Valley used vehicle sales take a hit, new sales up

October 9, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

Good deals on new vehicles are believed to be the reason why used sales took a hit locally in September.

The 7.4 percent drop in local used sales led to a 3.1 percent drop in overall sales, according to data released Thursday by the Automobile Dealers Association of Eastern Ohio.

The numbers are compiled from titles processed at county title departments by the final business day each month.

“Used-car sales are off, but I think one of the main reasons is leasing is so popular now and inexpensive,” said Barry Gonis, general manager at Spitzer Chevrolet in North Jackson.

New-car sales were up 2.7 percent year over year with 2,930 sales compared with 2,852 last September. For the year, new sales are slightly down by 0.7 percent, but used sales for the year are up 0.2 percent. Total used sales in September were 3,570 compared with 3,854 last September.

The top-selling dealers for both new and used vehicles were Greenwood Chevrolet in Austintown with 276 sales; Sweeney Chevrolet in Boardman with 276; and Taylor Kia of Boardman with 238.

“It was a great month for us,” said Greg Greenwood of Greenwood Chevrolet. “We were very pleased.”

This market differs from others because of the local Lordstown General Motors Assembly Plant where the Chevrolet Cruze is built. The GM brand loyalty and offers for GM employees lead to new-car sales, Greenwood explained.

“That’s so true in my store,” Greenwood said.

Mark Thomas Ford sales manager Steve Bott also said he saw a good month of sales, with the F-150, Escape, Fusion and Focus as top sellers. New and used sales were up 8.7 percent at Mark Thomas Ford of Cortland.

Overall, the top new sellers in September were the Equinox with 223 sales; the Silverado 1500 with 166; and Malibu with 112. New Cruze Limited sales came in at 49 for the month.

The top used models were the F-150 with 104 sales, the Malibu with 99 sales and the Impala with 96.