How to Start a Chevy Car Dealership
A Chevy car dealership can be a lucrative business, but it requires a lot of money and work. You need a lot of capital to start the business and to keep it running. New car dealerships are usually open 6 or 7 days a week, often from sunup to sundown, and the constant pressure to make sales can take its toll on the people involved in the business. Make sure you consider all the pros and cons before starting a Chevy car dealership.
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Instructions
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Write a business plan. This should include things like start-up and monthly budgets, hours of operation, profit/loss projections and how you will market your products.
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Find capital and investment. Chevy is a General Motors brand, and GM requires a minimum initial investment of $350,000. If you aren't wealthy enough to cover the start-up costs of a dealership, look for investors. If you have a solid business plan, your Chevy dealership will appeal to people looking for an investment with the potential of returns. GM also has program whereby it will invest capital in selected dealers in the U.S. and Canada that meet certain requirements.
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Find a location. You can either find land on which to build a dealership or look for land with an existing building that will meet your needs. Find a location that has lots of bare ground to accommodate a large inventory of parked cars. Also be sure any land you find has zoning that will allow a car dealership. A good possibility would be a former car dealership that has gone out of business; however, make sure the reason it went out of business wasn't because of its location. Also, make sure any location you choose is close to other car dealers but also not near any dealerships that sell the same brands you will be selling.
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Acquire your Chevy dealership franchise. The easiest way to do this is to take over an existing Chevy dealership from a dealer who wants to retire or exit the business. If you are starting from scratch, check out the GM website for the requirements to obtain a Chevy franchise. If you are a woman or minority, GM has special programs to help you start a dealership.
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Take care of licensing and regulation requirements. Incorporate your business and check with your state's department of motor vehicles to take care of licensing requirements. Apply for a sales tax license and, if you will be employing people, check with your state department of labor for requirements regarding taxes and withholding. Also, since you will be dealing with pollutants such as oil and gasoline, check with the Environmental Protection Agency to make sure you follow all laws regarding the handling and disposal of these substances.
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Make arrangements with financing companies. Though potential buyers can get auto loans through local banks and credit unions, you put yourself in a better position to make a sale if you can offer dealer financing. This can be done through local and national banks or through finance companies. GM has its own finance company, GMAC, that you will likely be required to use for your Chevy dealership.
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Hire a staff. You will need several salespeople, a sales manager, a finance staff and support people. Also, most new car dealerships also offer vehicle service, so you will need to hire a staff for this part of the business as well. GM will have its own extensive training program for Chevy dealerships, but there are additional training programs offered by industry groups such as the National Association of Automobile Dealers.
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Market and advertise your business. You'll want to put ads in local newspapers and on local television and radio. Also, develop a website with information about your available Chevy cars and trucks. Also consider advertising on billboards and through direct mail. And, since you are new and trying to drum up business, consider putting a coupon or some other form of deal in your ads. This will serve two purposes: It will drive traffic to your new Chevy dealership and show which forms of advertising work best draw customers. GM has national advertising campaigns that dealers can participate in.
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Tips & Warnings
Car sales can be erratic and are heavily affected by other factors such as gas prices and the overall state of the economy. Budget to make it through lean times.
Resources
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