Sconda

Scott Honda Bid Sale's Moving: End of an Era

After 7 years Scott Honda will be moving it's bid sale from 18 Wilson Avenue in West Chester, a half mile down the road to a brand new facility at 716 E. Union Street.

What is a bid sale you ask?  It's where Scott Honda sells the cars taken in trade that are not suitable for the retail used car lot, either because they are too old, too beat up, have a bad accident in their history or are too pricey.  These cars are then bid on by other car dealers and the highest bidder gets the prize.

"We get all makes, all models and all walks of life that come through our sale," says Douglas P. Scott, Bid Sale Manager.  "Universally though they all loved this old house.  I keep telling them they'll like the new place too, but they are creatures of habit."

The Scott Honda Bid Sale, which was established in 1990 has been in no less than 7 locations in it's 20 year history, from empty parking lots, to full parking lots, it's been run out of trailers or out of a car according to Jack Welsh the first Bid Sale Manager.

"We've been all over the place," the now retired Welsh recalls.  He came back today  for the last sale held at the location he opened in 2003 and was greeted with a hero's welcome, which reminded him what he loved most about the sales for all those years.  "The guys are what made it fun, they're who I really miss."

The 58-year-old house, lovingly referred to as "Wilson Avenue" may have character, but Scott Honda has outgrown this 55 car parking lot.  The new bid sale lot can hold 175 cars and the renovated 3 car garage will have an office, a computer room, a lunch area, a waiting area and a bathroom (an amenity more rare then you might expect at bid sales).

The first sale using the new facility will be held on March 25th, marking the begining of a new chapter in the migretory life of the Scott Honda Bid Sale.  Stay tuned for more news on a possible name change for the Scott Honda Bid Sale.

Sconda Photo Booth, Ready for its Close-up

The dried ink of an occupancy permit is about the only thing standing between Scott Honda and the nicest photographs of vehicles on the internet.  The used car prep department got the first chance to test out their newest toy last Friday and like kids on Christmas morning they loved what they saw, or didn't see for that matter.

"The photo booth is a great addition," says Assistant Used Car Manager, Andre Revnell.  "It allows the vehicles to take center stage where they should be, not blend into the abyss of other vehicles and people that used to clutter the previous images. Now the photos taken by the superb photographers you have here (he says pointing to himself) will really shine."

Nothing draws in a potential car buyer like a crisp, clean image and it is something Scott Honda has been striving for for months.  Finding the location of the photo booth was the first hurdle.  We pondered an empty garage bay, but the ceiling would have been too low and they weren't deep enough to fit some larger trucks.  We looked at a corner of our delivery pad, but that spot was too busy.  We ended up restoring an old 3 car service garage that was on a nearby property and dedicating one huge bay to this photo booth and the results speak for themselves.

You should see some great new photos popping up on scotthonda.com and scottselect.net in the very near future.

Scott Buys Saturn of West Chester Land, Scott Select to Open This Spring

On the afternoon of January 15th the ink dried on a deal to purchase 700 Westtown Road, in West Chester, formerly Saturn of West Chester.  This 4.5 acre swath of land will be the new home of Scott Select, "simply the best pre-owned cars".

The exact business plan for Scott Select is still be fine tuned, but Scott will be taking 80 years of automotive sales and service experience and injecting into this new venture.  With Scott Honda finishing as the #2 Certified Honda dealer in the country two yeas in a row, we feel we have a great blue print for selling newer model, impeccably reconditioned vehicles in the Delaware Valley.

"To have this new property on a well traveled road and right next to Scott Honda gives us a huge advantage," says Vice President Duke Scott.  "Our sales people will be able to sell between both stores and our service departments will be able to handle overflow at either location."

Scott had planned to build an entirely new "green" building further down Westtown Road and was close to breaking ground when the Winner Automotive Group announced the sale of their Saturn property last fall.  It was a no-brainer for Scott, what's more green than reusing an existing building and there are still plans to possibly use solar technology and LED lighting in the new building.

"We are really looking forward to opening the doors of this new store," Duke told Sconda Blog.  "It will be a push to get it open as soon as we'd like, with the right people in place, but we know we have resources to make it happen."

Stay tuned for more details on Scott Select, coming in the Spring to this corner near you.