Gwinnett Chevrolet Trucks and SUV's - Bill Heard Chevrolet of Buford Georgia

BUFORD - With the sluggish economy, many are rethinking purchasing a new vehicle and insteading opting for a used one. Several metro dealerships say while new cars sales are up from last year, used car sales are up even more.

"We're probably up about five to 10 percent in new cars,” says Joe Isbell at Gorges Volvo, which has experienced an even bigger jump on the used car lot.

“Significant increase, we've really grown our used car operation here at the store and we've found that there's actually about a 20 to 25 percent increase over last year in the used car business. That's been our biggest increase here at our store."

The likely answer is driven by the economy. "When's the economy's down, people get a little tighter with their money and we've found when you get a little tighter with your money you start looking at the used car operations," says Isbell.

While larger dealerships like Gorges offer the reliability of a certified used car, what if that's not an option? How do you tell a deal from a clunker?

"You want to start looking at all the body panels, does the paint match, do the body panels line up, open and close the doors,” says Peter Fink with Certified Transmission at 54th and Center.

Fink says you're not only looking for problems, but how well the car was cared for. "A good secret is look at the tires. Are they the matching tires, are they the same brand?"

Make sure you raise the hood and check the battery. "Batteries last about on an average about four, maybe five years, so if the car is four or five years old and it's got the original battery, chances are you're going to need a battery," says Fink.

Make sure to check the oil. "That it's brown, you want to make sure that it's just not black." Check the transmission fluid and then take it for a drive. "Not just a two or three mile road test, but I mean 10, 15, 20 miles,” says Fink. “Turn the radio off, you're not interested in the radio, you want to listen to the rest of the car."

Fink says if you're spending thousands of dollars on a used car, it's a good idea to get it inspected by a mechanic. He says it's the best $100-$200 you can spend toward your investment.

ATLANTA - A day after reporting that new car sales soared an incredible 54 percent, the Commonwealth Automobile Dealer Association had more good news, this time from the used car front.

According to figures submitted by CADA, used car sales rose by 33 percent in February 2008 after Microl Corp., Joeten Motors, and Triple J Motors managed to sell 45 units compared to 30 units in the same period last year.

“Used car sales continued to see gains in February. The three dealers sold a total of 45 units compared to 30 units last February which represents an increase of 33-percent for the month,” reported CADA president and Joeten Motors general manager Matthew Deets.

Triple J Motors led the way with 19 second-hand vehicles sold last month, which represents 42.2 percent of the market. For the year,

Several notches below the Garapan company is Microl Corp. with 16 used cars disposed off last month and 27 for the year. It owned 35.6 percent of the market last February.

Joeten Motors had 10 used cars sold last month, which represented 22.2 percent of the market. For the year, the San Jose auto dealership has sold 27 second-hand cars.

CADA reported Tuesday that new car sales soared to 71 units last February after years of being stagnant. The 25-unit increase was the first month of positive growth in the CNMI automobile market since June 2005 and the highest total sales in the past 18 months.

Joeten Motors is the distributor for Nissan, Ford, Honda, and Kia. Microl Toyota distributed Toyota and Chevrolet. Triple J sells Mazda, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, and Suzuki.

** At Bill Heard Chevrolet of Buford, our Dealership has built a reputation on providing courteous, honest service. Our customers appreciate the way we do business, and we know you will too. Take a moment to read the info below and find out what makes us an exceptional place to buy or service your automobile.

Mexico limits car imports to 1998 model year ONLY

Import limit makes '98 F-150 Mexico's most-wanted truck

Prices on all decade-old models expected to soar in wake of new law

Ah, the 1998 Ford F-150. It would take a Lord Byron in grease-stained overalls to do it justice.

Remember its rumbling engine, color-keyed steering column and leather-wrapped steering wheel? Remember how shiny silver metallic paint bumped the road-sworn silver frost, and how critics praised its styling, even if its exterior was flawed by too many dips and swoops?

Now sing all those praises in Spanish.

As Mexico on Monday limited used-car imports from the U.S. to those made in 1998, the ever-popular F-150 seemed poised to become one of the most-coveted used vehicles in Mexico. Prices for the truck — and for all other 1998 models — were expected to soar.

"The prices we'd be asking for them retail is what we're going to be paying wholesale," said Luis Esparza, sales manager for H.E.D. Sales Co., a Houston Heights used-car dealer. "You can throw the Blue Book away."

Bernardo Garcia, at Caribbean Auto Sales, a cash-only Shepherd Drive dealer, said a 1998 extended cab F-150 in good condition previously might have sold for $5,000 at his lot. Now, it's likely that the price may jump $500 to $700.

Garcia said his business is heavily patronized by Mexican buyers — dealers buying for resale as well as families acquiring a vehicle for personal use.

Dealers panic as Mexico limits used-car imports

HIDALGO, Texas – Some are dented, scratched and rusty. Others rattle and belch under faded paint jobs. But the “’98” soaped onto their windshields and a surprise change in Mexican import rules have turned a single year’s worth of used cars into the pick of the used-car lot.

Beginning last week, only cars made for the 1998 model year – none older and none newer – can be legally imported into Mexico. Car dealers were given notice only a month ago.

Until now, used cars 10 to 15 years old were scooped up at auction by South Texas used car dealers and rapidly sold to Mexicans hungry for affordable transportation and “la novedad” – or novelty – of unfamiliar makes and models.

Cars newer than that were banned from imports as unwelcome competition for Mexican car dealers, and anything more than 15 years old was seen as a potential environmental and safety hazard.

But now, under pressure from Mexico’s new car dealers who say “vehiculos chatarra,” or jalopies, undercut their sales, the Mexican government is allowing only 10-year-old used cars to be legally imported into Mexico.

All of a sudden, 1998 Luminas, Astro vans and Ranger pickups are sought-after trophies.

The Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors, which pushed for the change, said it was needed to “stop the accelerated conversion of our country into the world’s biggest automotive garbage dump.”

The Mexican Consulate in McAllen said the change was made “to restrict the entry of vehicles that compete with the Mexican car industry.”

A mile north of the Rio Grande, 80 percent of the customers at Walester Auto Sales are Mexican. But this past week, only one out of the 24 cars on the dirt lot boasted the magic “1998.”

That vehicle was a white Chevrolet Blazer with a “Redneck” sticker on the windshield and a vanity plate of a silhouetted couple embracing in front of a tropical sunset. It was priced at $3,200.

With the sudden change in demand, such 1998 models are appreciating for the first time since they rolled off the lot, their prices rising by $500 to $800, while dealers cut prices on slightly older models in a frantic effort to move them out before last week’s deadline.

“At this point we have a lot of merchandise that was going to Mexico that now will stay,” said Elena Garcia, who owns Walester with her husband, Armando Garcia, who was in Florida scouring auto auctions for more vehicles.

At Gutierrez Brothers, a few Mexican car dealers milled about, shaking their heads at the limited selection.

“The worse thing we can do is buy something that we don’t know if it can go across (the border),” Juan Gutierrez said. “If a 1997 worth $3,000 can’t cross, it’s not even worth $1,500.”

He had to unload about 1,000 cars last month at sharply reduced prices just to avoid getting stuck with them in March.

Gutierrez said his buyers at auto auctions across the country tell him that when a 1998 rolls into the garage, 20 buyers line up where there used to be only a few.

Truck price precedent set

Although few would-be car buyers braved Monday's nasty weather to visit used-car lots, the first months of the year typically are the busiest, dealers said. Garcia said late winter typically brings 15 to 18 used-car dealers from Mexico to his lot each month. Family car sales are boosted by windfall income tax refunds.

F-150s and Chevrolet Silverados are the most sought-after vehicles.

The changes in Mexico's import law were urged by the Mexican Association of Automobile Distributors, which protested that cars newer or older than 10 years undercut their new-car sales. Before Monday, Mexican motorists and dealers were allowed to import vehicles that were 10-15 years old.

The flood of cars on the older end of that spectrum, the group argued, threatened to turn Mexico into "the world's biggest automotive garbage dump."

Despite the import window's narrowing to 1998 models, Heights-area dealers generally shrugged off the change. "This isn't anything new," said Esparza, a 20-year veteran of the car sales business.

"In the mid- to late-1980s, they actually set a precedent for value for trucks," he said. "So high was the demand that trucks that had been selling for $3,500 were going for upward to $5,500. Chevy trucks, mainly. The prices never went down."

Roddy McMichaels, owner of the nearby Longhorn Motor Co., said he seldom has sold cars or trucks destined for Mexico.

"All the time, these guys want to buy them too cheap," he said. "You'll see them on U.S. 59 hauling two or three of them down to Mexico. They're in such bad shape. Pickups with 400,000 miles that they buy for $300. They take them down where labor and parts are cheap and fix them up."

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