Todd Caputo wasn’t sure what exact model would roll down the lane Wednesday morning at Southern Auto Auction, but he knew he wanted it.
And fortunately for the Chittenango, N.Y., dealer, his bid for the 14 millionth vehicle ever remarketed by General Motors — a 2011 Chevrolet Equinox — was the winner.
“I was excited to buy the car. I wanted to be a part of history,” Caputo told Auto Remarketing by phone Wednesday afternoon on his way back from the East Windsor, Conn., auction.
“I kind of stood outside the overhead door, so I couldn’t really tell exactly how many people were bidding on it. I could just see hands, but I couldn’t see faces,” the owner of Sun Chevrolet, Inc. added, noting that the bidding was “pretty active.”
As Caputo, GM and Southern AA celebrated this landmark sale, Dan Kennedy — manager of GM Remarketing — also shared his perspective with Auto Remarketing on Wednesday afternoon, not long after the vehicle was sold.
“When you start thinking about the number of vehicles that have gone before us … this really demonstrates the commitment we’ve got to our dealers, to be able to provide them with good quality used vehicles,” Kennedy said.
“One of the biggest (profit centers) is used cars,” he added. “Plus, this is also a feeder, if you would, for our certified pre-owned programs. It’s a great for our dealers to stay in the used-car business and get the quality of products they need in order to service the customers.”
There was not any specific numbers available as to how many of these 14 million remarketed vehicles have made their way into the GM Certified program, as these figures tend to fluctuate year to year, Kennedy explained.
However, it certainly has served as CPO supply stream.
“I think you can safely say that a fairly significant percentage of our vehicles that we sell at the auctions find their way into the certified program,” he noted.
Adding some more perspective from the certified side, Larry Pryg — national manager of Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles at GM — said: “This GM Remarketing milestone speaks to the quality of our products and the success of our auction partners and Certified Pre-Owned dealers. Our Certified Pre-Owned dealers acquire a portion of their inventory from these auctions, and because of their success, our customers have a more robust vehicle selection.”
More Details on Landmark Sale
Sharing more about the sale, Caputo said he bought the vehicle around 10 a.m. EST. The auction had a sign on top of the vehicle and an announcement was made about it being the landmark vehicle.
"They had the car wrapped up, so I didn't know what it was going to be prior to coming in," he noted.
Caputo learned this milestone vehicle — which had been a company car — would be at the sale after being contacted by the auction and invited to the sale. Having been an SAA customer for roughly 20 years, Caputo said this was a sale he attends anyway.
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