ADESA has promoted two within its dealer services team.
C.J. Lopez, previously major dealer accounts manager, has been promoted to director of major dealer accounts. Kjersta Loyd, formerly general sales manager of ADESA Golden Gate, has been promoted to regional dealer sales manager for the Mideast/Midwest regions.
Both positions will report to Steve Dudash, vice president of dealer services.
Lopez will act as a strategic partner and oversee relationships with major dealer groups. He will be responsible for sharing the latest technologies, products and services to support customers’ evolving business needs and enhance their overall auction experience.
Lopez started his career with ADESA in 2006 as the dealer sales and services manager of ADESA San Diego. He won numerous awards, including 2009 first Place Dealer Consignment (Division 2), 2010 Western Region Dealer e-Business Champion and 2011 Dealer Sales MVP Western Division. In 2012 he was promoted to general sales manager, and in 2014 he was promoted to major dealer accounts manager. Lopez recently won 2015 Major Dealer Accounts MVP honors. He received a bachelor’s degree from Montclair State University.
“C.J. has consistently produced impressive results during his 10 years with ADESA,” said Dudash. “As major dealer accounts manager, he has successfully developed and implemented national partnerships while still working closely with his team and with customers. I look forward to working with him on strategies and tactics to enhance our product and service offerings to dealers on a national level.”
Loyd will collaborate with local auction sales managers and provide guidance on managing dealer sales activities. She will develop plans and sales strategies to ensure consistency across auction location and prioritize common goals, such as providing quality service to customers.
Loyd brings nearly 20 years of automotive industry experience to her new position. She began her career with ADESA Seattle in 1998 and served in roles of increasing responsibility for more than a decade.
She worked at Washington Liftruck for two years and then returned to ADESA Seattle in 2010 in outside sales for the dealer consignment team. She was promoted to dealer sales and services manager at ADESA Houston in 2011, where she won 2012 Central Region Dealer Sales MVP and 2013 West Region Online Champion honors. In 2014, she was named general sales manager of ADESA Golden Gate.
“Kjersta has been an outstanding performer throughout her two decades in the industry, and I welcome her to the national dealer services team,” said Dudash. “She will be instrumental in ensuring we implement best practices and standardization to provide more dedicated service and support to customers across the Midwest and Mideast regions.”
Aid to Canadian wildfire victims
Customers at ADESA’s Canadian auction locations recently donated $129,652 to support the Canadian Red Cross Alberta Fires fund.
The northern Alberta community of Fort McMurray was evacuated May 3 as the largest wildfire in Alberta’s history swept through the area. It destroyed roughly 2,400 homes and buildings and called for the evacuation of more than 88,000 residents. The wildfires burned for more than a month, consuming more than 1.4 million acres.
“This wildfire will have a tremendous impact on the Canadian economy,” said Gregg Maidment, senior vice president of Canadian operations. “We really wanted to find a way to make a difference in partnership with our colleagues in the industry.”
The fundraising drive at all ADESA Canada auctions allowed buying and selling customers to donate in denominations up to $2,500. Offering a range of donation levels allowed more members of the used-car auction industry to participate, said Maidment. “ADESA was just the facilitator. The credit really goes to our customers who gave generously to this relief event.
“Although our auctions are involved in a number of charity events every year, this is the first time we’ve done something like this,” Maidment continued. “This was a way for us to join forces with our clients to raise money to help out. Our hearts go out to the families affected, and we thank our industry partners for their generosity in raising these funds.”
Global online vehicle auction company Copart has announced the expansion of its Houston location.
“For Copart, the saying of ‘everything is bigger in Texas’ rings true for us, especially this year. Expanding our Houston location is just one of many indications of our growth in this great state,” chief executive officer Jay Adair said in a news release.
“We have been headquartered in Dallas since 2012, and just this year, we have acquired two new locations in Texas, expanded our Fort Worth location, and we launched the first-ever retail-auction-entertainment venue featuring hundreds of powersports with CrashedToys of Dallas,” he continued.
Copart recently acquired locations in Temple and Wilmer, expanding the total number of Texas sites to 14. Among Copart’s Texas locations is CrashedToys of Dallas, which opened in April and specializes in used and repairable powersport vehicles.
Copart's Houston location at 1655 Rankin Road hosts online auctions every Tuesday and Friday at noon. The Houston location encourages people to stop by, meet the team and preview the vehicles in person. Copart’s online auctions are not limited to auto sales; inventory includes a wide selection of boats, RVs, ATVs, tractor trailers and motorcycles.
“We have been in the Houston community since 1993, and I recently spent some time in Houston when our Catastrophe Response Team worked to help the community recover from the floods,” said Sean Eldridge, Copart’s chief operating officer. “It is a strong community, and we enjoy being a part of it. We look forward to our continued involvement.”
KAR Auction Services business unit Insurance Auto Auctions rolled out its newest offering on Tuesday, something the salvage auction company is calling IAA Express Notary.
Officials highlighted this service allows for the electronic assignment of title documents in an attempt to shorten the cycle time significantly for total loss settlements. This tool is the newest development in the IAA Total Loss Solutions suite of products that can directly allow for more management of costs, while simultaneously boosting customer satisfaction and retention.
Carriers that choose Express Notary as their document delivery service can tap into a national network of mobile notaries who will travel directly to the vehicle owner and execute documents on the spot. The electronic assignment ability can allow the notary requirement to be satisfied at a faster rate, leading to an overall enhancement of the customer experience.
“The mobile aspect of Express Notary markedly reduces the time typically required for a total loss settlement to be processed,” said Pat Walsh, senior vice president of business development at IAA. “Because the notary can meet the vehicle owner at a place and time of their choosing, rather than requiring the vehicle owner to execute the entire process on their own, the results are distinctively more efficient and more accurate, giving customers a greater sense of relief.”
In addition, improved cycle time can lead to a reduction in costs, as insurance carriers are able to save on vehicle rental fees and to better allocate employee bandwidth.
“By deploying mobile notaries, insurance carriers remove the step in the claims process that customers find most inconvenient, which in turn leads to increased policyholder satisfaction and retention,” IAA chief executive officer and president John Kett said.
“Every feature added to IAA Total Loss Solutions further demonstrates IAA’s dedication to consistently innovating as an industry leader to provide a seamless suite of technologies that streamline the total loss claims process for our customers and theirs,” Kett went on to say.
ADESA Boston raises more than $55,000 for JDRF
In other KAR news, fellow business unit ADESA announced that its ADESA Boston location has raised more than $55,000 for JDRF so far during the auction’s annual charity drive.
The main event of the charity drive was the auction’s 16th annual Classic Car and Motorcycle Show in May. This event raised more than $38,000 through a live auction, show entry fees and sponsorships.
“The success of this annual event is astounding,” ADESA Boston general manager Jack Neshe said. “Thanks to tremendous generosity from our employees, our customers, local businesses and law enforcement agencies, as well as the community, we’ve been able to support the important research that JDRF funds to cure, treat and prevent Type 1 diabetes.”
More than 50 motorcycles and 180 cars were on display. First-, second- and third-place trophies were awarded by a panel of judges in both the car and the motorcycle categories. Everyone was eligible to vote for the People’s Choice trophy, which went to auctioneer Mike Chambers’ 1975 Volkswagen camper van.
During the past 16 years, the auction’s annual charity drive has raised more than $600,000 for children’s charities including JDRF, a leading advocacy group for people with Type 1 diabetes. The drive runs through June 30.
“This event has become a favorite in the community, and we look forward to hosting it every year,” Neshe said. “The classic cars and motorcycles draw fans back year after year.”
KAR family generates $27,500 for NIADA Foundation
When the bidding ended in the NIADA Convention’s Expo Hall, Andrew Gurowitz was the last man standing.
The owner of Fairfax Motors in Fairfax, Va. — and Virginia's reigning State Quality Dealer — placed the winning bid of $27,500 on a 2015 Chrysler 300 Limited donated by ADESA, AFC, IAA and TradeRev, members of the KAR Auction Services group of companies.
All proceeds from the auction, which was held last week during the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Convention and Expo at The Mirage in Las Vegas, benefit the NIADA Foundation, which spearheads the association's commitment to charitable giving in addition to awarding scholarships to deserving college-bound students across the United States and providing training and educational opportunities to automobile dealers and the general public.
The vehicle, an ivory white 2015 Chrysler 300 Limited with a black leather interior, a sky-slider roof, a wood-grain dash and 9,320 miles on the odometer, will be delivered to Gurowitz free by ADESA/AFC/IAA/TradeRev.
Gurowitz prevailed in a spirited bidding battle with California's State Quality Dealer, Mehdi Chitgari of Classic Chariots in Vista, Calif.
Over the past four years, KAR company-sponsored auctions at the NIADA Convention and Expo have raised a total of $97,200 for the NIADA Foundation. During last year's event, Pennsylvania dealer Andy Gabler bid $27,500 for a 2013 Mercedes C250W.
Steve Burrows has joined the management team of North Bay Auto Auction as fleet-lease director of remarketing. He will take the lead in representing North Bay Auto Auction to regional and national commercial accounts.
"We are very happy to welcome Steve Burrows to North Bay Auto Auction," Don Morrow, president and chief executive officer of North Bay Auto Auction, said in a news release. "With his expertise in the vehicle remarketing process, a well-earned reputation for customer service, and a wide-ranging network of customer relationships that have been forged over many years in the auction industry, Steve is uniquely suited to help us build and strengthen the commercial segment of our business at North Bay Auto Auction."
Burrows has worked in the auction industry since 1990, handling national account sales as a representative for the Brasher family auctions, calling on fleet, lease, financial and other institutional customers in the western region and across the country.
"I cut my teeth in this industry working for a family-owned independent auction company," Burrows said. "It's what I know, and what I believe in. I am firmly convinced that a customer will receive the best levels of service from an independently-owned auction, where the owner is on site, directly overseeing the many steps of the auction process and making the decisions that directly impact the customer's success.
"I am delighted to join a great team at North Bay Auto Auction," he continued. "With an impressive full-service facility, a superior location that draws dealers from both the Bay Area and the inland valley, and an amazing group of skilled, dedicated and long-tenured employees, North Bay Auto Auction has distinguished itself in the marketplace and represents the best that any auction has to offer in Northern California."
North Bay Auto Auction is a member of the ServNet Auction Group.
Guitars and Cars
In other news from ServNet, KCI Kansas City will host its annual Guitars and Cars sale on Aug. 17 featuring headliner Frankie Ballard. The up-and-coming country star will croon hits such as Helluva Life, Sunshine and Whiskey and It All Started with a Beer.
"Our customers, employees and vendors have been anticipating this announcement since the beginning of the year," said Doug Doll, KCI Kansas City co-owner.
"People were excited when we announced Frankie Ballard as this year's headliner," he said. "The enthusiasm in the lanes was overwhelming, and I anticipate a record breaking sale and concert attendance with this one!"
KCI will host the Midwest's biggest auto auction event Aug.17-18. Wednesday will feature a 1,000-unit fleet/lease sale, with the concert that evening. Thursday will feature a 2,000-unit sale, in-lane promotions, and thousands in post-sale drawings.
Together with DAA Northwest, DAA Seattle and EPI El Paso, KCI Kansas City is a member of the McConkey Auction Group and ServNet; it is powered by Auction Edge.
First-ever scholarships
ServNet has announced the first recipients of the group's scholarship program, which was established this year to help ServNet auction employees and their families pursue the dream of higher education.
"We were excited to report earlier this year that ServNet had established a scholarship program, and are very pleased to announce the names of the very first scholarship recipients," said Kevin Brown, ServNet's president.
In the inaugural year of the scholarship program, ServNet made a total of six awards: three awards of $1,500 each were made to students attending a two-year college, and three awards of $2,500 each were made to students attending a four-year college or university.
"We congratulate all six of these students, and wish them the very best in their academic pursuits," said Brown. "As owners of independent, family-owned businesses, we know how important it is to encourage those who will follow in our footsteps, and we are committed to extending that support to the next generation in our auction families," Brown said.
For dealerships in both the U.S. and Canada looking for certified pre-owned inventory, General Motors Financial is hosting a series of wholesale events where used-car managers might be able to find exactly what they seek.
GM Financial recently kicked off its annual elite sales series, which can give dealers exclusive access to hundreds of the best pre-owned GM vehicles at a series of one-day sales across the U.S. and — for the first year ever — in Canada, too.
Known for its creative marketing campaign each year, the finance company highlighted that this year’s series theme — 2016 Summer Lanes — is a nod to the upcoming summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and incorporates unique promotional features, including a 60-second video advertisement, social media campaign, exciting prize packages and a Buick Enclave giveaway.
“GM Financial’s elite sale events have earned a reputation among auto dealers as excellent opportunities to select from superior pre-owned GM inventory,” said Dan Heinrich, senior vice president of remarketing solutions at GM Financial.
“With two U.S. sales and our first-ever Canadian sale successfully completed, we look forward to carrying the marketing buzz and positive sales momentum we’ve created through the remainder of the sales,” Heinrich continued.
GM Financial kicked off 2016 Summer Lanes in the U.S. at ADESA Dallas on April 28, selling more than 200 units. Finance company officials noted many dealers reported visiting ADESA Dallas on April 28 exclusively to attend the company’s first elite sale of the year.
GM Financial also held its inaugural Canadian elite sale at Manheim Montreal on May 10. The company reported that nearly all of the 250 vehicles offered were purchased, and dealer attendance was at an all-time high for the location.
“Canadian buyers have never seen anything like an elite sale before, so we expected the response to be huge,” said John Paonessa, vice president of Canadian remarketing. “Elite sales offer us a unique way to showcase a large volume of GM product at one location. Dealers recognize that there’s something special about these sales, and we anticipate they will continue to respond favorably.”
The remaining 2016 Summer Lanes sales in the U.S. and Canada include:
—ADESA Halifax on July 12
—Columbus Fair Auto Auction on July 20
—ADESA Minneapolis on Aug. 23
—Manheim Statesville on Sept. 20
Cox Enterprises on Monday announced the completion of solar projects at its Manheim Nevada auction facility in North Law Vegas as well as its Cox Communications facility in Las Vegas.
Together, the solar installations produce 1,523 kW of clean energy — enough to power 238 homes — and are expected to prevent more than 1,700 tons of carbon from entering the environment.
Manheim Nevada's ground mount array is 1096kW, produces 62 percent of the facility’s energy and prevents 1,270 tons of carbon from entering the environment.
“At Manheim, we know that efficiency is key to success in business,” Manheim Nevada general manager Eddie Lafferty said. “In this case, we’re excited that the efficiency is also good for the environment. We are committed to conservation, and we encourage our employees and customers to embrace eco-friendly behavior. We strive to leave a legacy of environmental responsibility so our community and its children can continue to thrive in the Las Vegas valley.”
Manheim Nevada also completed a variable speed drive air compressor project that prevents nearly 19 tons of carbon from entering the environment.
Located at the company’s Las Vegas data center, the Cox Communications project is a 427kW ground mount installation that powers 65 percent of the building. The installation produces the amount of energy needed to power 65 homes and prevents 486 tons of carbon from entering the environment.
“I'm proud that we are harnessing the sun’s power to create clean energy in Nevada," said Michael Bolognini, vice president and market leader, Cox Communications of Las Vegas. “We understand the importance of thinking globally and acting locally. This is a great example of how a local project can have an impact on the environment, something we all share."
In addition to the solar project, Cox Communications has a robust waste management program at its Las Vegas facilities. In 2015 alone, the program diverted nearly 105 tons of waste from local landfills.
According to Green Fleet magazine, Cox Enterprises has one of the nation's largest and greenest fleets. Many of the vehicles are utilized by Cox Communications’ field service technicians.
Cox Enterprises launched its national Cox Conserves program in 2007 and has invested more than $100 million in sustainability and conservation initiatives. Through these investments, the company has prevented 65,000 tons of carbon from entering the environment, diverted 6,000 tons of waste from landfill and conserved 55 million gallons of water. The company recently said it would invest $25 million in sustainable companies and technologies by 2020.
Copart, is expanding one of its locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The company announced Thursday that it would be expanding its location in North Fort Worth, to better facilitate the location’s weekly online auctions. This location is one of four in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
"We are very proud our team's continuous hard work that accommodates our growth," Jay Adair, chief executive officer of Copart, said in a news release. "The Copart family is excited about the Fort Worth expansion. It is a great location, and the additional space will allow us to take in even more inventory."
The location under expansion, located in Haslet, Texas, houses many of the vehicles that are part of Copart’s online auctions.
Officials highlighted IsItFrame — the service offered by the National Auto Auction Association through AutoIMS — is now available as an on-demand, system-integrated Web service.
With time savings in mind, AutoIMS created this new Web service offering to allow auction management systems and Internet-connected CR-writing applications to automatically retrieve an answer from the IsItFrame database.
Commenting on the enhancement to the service — which continues to be offered for free to NAAA member auctions — AutoIMS chief information officer Venkat Krishnamoorthy said, “This new Web service will not only offer process automation to make inspectors’ lives easier, but also further one of our missions: to empower the remarketing industry with better data.”
These enhancements to the service now make it possible for auctions to automatically retrieve frame-type and quarter panel information for large batches of vehicles all at once, rather than the existing, manual, one-off process.
NAAA chief executive officer Frank Hackett added, “The association continues its commitment to adding value to the industry through technology and data-driven tools designed to increase transparency and ultimately protect buyers, sellers and auctions through all phases of the vehicle lifecycle.”
AutoIMS member auctions can contact customer service to obtain information on connecting to the new Web service. Other interested parties may contact NAAA to learn more.
In addition to announcing that dealers can now register for its sales online, CarMax Auctions recently shared plans to add five locations in fiscal-year 2017, including one this summer that will be its first in the San Francisco Bay area.
The five new locations include:
- Pleasanton, Calif. (Set to begin this summer)
- El Paso, Texas (Also beginning this summer, following Pleasanton)
- Boise, Idaho (fall)
- Grand Rapids, Mich. (winter 2017)
- Murrieta, Calif. (end of fiscal 2017)
To get a sense of how a CarMax Auction works, Auto Remarketing talked to Fred Stark, CarMax’s assistant vice president of auction services, earlier this month.
As of Feb. 29 (the end of its 2016 fiscal year), CarMax sold wholesale vehicles in 67 of its 158 stores. Each CarMax Auctions sale is in a live, open-bidding format and held at a brick-and-mortar CarMax store, Stark said.
These 67 CarMax Auctions locations sold a grand total of 394,437 wholesale units in fiscal 2016.
The individual sales run on a weekly or biweekly basis, depending on the locations. There are CarMax Auction sales going on each weekday.
Auctions are dealer-only and buyers must be signed up as a registered representative of a licensed dealership, Stark said. Typically, most dealers at the sales are independents, though from time to time there are franchised stores buying cars for their used-car business, he said.
Usually, the auctions are operated at its larger “production” stores, where there is more room than the satellite locations.
CarMax owns all of the vehicles being sold at its auctions.
These units typically are vehicles that don’t meet the company’s retail standards, so CarMax Auctions sells them wholesale.
The fact that CarMax owns all the vehicles being sold at its auctions helps generate a high sales rate, Stark said. In fact, CarMax Auctions hit a 97 percent average auction sales rate in fiscal-year 2016.
“We also make conditional announcement on these vehicles. Since we own every vehicle and we’ve appraised them, we’ve driven them down the road, we’re able to identify major mechanical concerns, frame damage, flood damage,” Stark said. “We also make any conditional announcements on branded and salvage titles.”
CarMax Auctions provides free AutoCheck reports through its website, which Stark said allows customers to “do their homework before they come to the auction.”
There is also an arbitration process
“The thing that’s really different with us is, if we sell a vehicle in our auction that is 25 years old, and we don’t disclose a major mechanical issue and a customer pays $500 for it, if we miss that, they can still arbitrate that under our guidelines, which is quite unique in the industry,” Stark said.
Again, since CarMax owns all the cars being sold at the auction, there are no consignors. All of the vehicles are via retail customer trade-ins. Dealers cannot sell cars at CarMax Auctions.
The typical car being sold is roughly 10 years old and has more than 100,000 miles on the odometer. However, Stark said, the auctions sometimes feature high-end luxury sports cars that CarMax chooses not to retail.
“This isn’t just a sale that has a whole bunch of CarMax reject cars that we just don’t want, that are bad cars; there’s also some very unique vehicles out there that high-end luxury dealerships are also sourcing at our auctions,” he said.
More details regarding online registration
CarMax Auctions based the online registration option on feedback from customers, who asked the company for a “simple and seamless experience that included a hassle-free registration process,” Stark said.
“That was really the missing link that we had. We’ve had our website out there for years, with pictures and the free AutoCheck and conditional announcements; but the online application at CarMaxAuctions.com is super user-friendly and it eliminates the need for paperwork and fax machines,” he said.
“Essentially, our customers can just point and click at their desktop in their office or they can even use their smartphone these days to register and add buyers to their dealership when they come and buy from us.”
Another key benefit: when members of Stark’s team are in the field visiting customers, they no longer have to talk paperwork.
“We can really connect with the customers and build the partnership more efficiently and not talk about a whole bunch of missing paperwork,” he said.
As wholesale prices for compact vehicles continued to soften, Black Book representatives in the lanes last week noticed a significant amount of dealers sat on their floor-plan wallets stemming from the frequency of units that rolled over the block without the hammer finalizing a sale.
According to the latest Black Book Market Insights report, the place where auction observers spotted no-sales happening more often a week ago occurred in Florida as one representative said, “There were quite a few no-sales today with an overall soft market.”
Another member of the Black Book team stationed in the Sunshine State mentioned, “Sellers didn’t get what they wanted for trucks today. There were many no-sales but some dropped their floor to make the sale.”
Meanwhile down in Texas, the lane watchers indicated, “Attendance and consignment were both low today but what sold brought really good money.”
And in Illinois, Black Book reported, “Buyers felt as though prices were higher somewhat this week compared to last.”
Soft conditions were noticed in Tennessee, too: “The market trend in this location was a bit slow today but clean full-size trucks are still in strong demand.”
Trucks also were keeping ringmen busy in Washington as a Black Book representative said, “Strong market at this location with 4WD trucks in demand.”
With demand for trucks still in place, Black Book editors noticed after reviewing their volume-weighted data that overall truck values decreased by 0.30 percent last week. The average depreciation rate in truck segments was 0.15 percent during the previous eight weeks.
As far as cars, overall volume-weighted car values decreased by 0.47 percent last week. Black Book pointed out this movement is worse than the average depreciation rate of 0.27 percent seen in the previous four weeks.
What triggered that overall decline a week ago were prices for subcompact cars and midsize cars experiencing a significantly higher drop in value of 0.87 percent and 0.79 percent, respectively.
Last week’s data also indicated compact van, subcompact crossover and minivan segments sustained the largest decreases at 1.59 percent, 0.79 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.
Furthermore, three of those segments showed the greatest single-month valuation drop: subcompact cars (down 2.4 percent), compact vans (down 2.2 percent) and compact cars (down 1.6 percent).
“Subcompact cars saw the largest drop in values last month and they continue to experience downward pressure as demand is weak and supplies remain abundant,” said Anil Goyal, Black Book’s senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics.
