At some Chicago-area auto dealerships, small patches of asphalt are set aside for a select class of cars. Many bear dimly remembered nameplates such as Reliant, Delta, Storm, Premier, Country Squire and Cressida. Their odometer readings are high, their windshield numbers low, and in most cases their glory days were tens of thousands of miles ago.
They’re the vehicles that fill the Economy Corners or Outlet Centers of major dealerships from Waukegan to South Holland. And though their paint jobs may have lost some luster, they are the diamonds in the rough for auto buyers seeking no-frills transportation.
That has been borne out at Joe Rizza Ford in North Riverside, which displays one of the largest selections of “affordable vehicles” of any Chicago auto showplace. According to Rizza Ford and Elmhurst Ford, these bargain centers started showing up at new-car dealers in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
At Joe Rizza, some two dozen cars and trucks selling for less than $3,000 are huddled together at the end of the north lot, and many are touted in a special listing in the dealership’s newspaper ads. In a recent week, these specials ranged from a 1989 Ford Ranger Supercab selling for $2,995 to a 1981 Datsun 210 bearing a price of $495.
“I often get cars that are traded in at the other Rizza dealerships–one in Naperville and two in Orland Park,” said general manager Frank Guiliano. “They’re brought over here because I do well with them. I usually sell two used cars for every new one I sell, and sometimes it’s four or five for every new one.”
In assembling his “affordable vehicle” selection, Guiliano seeks automobiles that, though dated, are dependable. Many even have held on to their looks.
“You really have to get under the $1,995 level to find a car that doesn’t look that good,” he said. “At $1,995 and up, the car will look pretty good in addition to running well. Of course, we’ve sold cars for (as low as) $550. They looked terrible, but they ran great.”
Other dealerships, such as Lynch Auto Group on Chicago’s Northwest Side, use a broader definition of “affordable.” At Lynch, models selling for less than $6,000 are considered “economy” cars. Recently, they ranged from a 1993 Isuzu Amigo at $5,995 to a 1985 Chevy Monte Carlo SS selling for $1,995, the low end of Lynch’s scale.
The cars are usually trade-ins, said used-car manager Tony Vizzone. They pass through the Lynch service department, where they’re reconditioned and undergo a safety inspection.
“They’re mixed in with our other used cars, but if a customer expresses an interest in a lower-priced vehicle, our salespeople will direct him to these cars,” said Vizzone. “We want to appeal to as broad a market as possible–from the guy who wants a Porsche for $60,000 to the person just starting out.”
Elmhurst Ford offers 20 to 30 “wholesale specials” at any time and advertises six to nine of those as “wholesale specials of the week” in newspapers. On the dealership’s north lot, most are priced less than $3,000. Recently, they included a 1987 Pontiac Sunbird wagon at $1,995 and a ’91 Ford Escort LX at $2,995.
“Generally speaking, most are in that price range,” said dealership general manager Steve Magers. “To be sold here, the car has to be mechanically safe. I won’t send out anybody in a deathtrap. Generally, when you get into cars for $100 or $200, they’re junk. But we have sold cars for $795 that are mechanically safe.”
Magers says many dealers feature economy or wholesale corners because of the sizable demand for such cars. “We get a minimum of four or five people a day who say all they want is a $1,000 or $2,000 car,” he noted. “If you take care of them, they frequently will be back, often for a more expensive car.”
A wide range of people shop the economy corners, say dealership managers. For instance, Magers sells to many college students who buy cars when they return home for the summer and ask their parents to “sell them off the curb” when they head back to school in the fall.
Other customers visit in the fall, seeking a car they can drive in the winter while their expensive primary vehicle hibernates away from salt-encrusted streets.
More than a few customers seeking specials are those who recall when new cars cost $2,995. “A lot of these people have the mind-set that it’s just transportation, a depreciating asset,” said Magers. “They’ll drive the car till it dies, then get another one. They’re often 50- to 55-year-old men. Younger people don’t want to mess around with that.”
At Lynch, in a neighborhood populated by many Polish immigrants, buyers often are newcomers to America who want to pay cash for an inexpensive car. Others include families seeking a second car, people new to their jobs who can’t qualify for financing or individuals skilled at working on older vehicles.
At Joe Rizza, Guiliano often sells lower-priced cars to “the second-chance customer.” That buyer has had recent credit problems but needs a car to get to work. He puts $500 down and finances the rest. Once he has hurdled his credit obstacles, Guiliano said, the buyer is inclined to return to the dealership that helped him in a time of need.
“Quite often, we’ll see that customer who bought that $2,995 car coming back in about a year to trade the car in for something newer,” he said.
Many buyers have discovered a basic truth about cars from the economy corner, Guiliano added. “Affordable doesn’t mean it’s a car nobody else wants. It means just that: That it’s affordable.”
