Manheim Offers its Breadth to Power Sport Dealers

ATLANTA – Dealers of boats, RVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and other power sport vehicles will be able to attend regularly scheduled sales at 15 Manheim auctions across the country.

by Staff

March 3, 2005

4 min to read

ATLANTA – Dealers of boats, RVs, motorcycles, snowmobiles, and other power sport vehicles will be able to attend regularly scheduled sales at 15 Manheim auctions across the country. . In line with Manheim’s car and truck sales, dealers will have access to large volumes of power sport vehicles, and events will operate almost exactly as traditional auction sales.

“This is a natural step for Manheim,” said Bill Tiedemann, Manheim’s vice president of auction services. “Some of our auctions have been conducting these sales over the years. By establishing best-in-industry service standards and providing a vital marketplace, we will create the liquidity both buyers and sellers need to operate more effectively. Our goal is to provide meaningful sales events on a regularly scheduled basis to a targeted audience.”

Some auctions will run units through the lanes while some will conduct mobile sales. Ultimately, however, Manheim will work to sell all units in a Simulcast-enhanced environment for the ultimate convenience of both buyer and seller. Manheim will also test the sale of units not located at the sale site by using electronic images and detailed condition reports for sellers in the lane and for Manheim Simulcast bidders.

Manheim Simulcast, an online buying and selling resource, sold more than 200,000 vehicles in 2004. Since its inception two years ago, the total value of all vehicles sold via Manheim Simulcast – online and in lanes – exceeded $36 billion.

“Some auctions will run every type of vehicle through the lanes, but others will have the vehicles on the lot, conduct a mobile auction at the consignor’s site, or utilize Simulcast technology to showcase the vehicles,” said Tiedemann. “Many of the sales will utilize all of the above, as Manheim will offer power sport consignors the same multi-channel selling services to which car and truck consignors are accustomed. We will get their vehicles up for sale quickly to a huge audience of buyers.”

Greater Nevada Auto Auction hosted the first Manheim Power Sport event on February 24. BMW MotorRad, BMW Financial Services and select dealer consignors ran more than 80 motorcycles through the lanes. The sale also included additional BMWFS motorcycles that were simulcast during the sale from Manheim (Pa.) Auto Auction.

Karen Braddy, formerly Manheim’s director of Best Practices, has been named director of boat, RV, motorcycle, and power sports. Braddy will focus on building and identifying best practices for these recreational vehicles and utilizing technology to meet customer needs. She will report directly to Nick Peluso, senior vice president of sales.

“Our goal is to leverage our existing facilities, relationships and technology to bring efficiency to this marketplace,” said Braddy. “By bringing product and buyer together, both physically and electronically, we believe we can achieve the critical mass necessary to provide a true marketplace for these products. This is similar to Manheim’s highly successful Exotic Highline automobile sales – but with boats, RVs, motorcycles, and power sports products.”

Manheim will offer the same pre- and post-sale services that the company offers automotive remarketers, including arbitration, reconditioning, inspections, and dealer financing. In the coming weeks, Manheim will provide detailed electronic condition reports on all types of power sport vehicles. This is especially important for RVs, where vehicle options vary widely and announcements are necessary for almost every vehicle up for sale.

The main consignors of power sport vehicles are banks and lending institutions, manufacturers, and select fleet and rental companies. There is also a steady supply of dealer consignment vehicles. Participating auctions were selected based on market demand, although many auctions have expressed interest in participating in the program and the company will evaluate expansion opportunities as they arise.

Manheim’s Power Sport auctions are: