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Saccucci Honda vs Honda of America Latest News

by joconnor on Thu Sep 11 11:57:19 PDT 2008

Honda's family squabble Using hints from Honda field reps, a small Rhode Island dealership began taking service contract business away from Honda stores around the country. Guess who got mad. Kathy Jackson Automotive News | September 8, 2008 - 12:01 am EST PROVIDENCE, R.I. — There was something about young, apple-cheeked Gardiner Reynolds that Honda field reps liked. A couple of them took the energetic, Gen Y computer whiz under their wings. In the process, they helped Reynolds save his grandmother's small, struggling Rhode Island auto dealership, Saccucci Honda. Reynolds, now 28, oversees one of the nation's top-selling retail Web sites for Honda parts and accessories. Another site he launched at Saccucci Honda may be the No. 1 retailer of Honda-backed extended warranties. These days, the little dealership can hold its own with much larger stores. It sells a huge number of service contracts at cost and rakes in factory bonus money based on volume. The Honda execs were so impressed with the kid's online operation — which has only two employees — that they brought executives from Japan to see for themselves. American Honda Finance Corp.'s finance and insurance zone manager once stood up at a dealer meeting and called Saccucci Honda's Internet business: "American capitalism at its best." But not everyone was thrilled. When several big Honda dealerships around the country began to complain about losing business to Saccucci's Web site, Honda got the message. The automaker put a stop to the online sales of Honda-backed warranties. Saccucci sued and now the dispute is in court. Monthly supplements Internet sales have provided a nice niche for Saccucci Auto Group. Here’s how the dollars are flowing from cyberspace. WEB SITE WHAT IT SELLS MONTHLY REVENUES hondapartsdeals.com Honda parts and accessories $200,000-300000 myhondawarranty.com Honda extended warranties $200,000 myfordwarranty.com Ford/Lincoln Mercury extended warranties $60,000 The answer: The Web Saccucci Honda hasn't had it easy this decade. Honda is having a good year, but the dealership's sales and profit margins on sales of new vehicles are dropping. The family-owned dealership has a tiny customer base on the island city of Middletown, R.I., with a population of 16,000. And right down the road, Boston-based Ernie Boch operates the largest Honda dealership in the country — famous throughout New England for ubiquitous TV commercials urging customers to "come on down" for the deals. Saccucci Honda's owners — 83-year-old Cora Saccucci and her two daughters, Barbara, 56, and Carol, 53 — are a conservative bunch. For years, they knew only one way to do business — the old-fashioned way. Then in 2006, Honda executives began applying pressure. In letters to the Saccuccis, they complained about the dealership's lack of working capital and the store's outdated facility, which also houses a Lincoln Mercury franchise. Automotive News http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/ANA0... 1 of 4 9/11/2008 14:55 The Saccucci women worried and began looking for an answer. It turned out to be right under their noses: Barbara's son Gardiner, a 2003 computer science graduate from Providence College. The field reps took an immediate liking to Reynolds. They had begun pushing dealers to turn to e-commerce — and the kid seemed to have the right stuff. "Honda would bring people in from Japan and say, 'Look what this kid has done,' " Barbara Saccucci said during court testimony here last month. "We make very little if any net profit on new and used-car sales. With Gardiner, I felt we were on the right track to enter the new millennium." ENLARGE Computer whiz Gardiner Reynolds, the son of one of the dealership owners, capitalized on Internet sales to expand the tiny store's customer base. Photo credit: NEAL HAMBERG Vital to bottom line But after complaints from Honda's National Dealer Advisory Board, the automaker decided that beginning April 1, it would prohibit Honda and Acura dealers from selling Honda-backed extended service contracts online. On March 28, Saccucci Honda won a temporary restraining order. The dealer council says Saccucci's low-priced online contracts were undercutting other dealers' in-house sales of service contracts and damaging the brand image. Barbara Saccucci says the online sales keep her in business. "Honda has a pump-in, pump-out list that shows where we have sold out of market and where others have sold in," she says. "We lose sales to other markets all of the time, so we have to work hard on the phone and the Internet to bring in sales. "This is an important part of our bottom line," she adds. "We may have to reconsider keeping the franchise if they take" away the online sales. Saccucci Auto Group was founded in the 1950s by Cora's husband, Michael Saccucci, who died in 1984. Michael was the general manager of a Lincoln Mercury store in nearby Newport, R.I. He acquired the franchise from the owner and in 1968, bought 5.5 acres in Middletown and moved the Lincoln Mercury store to the site. The Honda franchise was added in 1978. These days, the store sells about 80 to 100 new and used Hondas monthly and has 53 employees in the small, aging Automotive News http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080908/ANA0... 2 of 4 9/11/2008 14:55 dealership. Cora, working alongside her husband, handled jobs in all parts of the dealership and brought in the girls to keep it a family affair. Each of the women owns one-third of the business. "My husband always told me he would die before me," says Cora, an octogenarian who comes to the store every day. "He told me not to ever take on a partner and, if I do sell the franchise, to keep the land," which court records show is valued at nearly $3 million. The three women hope to pass the franchise on to Reynolds and his 23-year-old cousin, Michael Meyer, Carol's son and the store's sales manager. Building business "When Gardiner came to the business, he knew how to make the Internet work," Barbara said. "Everybody at Honda and at the dealership were happy because they knew this was a new revenue source." Reynolds started in sales when he joined the dealership out of college. According to court testimony, he soon came under the mentoring of Dan Enderley, the dealership's parts and service rep from American Honda. Enderley "felt the Internet was the future; he lit that fire in me," Reynolds said. "He came by often and would take me out to lunch. He knew we were small and thought we were too caught up in the family dealership. He thought the Internet could help us compete with bigger stores." Under Enderley's tutelage, Reynolds launched Hondapartsdeals.com in May 2004. The Web site initially sold only accessories. The next year, Reynolds added Honda's entire parts business, which brings in $200,000 to $300,000 a month. That's the same amount the dealership sells in parts a

A rube is born...

by doctorrocket9 on Tue Aug 12 00:25:17 PDT 2008

The Highlander is the first hybrid I've owned, and we love it. We have learned how to coast as often as possible, and we love the nav. Yesterday the dealer who sold us the car, Middletown Toyota of Middletown Ct, snagged us as the 15000 mile service. We brought our Highlander Hybrid in for an oil change. The service advisor showed us an official looking chart explaining many other services "needed" at 15000 miles, including a tune up and new PCV valve. They said it was because the car is a hybrid. The charge for the service was $250 rather than the $25 the oil change cost. We thought this was Toyota's recommendation, and since we had never owned a hybrid before, we believed the dealer. When we got the car back, we read the manufacturer's recommendation, that said we didn't need any of that extra service until 60000 miles. The dealer ripped us off for $225 in service we didn't need. I post this since the only reason I fell for it was being a new hybrid owner, so if you don't want to be a rube like me, thoroughly know your service needs before you walk into the dealer service department.

Re: DCH Paramus Purchase [oddpath]

by efpat2 on Mon Aug 11 17:41:47 PDT 2008

Oddpath, The rules of the forum do not allow me to post names, email address or phone numbers. Sorry. I learned during my research that the only two prices that are variable are the price of the car and the doc fee. The destination charge is 670 and I could not get anyone to lower it, the registration fee is mandated by state law, it does change depending on if you have lien or not. I did not so it was 234. I believe its 254 if there is a lien. The doc fee was 199. There are two taxes. 7% of the price and the $7.50 new tire tax!! But, as I've said elsewhere, the dealers don't charge those (our friends in Trenton do) , they just collect them. That's all I paid. I got quotes from DCH Paramus, Middletown Honda in Middletown NY, Route 22 Honda in Hillside and Sussex Honda. Route 22 gave me the best price on the car but their doc fee was 350. So I called the salesperson at DCH. He met the price and I saved 150 on the fees. I was very suprised that I found one dealer that was 500 under invoice right off the bat and I convinced another dealer to match. BUT these are 2008s and they want to deal. As I said in another post, I owe a great deal to mquillen. Take the time to read his posts. He has a lot of knowledge to share. Good luck. EFPAT

Re: yepper! [saablcp]

by airpower on Wed Jun 25 09:29:10 PDT 2008

This Saab 9-5 is available for $15,000 off the sticker: New 2007 Saab 9-5 Aero: $42,915 MSRP 5 Speed Manual Sedan 4 Cylinder Turbo 2 wheel drive - front Fusion Blue, VIN YS3EH45G673510947 Barry's Middletown, Inc. 1-866-503-6403 He has three more available at less 10 to 12K. Keep in mind that the discount is more like $ 16200 compared to the 2008 model as the manual transmission was made a "no cost" option.

08 Honda Lease

by scushing on Fri Apr 18 04:29:08 PDT 2008

EX-L with RES, no NAV Middletown Honda, New York 36 months, 12K mile/year Money Factor: 0.00095 Nothing out of pocket 455 month Seems correct to me. What do you guys think?

Decent Deal in NJ

by blackmax01se on Sun Feb 24 07:01:34 PST 2008

Spent about 2 weeks looking at edmunds and local dealer ad's. The old 2001 Maxima just hit 109,000 and its time to move on. Geat car, hope my new Accord holds up as well. 2008 EX-L Grey on Grey ( according to the dealers seems everyone wants Grey) Any way negotiated an invoice deal from a few dealers $24,000. Now here is where it gets good.I wanted a rear spoiler and Fog lamps (dealer installed options). Everyone said these were $1200 list add ons. I also did not want to finance at the average 5.5%. I picked up my Accord for $25,500 with three years zero percent financing. I figure I saved about $600 on the options and $600 on the finance cost. Really love the look with the spoiler and fogs. Kay Honda Eatontown nj