Automotive News - September 21, 2020 - Best Practices Supplement - S46

46 | SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
S U N T R U P A U T O M O T I V E G R O U P, S T. L O U I S

Customers get a break on used cars
3 months of no payments
helps sales as group braces
against pandemic impact
Published in Automotive News April 27, 2020

Melissa Burden
mburden@crain.com

untrup Automotive Group is hoping
to keep sales humming during the
coronavirus pandemic and provide
customers a break by offering three
months of no payments on used-vehicle purchases.
"We're trying to keep our business coming
in, but we're trying to keep our volume up,"
said Craig Suntrup, a dealer principal and
partner with his brother in the four-rooftop
dealership group in St. Louis. "We figured it
might help somebody make a decision."
The group also is offering up to six months of
no payments on new-vehicle sales.
Suntrup said the used-vehicle offer will last
through May. So far, it has helped sales - although the group still expects overall sales to
be down for the month. By mid-April, about a
quarter of customers buying used vehicles
across the group had taken advantage of the
deal, Suntrup said.
Suntrup said he and other Missouri dealerships were only able to sell vehicles by appointment at their stores or online.
Gov. Mike Parson's Stay Home Missouri order, effective April 6, was extended through
Sunday, May 3.
Last month, Suntrup's group sold 552 new and
used vehicles, down from 996 in March 2019.
Suntrup said the majority of the sales were
booked before mid-March, "when the wheels
came off." He noted that April sales were expected to be down sharply year over year,
even with the incentives.

Momentum halted
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a bite
from the growing sales momentum for his
BMW store, in Manchester, Mo., which has
been a successful turnaround story since Suntrup bought struggling West County BMW in
May 2016.
The store, rebranded BMW of West St. Louis,
saw strong growth as its inventory volumes
improved, the store underwent a face-lift and
as Suntrup infused it with new staff and the
DNA and customer service staples of his organization, he said.

Suntrup partner Craig Suntrup, left, said the
used-vehicle incentive at his dealerships,
including BMW of West St. Louis in
Manchester, Mo., "might help somebody make
a decision" and possibly help lift sales.

As a result, new-vehicle sales at the store
grew from 258 in 2017 to 656 in 2019. Its new
and used sales totaled 1,451 last year, up more
than a quarter from 2018.
But in the first quarter of this year, the dealership's sales were down 19 percent.
In April last year, the store sold 120 new and
used vehicles.
By mid-April this year, it was on pace to sell
72, though Suntrup is hoping the promotions
will help push that a bit higher.

Keeping benefits
The BMW dealership also worked with the
group's social media manager to boost its reviews on Google, Facebook and DealerRater
and put a process in place to handle negative
reviews. Today, the average Google rating for
the store is 4.7, up from 3.2 when Suntrup took
over.
"I had to change the reputation of the store,"
Suntrup said.
Suntrup Automotive Group is offering
3 months of no payments on
used-vehicle purchases to assist
customers during the coronavirus
pandemic. The group also hopes the
offer will help drive sales.

In addition to the sales promotions, Suntrup
Automotive has taken several measures to cut
costs. The group has reduced hours, canceled
night service at one dealership and implemented a 20 percent pay cut for salaried staff
for the next few months, Suntrup said.
Employees also temporarily worked a
32-hour workweek, with full health care and
benefits, to avoid mass layoffs, Suntrup said.
Suntrup and brother Butch Suntrup "decided to keep everyone's benefits in check, intact," said Liz Kelly, recruiting and training liaison for Suntrup. "That really went a long way
with employees."
Of the company's more than 350 employees,
fewer than 10 were laid off, Craig Suntrup
said.
"This thing's not going to last forever," he
said, "and when business does come back, I
want to be staffed." a

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