The positive reaction to Manheim Indianapolis' February sale
continues in this blog post from PowersportsIndustry Daily. More than 400 dealers participated in the sale, which featured more than 500 vehicles.
The February Manheim Indianapolis sale was its Powersports 
Expansion Super Sale. The auction location now features 40,000 square feet of auction sale and preview space. Sellers included Harley-Davidson Financial Services, GE Money, Fifth Third Bank and many more.
Dealers may view upcoming sale information, sorted by location and category, with links to pre-sale inventory via the Manheim Specialty Auctions calendar.
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
The Spring 2010 "RV roadsigns" publication that is distributed by RIVA (
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association) just landed on my desk this week. Dr. Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan
Consumer Survey Research Center puts forth his opinion on the RV market. I am always interested to here what he has to say since he has been conducting research on the RV industry for over 30 years.
Some key points from Dr. Curtin:
- RV shipments are expected to rise 30% in 2010
- Rising shipments are a result of dealers restocking inventory and the improving RV sales to end consumers
- The largest gains are expected to be in motorhomes and travel trailers
Click here to see the RVIA press release about the rise in RV shipments in 2010. There is a lot of great industry information in "RV roadsigns" that you receive for being an RVIA member. Check out the RVIA website at http://www.rvia.org/ for more information on how to join one of the industry leading RV organizations.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
Conversations with dealers these days don't last long before the
topic of financing comes up. Across all Manheim Specialty categories we hear dealers talking about challenges matching Black Book, NADA and other book pricing to retail and in finding banks to finance consumer purchases. Some dealers report some loosening for consumers and their own businesses, but certainly not enough to support as quick a recovery as we'd all like.
We came across a free F&I webinar on PowerSportsBusiness.com on March 24. And to support the wholesale business, Manheim has a floor plan arm, MAFS, that offers floor planning to a variety of Specialty customers, including RVs and motorcycles. Manheim sales can help dealers connect with GE Capital for boat financing as well.
We want to hear what's going on in your world - how are you getting customers financed these days? Are you seeing a bigger percentage of credit unions and small banks doing the financing? Do you anticipate the bigger banks getting back to (or even close to) previous financing levels? Has your dealership found other ways to get customers into new and used product? We look forward to hearing from you.
Samantha Greene is Inside Sales Representative - RVs - for Manheim Specialty Auctions
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
Do you sell Recreation Vehicles? If you answered yes, how much do you know about the SAFE Act? Hopefully, quite a bit!
Here are some brief highlights, and you can see some commentary from RV Daily Report here:
- Signed into legislation in 2008 and will become effective potentially on July 10, 2010.
- Intent is to enhance consumer protection by implementing a nationwide standardized mortgage licensing system which
includes a formal registration process to track anyone involved in any aspect of residential financing. The intent was to minimize instances where consumers are being lead to loans they could not afford.
- Applies to loans for dwellings, which under current interpretations includes a house, apartment, condominium, mobile home, boat, vacation home, or similar property. It also includes all structures or other property belonging to the dwelling unit. A dwelling unit has basic living accommodations, such as sleeping space, a toilet, and cooking facilities.
- Fines for making an unlicensed loan - $25,000 per incident - OUCH!!!
So just as the industry starts to rebound....no one can afford a $25,000 per incident fine. I just urge everyone to get up to speed quickly with the requirements and how they affect you!
I encourage anyone with feedback about this subject to please chime in. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Sharon Robbins is the National RV Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
Thanks to everyone who registered for our "Guess the Bid. Get the Prize" contest we hosted in conjunction with Dealer Expo. We met many of you at our booth and enjoyed spending time with you. Others registered after seeing ads from our partners at Dealernews, who put on yet another fantastic Dealer Expo event.
We'll know the Grand Prize winner who came closest to guessing .jpg)
the winning auction bid for the 2008 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic Electra Glide after our March Indianapolis sale. We'll announce all our winners here on our blog in mid-March.
We appreciate all the interest in our contest, and please reach out to us if you'd like to receive our monthly newsletter and market report with auction prices from recent Manheim sales. We're not only here to help you win contests, as you'll find lots of helpful info whether you're looking to buy or sell at auctions.
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
We talk often with dealers about the types of Specialty auctions they find most valuable. While just a few years ago nearly all RV, boat, motorcycle and PowerSports auction sales happened at 
physical auctions, now there are a variety of online options - on Manheim.com alone, Simulcast allows dealers to watch sales real-time on their computers and bid as if they were in the lanes. OVE.com gives dealer both competitive bidding and 'buy it now' options. PowerSearch shows dealers all available inventory, searchable by vehicle type, selling location, whether it's available in-lane and/or online and more.
So what method(s) work best for you, and where do you see the 
online Specialty auction world going? Do you see yourself and your dealership doing more or less online buying over time? What do auctions need to do to make you more comfortable buying online? We look forward to hearing from you.
Craig Capizzi is Assistant General Manager, Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment Sales
In one of my previous blogs, I mentioned Manheim Specialty's focus on booking out all of the Specialty units (RVs, Boats, Motorcycles, PowerSports) we offered for sale in 2009 with NADA
values. This allows us to track our Specialty locations performance against
NADA and understand and market conditions.
Here are a few key points about our Manheim Specialty NADA performance for RVs in 2009. For reference, we track our RV performance against the Used Wholesale Trade-In NADA value.
Are you interested in receiving our monthly market report for RVs? The market report shows unit information, NADA value and auction sale price for recent Manheim sales. Email us to request to be included on the RV market report mailing list.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
I am attending the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC) Annual Meeting at Dealer Expo on Friday to hear about the U.S. Economic 
Outlook by Dr. Martin A. Regalia, U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Dr. Martin A. Regalia is senior vice president for economic and tax policy and chief economist at the United States Chamber of Commerce. He is presenting his outlook Friday morning at a MIC member-only meeting along with other speakers that will discuss, among others, these topics: Accelerate Your Influence and Accelerate Your Business. MIC membership is open to manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles, scooters, parts and accessories, as well as allied trades such as publishing, insurance and consultants. To become a MIC member, visit http://www.mic.org/ and learn how to promote and preserve motorcycling and the U.S. motorcycle industry.
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
I'm looking forward to attending the Dealernews International PowerSports Dealer Expo for the first time this weekend! I've heard so much about it for several years, can't wait to experience myself all of the vendors, products, seminars, opportunities to meet dealers and discuss our industry. 
I'm going to take some time before arriving to review and map the show as Dealernews suggests so I don't miss anything. I'm going to attend several seminars about what I call "dealership growth" (Discover How to Make Money Using Online Advertising...In Just 30 Days or Less, How to Increase your Profits by $500. per Sale and Discover the Insider's Secrets to Convert More Calls to Cash).
When talking to dealers at our auctions, I want to share what I learned with them and how it can benefit their dealership. I look forward to seeing you at the show, visit us in Booth #3654 and we can talk about how auctions can supplement your inventory with used motorcycles and powersports!
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
With the devastation from the Haiti earthquake, it is great to see a company like Harley-Davidson donating new motorcycles to help
in the relief effort. Kudos to Harley-Davidson for giving back!
Cox Enterprises, the parent company of Manheim, is also committed to community involvement and charitable efforts. Cox made generous donations to CARE and the American Red Cross to assist with the Haiti relief efforts and offered free air time on its radio stations, TV stations, and cable system for public service announcements that informed the public on how they can contribute to the Haiti relief effort.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment Auctions