Automotive News Canada - May 2019 - v2 - 13

13

* MAY 2019

Change the tires,
and then kick them
Winnipeg dealership
group offers to
buy vehicles while
they're in for
service, with 20 per
cent of appraisals
turning into sales
By KELLY TAYLOR

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS CANADA

WINNIPEG CORRESPONDENT

WINNIPEG - THERE'S A
truism about automobile dealerships and ongoing success:
The sales department sells
the first car, and the service
department
brings them
back for the
next one.
Crown
Auto
Group's
"acquisition
department"
puts a new
spin on that
philosophy,
with the upsell of all upsells.
Nick Guffei, general manager of Crown Nissan, said
that when customers' cars are
in for service, the
dealership offers to
appraise the vehicle with an eye
toward buying it.
The dealership
uses the process to
sell the customer a
new vehicle, or to
buy cars to bolster
its used inventory.
"We typically
will see 10 to 15 per
cent of our service
clients agree to an
appraisal, and then
we usually turn 20
per cent of those
into deals," Guffei
said.
"So, if we see 750
cars in a month,
that's 75 to 100
appraisals and 10 to
20 extra sales."

Glen Daman, president of
Applewood Auto Group in
British Columbia, said one
recent trend is a move away
from desktop computers at the
service writer's pod to portable
tablets that come to the customer.
The tablets allow for easy
confirmation of vehicle identification numbers and customers' personal details. Soon,
Daman said, the
tablets will offer
graphic or video information to help the customer
understand the needed repairs.
Daman said competition is
stiff enough, particularly in
the densely populated lower
mainland of British Columbia,
that more dealerships offer to
pick up and drop off cars for
service.
"Used to be, that was only
the luxury brands, and now
you're seeing it with brands
like Kia."
Daman said it is hard to tell
if this increased level of service
increases revenues. He said the
nature of the industry means
dealers must offer more just to
stay competitive. - ANC

MAY FIXED OPS
SPOTLIGHT

Glen Daman of Applewood
Auto Group in British
Columbia says competition
among dealers is such that
some offer to pick up and drop
off cars for service.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY GLEN DAMAN

If the customer is interested, Crown Nissan will assign a
sales representative who will
offer test drives while the customer's car is being serviced.
"If I'm stocking
my used lot from
an auction, I'm
paying a premium to the auction
house," Guffei said.
"I'd rather give
that premium to
one of my customers, which I can do
because I know the
car's history."
Guffei said the
acquisition department approach
is in play at the
group's Toyota,
Acura, Honda and
Mazda dealerships.
"We plan to add
this approach to
our body shops as
well. For some people, even minor
damage is enough
they don't want
NO GUESSING ON
that car any lonVEHICLE HISTORY
ger."
Crown Nissan
Guffei said the
is nearing the end
approach is disof extensive rencreet; he doesn't
ovations, part of
NICK GUFFEI
want service cusGeneral nanager,
Nissan's NREDI 2.0
tomers feeling
Crown Nissan
program. It's the
they've been shakfirst Nissan store
en down. But
in Winnipeg to convert. The
because the service departdealership added 20,000 square
ment typically has the vehifeet (1,900 square metres), two
cle's entire service history on
drive-in service entrances and
file, there's both less risk to
six service bays.
buying the car and a greater
ability to sell it.
NEW TOOLS IN SERVICE
"It's always better when
As competition for service
a car comes with a story,"
ramps up, dealerships are tryGuffei said. "We can tell buying various ways to ensure
ers it was a local car, always
their fixed-ops departments
serviced here, and it increases
are as profitable as possible.
their comfort level, too."

If I'm stocking
my used lot
from an auction,
I'm paying a
premium to the
auction house.
I'd rather give
that premium
to one of my
customers,
which I can
do because I
know the car's
history.

Nick Guffei, general manager of Crown Nissan in Winnipeg,
says the dealership offers appraisals to customers whose
vehicles are in for service. "We typically will see 10 to 15 per
cent of our service clients agree to an appraisal, and then we
usually turn 20 per cent of those into deals." P H O T O : K E L LY TAY L O R

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Automotive News Canada - May 2019 - v2

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