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Oct. 15, 2007 – H-D wholesale opportunities expand in U.S.

There is little doubt the preowned possibilities for dealers are growing as auction companies report a growing number of vehicles going through the wholesale pipeline.
Here is the latest news from four auction companies, including a report on Eastern PowerSports’ and DAA’s addition of special Harley-Davidson auctions, Manheim growing its sites that offer powersports vehicles, and National Powersports Auctions’ recent unique sale.
Eastern PowerSports
Eastern PowerSports Auction has been chosen by Harley-Davidson Financial Services as the site for five future auctions.
“We are absolutely thrilled to develop a relationship with Harley-Davidson Financial Services,” said Larry Tribble, owner of Eastern PowerSports, an affiliate of Southern Auto Auction that is located in East Windsor, Conn.
The auctions will be held Nov. 21, Dec. 12, Jan. 23, Feb. 20 and March 19 and be part of the company’s regularly scheduled auctions, which are held twice a month. Each auction will include an assortment of different vehicles plus at least 125 Harley-Davidson motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson has “been selling all of them at one location throughout the country and this has been one of the problems that buyers see, particularly in our part of the country,” Tribble said, “that it’s a long way to go and haul them (the motorcycles) all back when they’re here to start with. We’ve developed a good steady group of buyers here, and they are all excited about it, and the Harley dealers are too.”
Manheim
Manheim has added to the number of its auction sites that host powersports vehicle sales. By adding an every other month sale in Nashville, the company now has 22 sites in the United States that auction powersports vehicles.
Karen Braddy, director of heavy trucks, highline and specialty vehicles for Manheim, said the company is hoping to expand Nashville’s powersports sales to become a monthly event. The October sale featured 80-100 powersport vehicles.
Overall, the company expects to nearly double the number of powersports vehicles it auctions this year compared to 2006. In early October, the company had offered 8,500 motorcycles in their auctions thus far in 2007.
“By aggregating and consolidating product to ‘branded’ specialty locations, we can better serve the motorcycle and powersports customers,” Braddy said.
Starting November, Manheim’s Indianapolis site will begin offering 100-plus Harley-Davidson units on a monthly basis for four months.
National Powersport Auctions
National Powersport Auctions (NPA) held its first “Truly Virtual” auction for Yamaha Motor Corp. Aug. 31, selling 1,200-plus Yamaha units to Yamaha franchise dealers via NPA Simulcast, the company’s real-time online auction.
None of the units had been to an NPA facility. All of the vehicle data — year, make, model, VIN and condition — was transmitted electronically from Yamaha’s warehouses to NPA. All of the franchise dealers’ participation was from the convenience of the dealership or wherever they had access to a computer at the time of the sale.
This is the fourth auction NPA has held for Yamaha in 2007, with the next closed factory sale scheduled for Oct. 23, with approximately 2,000 units. The auction starts at 8 a.m. Eastern time and is only available to Yamaha franchise dealers.
NPA has had more than 500 Yamaha franchise dealers participate in NPA/Yamaha closed factory sales via NPA Simulcast.
Registration for Yamaha Factory Sales or regularly scheduled NPA auctions can be done by calling 888/292-5339 or logging on to www.npauctions.com.
NPA has three auction locations in San Diego, Dallas and Atlanta, the first, second and third Fridays of every month. NPA currently sells more than 5,000 units per month (repo, consignment and factory).
DAA Northwest
Harley-Davidson, seeking an opportunity to remarket its late-model motorcycles to franchise and independent dealers in the western United States and Canada, recently selected DAA Northwest for five upcoming auctions.
“We are looking for ways to make acquiring Harley-Davidson motorcycles easier for dealers in key geographic regions,” said Dave Woods of Harley Davidson Financial Services Inc. “DAA Northwest is well-positioned and ready to get the job done for us.”
Bob McConkey, Jr., DAA’s president, said the company runs wholesale auto auctions weekly and powersports sales monthly. The Motor Sport & RV Division currently offers 150-200 units per month and is growing rapidly, McConkey said.
“Through the years, we have developed a solid, loyal customer base. In recent years, that base has been made even stronger through Internet sales.” The auction anticipates a high level of Internet activity on the Harley-Davidson Financial Services motorcycles in particular.
“The product is ideal for selling in our lanes and online,” said McConkey. “There’s a high demand for the brand, and the quality is there.”
DAA Northwest MotorSports & RV Auction’s Harley-Davidson Financial Services offering will be held in conjunction with the company’s 15th Anniversary Sale on Thursday, Nov. 8.
Additional sales have been scheduled for Dec. 6, Jan. 10, Feb. 7 and March 6. psb

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