A slightly better story I wrote (cont)

The Auto Service Association says the auto repairs business will stay alive through focusing on training, especially with the influx of hybrid vehicles into the new market place, “It’s very hard to find good mechanics,” said Stephens, “I can’t hire right now anyways, but I’ve been able to keep a core staff (of well qualified mechanics), I put in 12 hour days, and my guys put in 10 hour days.”

It is the independently owned used car sales dealers that are reporting stable sales, and these businesses are doing this through implementing programs that make it easier for people on low incomes to buy decent and affordable cars. “They (used car sales) are emotional sales, and those companies are very good at customizing affordable deals for people who need them the most,” Johnson said.

Weiss Guys Auto Sales, a family owned used car dealership located at 2976 N. 1st Ave., has been very successful at bringing in customers through programs designed for people who under most circumstances couldn’t buy a new car. They use a lease to own program that allows people to return their leased vehicles at any time as long as they don’t exceed a monthly mileage maximum and if the car is still in decent shape, said Paula Weiss, co-owner of Weiss Guys Auto Sales for six years. “We all use an outside finance company, Austin Titles, which finances people with bad credit (to buy a new vehicle), they charge a rate of 18 per cent as opposed to the usual 29.9 per cent,” Weiss said.

People also seem to enjoy the friendly service that is offered by privately owned family businesses such as Weiss Guys Auto Sales. They’re friendly appeal is often attributed as to why they’ve been rather successful in the face of economic recession, “(I just use) southern charm, that’s all there is to it,” said Mike Cocoer, the lot manager of Weiss Guys Auto Sales, “people like to interact with someone that’s genuine.”

Though independently owned car businesses in Tucson have been relatively successful, they are not recession proof. Because the automotive industry is in such disarray, keeping up stock of good vehicles has proven difficult, said Cocoer. Cocoer said that used car dealerships such as Weiss need to find new methods to bring in more cars and customers, “We need to be more focused on marketing, we need to advertise more to reach customers, air time and radio,” he said, “the more you’re out there, the more people see what you got”.

To stay alive in the economy, Johnson had advice for both small businesses and corporations. She said that small privately owned dealerships need to “scale down’, while the corporations need to innovate. She said that if the auto sales industry is going to survive, “it needs to allow itself to fail.” She continued, “We all want safety nets, but bails outs aren’t conducive to innovation, short-term solutions won’t facilitate a permanent solution.”