COOPERSBURG, Pa. -

Joe Balbi, owner-operator of two Pennsylvania Thrifty Car Sales franchises, says the key to success is all about having the right team and knowing your customers.

“It is our team, ownership and our franchise that makes us successful. Anybody can open a Joe's used-car lot, but with Thrifty Car Sales there is branding and accountability, as if we are a new-car franchise, so people tend to have more trust and peace-of-mind where they are buying from,” Balbi shared with Auto Remarketing in a recent interview.

And this focus on a quality team is apparently working for the Pennsylvania dealer, as the Coopersburg store, which just opened in 2011, managed to do 460 retail units and 151 wholesale units last year.  This time around, Balbi noted the stores “are having an extremely good year.”

As of the end of September, the Coopersburg, Pa., store had sold 402 units retail and 225 wholesale units; the Easton, Pa., store, which opened March of this year, had sold 185 retail units and 68 wholesale units during the same period.

“Both stores are enjoying a good year. The biggest challenge still remains the lack of quality used vehicles at the auctions. That being said, on a good note, banks have come back to play in the auto industry, and we are finding banks buying deeper and advancing stronger,” Balbi explained.

The Road to Running a Dealership

Balbi also shared how he went from starting his career in the industry as a Chrysler/Plymouth salesman in 1986 to owning two franchised stores today.

At a Chrysler Plymouth dealership in Warminster, Pa., “I worked my way up from sales, to sales manager to finance manager to general manager,” Balbi shared.

“In 1991, I moved to work as a corporate general manager/vice president for a small auto group located in the Poconos of Pennsylvania.   I took this small auto group from two dealerships to a large auto group of 11 stores with 22 franchises,” he continued.

In 2009, Balbi and his family began considering opening their own dealership, but the businessman explained “the question was, ‘Which franchise and where?’”

Though the industry was still in a bit of a rut after the 2008 recession struck, Balbi read an ad that Thrifty had posted and called to inquire about their franchises and requirements.

“People ask me all the time, ‘Why would you want to open a dealership in a down economy in a down market?’ he said. “My answer was and still remains the same today: If I could build a viable business plan that would succeed in this market with the right franchise, then when this pendulum swings the other way as it always does in this industry, we will rise to the top.

“I watched other dealers open franchises in the height of a strong market only to ‘over-expense’ themselves, as if the market will continue to grow,” Balbi stated.

“However, when the market dips or drops, their expenses cannot drop as fast, causing huge losses if not closing the store. With my dealerships, we started low and remain low, yet profits grow as the market grows,” he added.

After meeting with representatives from Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Balbi was convinced this corporation was “different from most.”

“Thrifty was not like other corporations at all; they were a company that was about making sure
their franchisees succeed, not fail. It was not about what you can do for them, but what they can do to help you sell and deliver more cars,” Balbi shared, noting that this was partly why he chose DTAG.

The Local Market
 
Now with two stores in the Lehigh Valley, Balbi explained that even before starting his dealerships, he knew this area and all the benefits it would yield, after living in the area for over 20 years.

“I did not want to relocate my family, so I decided that the Lehigh Valley would be my choice of location and found the right size store to stay within my business plan in Coopersburg, Pa.” the dealer said. “The location is great for drive-by traffic; we get about 35,000 vehicles going by our store daily.”

On the other hand, Balbi noted one of the store’s challenges is that there is “no stop light to slow traffic down and no other dealers in town to bring in car-buying traffic.” The lack of competition, he said, can sometimes hinder the store.

For the other store (in Easton), Balbi explained it is on a less busy road but closer to a stop light.

“The store is a little smaller then our first location, which makes it tough to keep a large amount of vehicle selection, but it gets tons of foot traffic. And with the Coopersburg location being only a 20-minute ride away, they benefit from their inventory, as well,” he added.

The ‘Strong Points’

Balbi went on to share with Auto Remarketing what he considers to be some of the biggest strengths of his dealerships.

“We have lots of good strong points in our locations; but besidebesides branding of the Thrifty sign and our Thrifty certified flags flying high daily, our strongest asset would be our team, starting with my two business partners Joseph Gyuricsko and Miguel Gonzalez,” he shared. Both of these men are co-owners, as well.

“I work with both of these two gentlemen, as well as knowing them for the past several years. And I knew for any dealership to be what it needs to be today, it has to start with the people.   Joe and Mike believe and have the same team philosophy as I do, and we all practice and follow it daily and make sure our team not only does it, but understands and believes in it as well,” Balbi continued.

In focusing on what makes the dealership stand out, Balbi also touched on Thrifty Car Sales’ certified pre-owned program as a big draw.
 
“One of the biggest draws to Thrifty Car Sales was their CPO program,” Balbi shared. “Every one of our vehicles must pass through their process by an ASE certified technician before we can put their Thrifty Blue window flag on the vehicle.”

Every vehicle in the store comes with a warranty and one year of 24-7 roadside assistance.

“The ability to offer the customers a certified vehicle has only amounted to the buyer’s
confidence, higher gross profit and less return charge backs. The vehicle leaves the lot in perfect condition and increases customer retention and referral,” Balbi asserted.

Editor's Note: To read the complete story and learn more best practices, please see the Nov. 1-14 print edition of Auto Remarketing.