Evening star., 1923-07-22

The used car problem is attracting
a great deal of attention these days.
In fact, it may even be said that it
is the subject of first interest to the
dealers. says G. NJ. Franklin of the
G. NJ. c. advisory staff.
There are many conflicting views
extant, but the matter is very simple
when examined logically. The fol-
lowing analysis attempts TO do this.
In general. the dealers contend
that the manufacturers should con-
Germ themselves with the used car
problem, while the manufacturers
quite as generally hold that it is a
purely dealer affair and that the
latter must solve il. IS.
When any person buys a ear it
represents a relatively large invest
ment to him. Whether he spends
5000 or $1,000 it is. to him, large
outlay. Now if this man is to be
taught that at the end of one, two
or, at most, three years his invest
ment will be totally swallowed up,
obliterated. the motor car industry
will soon come to grief. 1t is bad
enough to have the property become
worthless in six and a fraction years,
but if the public are to be shown
that they must make entirely new
outlays for cars every two or three
Years. the car sales prospects VIII
become vanishing quantity.
Almost everybody has a car. Tho
saturation thing, of which we hear so
much. is not coming. for the very
good reason that il is here. Tho
percentage of replacement ears to-
day is pretty high and indicates that
almost the whole quota of available
car owners among the population al
ready are supplied. New frst-time
owners are developing slowly but
normally. They represent about 10
per cent of all purchasers
Now. when a car owner wants a
new car he naturally and quite prop
'rly. wishes to realize as much as he
questionable credit risk if he did not.
lie asks the dealer to dispose of his
ear for him. and this. too, is natural
and eminently proper.
The average car owner has neither
time nor suitable facilities for mar
keting used cars, but the dealer has
both of these. He has space in which
to display ears to advantage and also
he has facilities for putting the car
into good condition and for adver-
tiSing effectualIy that the car is for
sale.
Dealer for tho job.
Even if the car owner We're will
Ing to advertise and to display the
car, his handicaps would render him
relatively helpless, as compared with
the dealer His advertising would
reach relatively few prospects and
his total time and opportunities in
which 10 display the car would be
short and inconveuient. ou the other
hand. the dealer has hundreds OF peo-
pie coming into his place continually
looking for cars to buy.
In substance nobody IS better sit
uated than is the car dealer to obtain
the quickest and best return for the
used ear. and. therefore. the dea Ter
customer. Anybody wanting special
lied work of any Kind goes 10 a spe-
cialiSt and doesn't attempt it himself.
This applies to car selling as well
as to dentistry.
The next question is whether the
dealer should take the used car off
'hc customers hands or should he
limit himself to an endeavor TO find
- customer for it and then to con-
summate the sale.
The answer will depend on local
conditions only. If the owner will
accept d figure which will enable the
dealer To resell the car at Il fair mar
gin of profit TO himself, and if the
dealer is not unduly stocked with
used cars, lie should unquestionably
buy the used car If the owner wants
the used car sold before he will pur-
chase a new" one, and the dealer can
not purchase the uSeu car outright
on account of local conditions, he
should offer to accept the purchasers
note for the amount asked for the
used car, payable when the latter
shall have been sold.
Wherever the dealer guarantees to
obtain a certain figure in selling a
used car for a customer he is practi-
cally buying the car at that same
figure, and he might as we'll close the
deal first as last and accept the used
car in trade.
Wherever the dealer undertakes to
sell used car for a customer he is
entitled to a gross profit which Will
defray all OF his expenses in the
n net profit equal TO that OF a new
car sale at the price involved.
Only Dealer Concerned.
dealer only. We will now consider
the manufacturer's interest in the
problem. Every problem of the
dealer is concern Of the manufac-
turer. even if only indirectly, but the
precise relationship Of each of them
to the matter should not be confused.
The manufacturer is the best friend
the dealer has, because the manufac
turer is absolutely dependent on the
prosperous dealer for his own pros
perity. Self interest, if nothing else.
compels the manufacturer to interest
himself in the dealers welfare. How
ever, excepting for the circumstance
that the manufacturer demands that
the dealer shall dispose of certain
number of cars in his territory and
but for u certain lack of business
education on the part of some deal
crs. the manufacturer has no direct
responsibility in the used car stu
alton.
Whenever u manufacturer allows a
trading discount he is simply add
ing that amount TO his car price. The
man who buys u new car without
trading in pays a higher price than the
ear is worth. The man who trades
in gets car in a lower price class
than it's price indicates: he is de-
ceived. The dealers in other cars are
not backward in explaining to pros
poets that they are being asked more
than the trading discount car is