Expect some local dealership to fold or be sold. Dealers in Chicago decreased 30% in just the last 5 years. Here are some of the highlights of fall of Chicago auto dealers. Much of the problem revolves around the curtailment of floor plan financing.
by the end of 2008, average industry margins had shrunk to just 1 percent of sales, the lowest level in two decades. But even that's deceiving. Auto dealers haven't made money selling new cars for three years, Taylor said. Any profits are coming from the service department and selling used cars.
Survivors should benefit from reduced competition if they can hold on until the market recovers.
who's going to live and who's going to die and how's it going to happen."
many dealers carry debt on their properties that they've guaranteed personally, walking away is difficult. Many are simply operating at a loss until the money runs out.
NADA's Taylor also said that used-car prices have risen 18 percent in recent months as strapped consumers eschew new cars.
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