Q. Why was POADA formed?
A. First and foremost the Alliance was formed to help dealers sell more and profit more in their pre-owned sales and service operations. Additionally, one of our first thoughts, like many others, was to assist those franchise dealers who recently found out they were losing their franchise agreements through the reorganizations of General Motors and Chrysler.
Q. How is POADA different from associations?
A. There is a major difference. POADA is not an association; it is a business alliance. Dealer associations, like NADA and NIADA, protect dealers’ interests on a wide front, including regulatory and legislative challenges as well as helping the dealer improve his or her operations. These associations do an outstanding job as dealer advocates, and we encourage all dealers to join and be active in organizations like NADA and NIADA; it’s a must in today’s environment.
Q. Does a POADA Dealer have a protected territory?
A. No. POADA is not a franchise but an alliance of dealers and companies specializing in serving the pre-owned marketplace. POADA is focused on giving dealers the tools to become more competitive, more successful and more profitable. Consequently, because the Alliance is focused on providing tools and not territory, POADA-affiliated dealers might be across the street from each other. Also, because it is not a franchise, there are no franchise fees or monthly costs.
Q. What do you mean by the “pre-owned market segment?”
A. More attention is being brought to the market segment we call “pre-owned.” We define that market as current model plus four years and less than 100,000 miles. This market segment is much different from the remainder of the used-car market, which we see beginning at the five model year mark and spiking with seven- to 10-year-old vehicles. That is the market served primarily by the majority of independent dealers.
Q. What advantages are there to being a POADA Partner?
A. POADA Partners are those companies that join our Alliance and provide products and/or services to dealers. There are thousands and thousands of dealers selling pre-owned cars and used cars, so these companies have to cast a very wide net to reach the dealers they are primarily interested in.
Q. Are there advantages to being a POADA Dealer?
A. Most definitely. Keep in mind that our goal is to help dealers sell more and profit more in the pre-owned market segment. There are three main ways in which we acheive that goal.
First, POADA offers up the CarMark Certified Pre-Owned program, which allows dealers to certify more cars on their lots. And certified cars are proven to sell faster and at higher profits than similar non-certified vehicles.
Q. Does POADA endorse a particular product or service, or does it have a preferred vendor program?
A. As an alliance, we do not favor one company over another. We want to bring together dealers and companies, with the dealer making the choice about the best company for him or her. We have developed categories segmented by product or service with as many qualified companies within each category as possible. We will rely on the dealers' business decisions in evaluating and selecting the right companies and vendors for their businesses.
Q. What else can you tell me about CarMark Certified?
A. CarMark Certified is a 72-month/100,000-mile in-service date powertrain warranty for vehicles with some OEM warranty remaining. Qualified vehicles are current-
model plus five years and have less than 60,000 odometer miles. A separate powertrain warranty is also an option for vehicles with up to 100,000 miles on the odometer.
Q. Does a dealer have to be affiliated with POADA to retail CarMark Certified vehicles?
A. Yes. That helps us protect the integrity of the Alliance.
Q. What does it cost for a dealer to become affiliated with POADA?
A. POADA membership is 100 percent FREE for dealers who sell primarily within the pre-owned market segment, which we define as current model plus four years old with less than 100,000 odometer miles. To claim your free membership, visit www.poada.biz/join.
