New Auction Rolls Into Town

USED CARS A COMMODITY FOR DEALERS

GOING, GOING, GONE -Jeff Baker of Tahlequah, Okla., auctioneer at 71B Auto Auction, coaxes bids Tuesday. There was more than $840,000 in sales.
GOING, GOING, GONE -Jeff Baker of Tahlequah, Okla., auctioneer at 71B Auto Auction, coaxes bids Tuesday. There was more than $840,000 in sales.

— SPRINGDALE - An auto auction is a vivid example of wheeling and dealing.

A nonstop buzz filled 71B Auto Auction Tuesday morning as auctioneers, perched with a bird’s-eye view into three bays, called out bids for the nonstop flow of vehicles.

Spotters rapidly pointed to nodding potential buyers, working to raise the price of the passing car.

Car dealers dashed from bay to bay with cell phones glued to their ears seeking the best car at the best price for their lot.

Bryan Hunt opened the business two weeks ago, adding a second used car auction along a short stretch of U.S. 71B. National company ADESA has a Little Rock offce that also runs a sale Tuesday mornings in Bethel Heights. Both auctions begin at 9 a.m. and are open to registered new and used car dealers.

Robert Parker, owner of Parker Motor Company in Fayetteville, was at Tuesday’s sale at 71B Auto Auction and said he is happy to see a new auction owned by a local man invested in the community.

“He’s been in the business so he knows how to run an auction,” Parker said.

Hunt is using his on-the-job knowledge from 17 years in the new and used car industry to keep things running smoothly.

So far, so good, he said.

“I figured we needed 150 cars to kick this thing oft,” Hunt said. “At our first sale we had 468 cars.”

Almost half the cars sold, and Hunt said there was more than $840,000 in sales.

Wayne Blunt, used car general manager at Lewis Automotive in Fayetteville, was at Tuesday’s 71B auction as a seller.

“We’ll sell cars that run through our shop that might not meet our standards, but be fine vehicles,” he said. “We want to turn our inventory in less than 60 days.”

He compared the sale of used cars to other commodities such as coftee, gold and silver.

“They keep the dollar turning,” he said.

Roman Rorak, owner of Northwest Auto Sales in Springdale, was also at the auction, but as a buyer. He said he looks specifi cally for trucks and SUVs and cars with new body styles. He buys four or five vehicles at each auction.

Rorak said the addition of a second major auction is good for buyers and sellers.

“I think it helps out. It creates competition,” he said.

Rorak said he will continue buying at both sales, but also goes to Tulsa, Okla., Springfi eld, Mo., and Phoenix.

71B Auto Auction takes a dift erent approach than other auctions when it comes to making money.The business charges only a buyer’s fee, while other auctions charge both buyer’s and seller’s fees.

“We think we can keep that going,” Hunt said.

Hunt hopes to eventually hold a public auto auction, tentatively set for January 2011.

Public auctions oft er challenges not poised at dealer auctions.

“At a dealer auction, everybody knows everybody. At a public auction, there isn’t the same level of education and I don’t want (attendees) to have a bad experience,” Hunt said.

The auction sits on 14 acres at the northeast corner of the Arkansas 264 and U.S. 71B intersection. The site is the former home of Montana Tractor and the land is owned by Hunt’s mother, Johnelle Hunt.

ADESA is just a ways north at 5725 N. Thompson St. in Bethel Heights.

ADESA’s local off ce referred calls to the Little Rock off ce. Messages left Wednesday and Thursday were not returned.

Michelle Dalton, 71B Auto Auction off ce manager, said dealers must register at the offce and be used or new car dealers registered with the state. About 200 dealers registered during the first two weeks.

She said the company has a handful of full-time employees, but expands to more than 50 on auction day.

Dalton has been in the autoauction business for 20 years, and said people are buying more used cars.

Jonathan Banks, senior director editorial and data services for National Automobile Dealers Association Used Car Guide, said dealerships are selling more used vehicles because of the economy.

Auto prices are going up because of a shrinking used vehicle inventory. Banks said people are not buying as manynew cars and are holding on to their vehicles longer.

Parker agrees.

“I’m paying more for the same car today than I was three years ago,” the Parker Motor Company owner said.

He believes people are waiting to see what happens in the upcoming election, but thinks the market has softened a bit.

“I think things will bust loose and people will do more spending,” Parker said.

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BY THE NUMBERS

VEHICLE SALES

Consumers purchased the most used vehicles in 2005 and the fewest in 2009.

Year Total vehicles Percent of used sold and leased vehicle sales 1990 51,667 73 1995 56,864 73 2000 59,426 70 2005 61,583 72 2009 46,093 77 SOURCE: U.S.

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Business, Pages 19 on 10/24/2010

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