Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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he hired a contractor. As for the service equipment, he's still using much of it from the old shop but had to purchase a couple more lifts, brake lathes and compressors for the new facility. For those, he relied on the same vendors that equipped his old department. In total, the new service department cost $145,000.
Generally speaking, the new location at te independent store is seeing more service business; however, the type of business has shifted. Now, the independent dealership primarily services vehicles of past customers and new sales customers, while walk-up traffic has decreased. Sedano speculated that more walk-in traffic visited the old service department because it looked more like an independent service shop not affiliated with a dealership.
Ultimately, he's happy with both sales and service in the same location, saying it simplifies things. "[It] helps people to be more aware of what's going on in the shop … Now everybody's housed in the same facility, so it's a lot easier to check on and hand the sales customer over to service department," he said, adding that when the two departments were separate, it was "almost like running two businesses" even though it was technically one.
Another dealership with new digs is Basney Honda in Mishawaka, Ind. Originally built in the 1980s, the time had come to revamp both the sales and service depart- ments. Parts and Service Director Fred Barclay said, "The service department defi- nitely needed to be improved." The dealership had outgrown the old shop and was due for some upgrading.
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Argelith Ceramic Tiles, Inc.
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Marathon Doors – An ASI Company 800.558.7068 • MarathonDoors.com Marathon High-Speed, High-Performance Door Systems Advancing door technology since 1965.
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Quick Service Solutions Change the Oil, Rotate the Tires, and Check the Alignment ALL in Ten Minutes!
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Orion Energy Systems Don't be Mis-LED!™
800.660.9340 • oesx.com
Don't be fooled by the hype surrounding LED. We've saved our customers more than $1 billion in energy costs and we know lighting - including LED.
Call Orion at 800-660-9340 today and learn what the smartest dealers are doing right now to dramat- ically improve both their lighting and bottom line. Rousseau Métal Inc
866.463.4270 • Rousseau-Automotive.com
For Automotive Professionals, Rousseau optimizes floor space, efficiently organizes parts and tools and offers a Modern and Attractive Look.
Rousseau meets all your requirements with a wide range of Products that are flexible, modular and easily configured. Whether you are looking for Tool Boxes, a Complete Technician Work Center or a Complete and Integrated Storage Solution, we have what you need.
