marked a 4.3-percent increase. There was a 4.2-percent increase in the percentage of cars sold.
“The 2013 results are encouraging,” said NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett. “The survey results show the strength and depth of a mature industry that has demonstrated its resiliency.
“I’m confident we’ll continue to be a vital and growing part of our nation’s economy in the decades to come.”
Among all units sold at NAAA’s North American auctions, dealer consignment cars represented the biggest slice of the pie (58.8 percent). Next up was finance and fleet (lease, fleet and repo) at 34.3 percent.
Manufacturer (factory) cars had a 5.7-percent share, while 1.2 percent of cars sold were from other sources, NAAA indicated.
The study also uncovered some overall attributes of an NAAA auction. The average member has a seven-lane facility on 65 acres. Auctions, on average, have a $3.7 million payroll with 142 employees, and contribute $16,000 to charity each year.
NAAA indicated that there was an 81-percent response rate to the survey, noting that the “reported total vehicles entered and sold and the related gross values are projected to estimate the totals for all 325 NAAA member auctions.”
Around 5 p.m. Central Time on April 28, everyone had left Mid-South Auction with the exception of Bob Sullivan and a nighttime security guard.
Throughout that afternoon, Sullivan — the vice president and general manager of the Pearl, Miss. auction— had been receiving tornado warnings on his phone.
But just before 7 p.m., the tone of those weather messages would change sharply and suddenly — that is, it was no longer a tornado warning. It was now an emergency alert.
“So, I ran and got the guard, and I told him, ‘Hey, look, you need to leave the guard station. Come on inside,’” Sullivan said in a recent interview with Auto Remarketing.
The two of them made it to the e-commerce manager’s office, which is in the middle of the building and has no windows. Less than five minutes later, a dangerous tornado approached from the south.
And as Sullivan put it, it ripped the auction arena and the check-in building “all to hell.”
As it turns out, there were an estimated 66 tornadoes on that Monday alone in the South, according to this story from May 7 on The Weather Channel's website. As for Mid-South, fortunately, both Sullivan and the security guard were unharmed, as the main office was damaged only minimally compared to what happened elsewhere at the auction, where a nightmarish mess awaited.
With fire lines busted, water sprayed all over the auction arena, whose roof was clipped off. And all that was inside was destroyed, Sullivan said.
“It looks like we’re going to have to rebuild … the adjuster is still working on it,” he said. “They’ve had their forensic engineer come up to check the red metal. That’s your steel beams. They said all that is OK, but probably, most of the other stuff is all going to have to be tore down and rebuilt.
“Basically, we just started rebuilding. Obviously, with that being Monday night (that the Tornado came through) and us being a Tuesday sale, Tuesday’s sale was cancelled because there was nothing working. We didn’t even have power or anything,” Sullivan said. “We had a gas leak. The power was off.”
Not to mention, there was vehicle damage as well.
Given the pressure changes that come with a tornado, he said, most cars had one or more windows blown out, some with all windows destroyed.
Additionally, the tornado wrought physical damage upon some of the cars.
“We have 250 acres of woods that border the south side of the auto auction. And that’s where the tornado came from,” Sullivan said. “It was just snapping off the top of trees and throwing the top half of pine trees like javelins all over the parking lot.”
In fact, a 15- to 16-inch piece of wood that slivered away from a tree went through the brake drum of a vehicle. An air conditioning unit was tore off the roof of the men’s restroom, tossed across the parking lot, landing on and smashing the roof of a car, before bouncing off and landing between two other vehicles.
All told, an estimated 300 to 350 vehicles belonging to dealers or national accounts were damaged.
(The auction notified all the customers whose vehicles had been damaged and offered to do the repairs, be it glass or body work, at Mid-South’s pricing. Some accepted to varying degrees, others were still waiting for insurance companies to come out.)
Strong Comeback
However, Sullivan and his team were determined to bounce back. They began the cleanup the week of the tornado and managed to have a sale that following Tuesday, May 6, at the regularly scheduled time. The auction ran two lanes outdoors, implementing its mobile auction set-up (or private-label, as Mid-South calls them) on site.
The auction has a trailer that is fully stocked with all the technology one would find at a traditional auction arena. It sister facility, Charleston Auto Auction, has another trailer that it brought down to Mississippi for the May 6 event.
“We positioned them facing each other, ran two lanes with about 360 or 370 vehicles,” Sullivan said of the sale, which ended up having a sale rate of a little more than 50 percent.
Continuity Plan Pays Off
Coincidentally, Mid-South was hit by a hail storm almost exactly a year earlier.
But two or so years ago, Sullivan was asked by corporate headquarters at American Auto Auction Group (of which Mid-South is a member) to put together a business continuity plan and share it with the other members of AAAG.
And this ended up being a life saver for the auction.
“As soon as that sale was over with the mobile trailers, the following Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we erected what they call a mega structure with Mahaffey (Fabric) Structures out of Memphis. The contractor had four auction blocks built. We moved all the electric, all of the data lines into the tent and we run four auction lanes just like any other auction,” he said. “As a matter of fact, it’s kind of neat, especially in the summertime. We set it up like a carnival atmosphere. We’ve got snow cones and popcorn; we cook out hotdogs and hamburgers during the sale, and we operate out of the tent.
“The dealers locally have been extremely supportive of it. I think everyone was probably surprised at how fast we reacted and we really didn’t lose a step on sales,” Sullivan added.
Later, Sullivan said this of the plan: “I think the business continuity plan helps when you know who to go to. How do you get all of these people pulled in and ready to go? Well, No. 1, I already knew who to call. As a matter of fact, this thing actually help me update it. But I specifically addressed tornadoes and hurricanes in the business continuity plan, so everybody knew, pretty much, what to do and what the contact information was.
“That night, you figure, myself and the security guard were the only ones here. We had a gas leak, we had water blowing and going everywhere. I already knew who we had to call,” Sullivan said.
He simply took the binder containing the plan, called the gas company for the leak and informed the utilities that they were a commercial business that took a hit from the tornado, and enacted the plan as outlined.
Sullivan also called another contact, Michael De la Mora at Stellar Restoration, who had 22 roofing employees come to Mid-South to assist in emergency clean-up tasks like repairing gas leaks, picking up debris and cutting/removing dumpsters filled with torn metal.
Sullivan recommends other auctions take a similar route and develop a plan of their own.
“I think the reason we recovered so fast, No. 1, we went through the hail storm so I already had a recent list of people and contacts,” he added. The employee call list, he said, was similar to call lists from his experience in the military, where it is broken down by sections and everyone has a primary and alternate contact number.
Sullivan stressed the need for such a continuity plan, “especially in an area that you know you’re going to have some severe weather, whether it’s a hurricane or tornado or whatever.”
He added: “Everybody says, ‘I won’t ever need it’ … (but) yeah, actually, it makes the process a lot easier. So, rather being nervous and worried about what am I going to do, you go to your three-ring binder, take it out and just start going through” the plan.
Support from Consignors, Dealers
When the tornado came through, it wasn’t their own cars that dealers and consignors were asking about. No, they were more concerned with the well-being of the auction employees and asking if they could help.
“The first thing out of both the national accounts and the dealer body, they all asked, ‘Is everybody OK? Was anybody hurt?’” Sullivan said, noting that “everybody was more concerned about the folks at the auto auction … I thought it was very nice.
“I’m like, ‘Geez, they’re worrying about the people more so than their property,’” he added. “And the dealers, like I said, they have been very supportive of the auction as have the national accounts that we have.
“Everybody understands, hey, it was an act of God, but no one got hurt and everybody was happy about that.”
