F&I and Showroom, June 2016

www fi magazine com 14 F I and Showroom June 2016 DEALER PROFILE I It was July 2012 and Alvin Big Al Heggs was faced with one of those life altering decisions Fresh out of Chryslers 18 month Dealer Candidate Development DCD program he could either return to a guaranteed seven figure paycheck as a general manager at an AutoNation store in Houston or buy an underperforming dealership in the Phoenix suburb of Mesa Ariz Heggs took the less certain path Through the DCD program which is designed to give minority candidates a leg up in purchasing and operating dealerships he bought Superstition Springs Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram in January 2013 with 300000 of his own money and a 27 million loan from Chrysler The gamble paid off In a little over three years the dealership has more than doubled its net F I profit and the average number of vehicles sold per year The achievement is the result of a serious commitment to process by Heggs core team a group of five automotive retail professionals the dealer principal drafted from his previous store in Texas Director of Operations Ken Murray Finance Director Ben Saxton General Sales Manager Kevin Barnes Controller Skip Whatcott and Office Manager Layla Davis all opted to follow Heggs from Spring Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram which was in the process of being acquired by AutoNation while Heggs was enrolled in the DCD program It was a leap of faith Heggs says I jumped and said Hey I think we can do this for all of us That was my OPERATION OVERHAUL Alvin Heggs took a leap of faith when he bought a fledgling dealership in Mesa Ariz three years ago But his gamble on Superstition Springs Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram paid off in spades BY BRITTANY MARIE SWANSON Pictured is Superstition Springs Dealer Principal Alvin Heggs and Finance Director Ben Saxton When Heggs closed the deal on the Mesa Ariz dealership three years ago net F I profit was around 240000 per month and the F I team averaged 600 per copy on 135 units sold per month Since then F I net profit has skyrocketed to 510000 a month while the F I team now averages 2700 per copy on 313 units sold per month