Published: October 25, 2008 09:43 pm         

Enid dealerships buck national trend

A national poll recently suggests nearly 20 percent of car dealerships across the nation could close next year, but Enid dealers, once again, are bucking the trend.

“We’re not having trouble. I’ve had this dealership 13 years, and it’s the best year we’ve had by far,” said Kevin Curtright of Curtright Honda.

Curtright thinks Oklahoma is immune from the problems faced in many other states because of the oil and gas activity. Sales are slower this month, but Curtright thinks it is due to recent economic concern and because people are tired of the presidential election.

“After the new election, with a new president, things will start to go up, no matter who gets in. They will try to stimulate the economy,” he said.

He said Honda had a good year because of gasoline price spikes.

Bruce Jackson, of Johnson Chrysler, said the numbers are holding up for dealers in Enid.

“Things happening nationally don’t seem to rhyme here. Everything continues to go up here, we’ve gone up every year,” he said.

Jackson said the nation can stand to lose a lot of dealers. Dealers that go out of business will mostly be dealers in very small towns, and car manufacturers would like to have fewer dealers because it is more efficient, he said. Some traditional brands have fewer dealers and sold as many cars, he said.

“If you’re not reading the national headlines, we’re in good position in Enid. We’re not stupid, we’re humble here and we make sure we keep our expenses low. Most everyone in Enid has been through one or two recessions, and we haven’t forgotten them,” Jackson said.

With Chesapeake Energy having problems, Jackson said there will be a lot of changes coming and people shouldn’t overreact. Jackson predicted no one would start any new products until they see how things will settle out. Jackson is currently remodeling the front of his store, but that project was planned for a long time.

“The last three months of every election, there is some hesitancy in the market, then things even out. At least we know who leadership is going to be, but I don’t know of a dealer that is not doing well,” he said.

Randy Hamm, of Stuart Pontiac, Cadillac, Nissan said Enid will not lose any car dealers.

“Enid dealers have been through some pretty tough economic times, and we’re all pretty efficient. Enid also is somewhat insulated from the national problems,” Hamm said.

He said Enid’s economy is good. The problems that have caused concern are found on the East and West coasts and in some highly inflated markets that practiced “stupid” lending practices. That has affected the financial markets, and in Enid consumer confidence is shaken, which affects auto dealers somewhat. However, the local markets are stable, he said.

“We’ve been tracking along pretty close the last three years. When fuel prices were at $4 and up, there was an exodus out of the bigger vehicles that aren’t as efficient,” he said.

Now that fuel pries have come back down, those markets are breathing easier, he said. The truck market also remains fairly strong. Hamm said people who use trucks cannot get the job done with a fuel efficient car; however, discretionary large sport utility vehicles have been affected by fuel prices. Trucks have bounced back, however.

Ninety-day sales of the Nissan Titan are within two units of the Altima, which Hamm said is good. He said Enid is a competitive market, but there may be a lack of consumer confidence due to national exposure of the stock markets, and how retirement accounts were affected and people are somewhat scared, he said.

Because of the national economy being unstable, Hamm said, car purchasers can benefit. There are incentives to purchase new vehicles, and he thinks new ones can be bought cheaper today than three years ago, especially full-size vehicles and trucks.

Hamm does not expect credit to be a problem except in limited cases where an individuals personal credit is a higher risk.

“The automotive credit markets are not in trouble,” he said.