BRAINTREE — Sales managers at South Shore car dealerships reported strong and steady sales this past Presidents Day weekend compared with previous years, despite the pandemic largely keeping South Shore residents in their homes.
Presidents Day weekend is typically one of the most significant sales periods for local auto dealers, attracting incentive programs and deals from vehicle manufacturers.
At Quirk Chrysler Jeep in Braintree, sales manager Rafael Mejia said that the dealership has seen consistent, if not more business this Presidents Day than previous years. Mejia said this was because people are wary of using public transportation during the pandemic, and are looking for their own vehicles to avoid taking it.
Mike Toomey at Toyota of Braintree echoed that sentiment, and said people are want pre-owned vehicles, adding a second or third vehicle to their household.
"They don't want to take the public transportation," said Toomey, the internet director for the dealership, "so they need another vehicle to commute with."
Toomey said they've been busy at the dealership, as Presidents Day weekend is always one of their busiest three-day stretches of the year. They typically sell just fewer than 100 vehicles during the holiday weekend, Toomey said, and are on track to reach that number this year.
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Prospective buyers were buzzing around Quirk Chrysler Jeep in Braintree on Sunday, a few couples sitting at the indoor tables waiting to speak with salespeople and look at upgrading their current vehicles.
Aishwarya Parker, of Braintree, was at Quirk Chrysler Jeep on Sunday with her husband and a friend, as well as her German shepherd, looking to potentially upgrade a SUV.
"I think my husband looked online," Parker said. "I think he knew that there were potentially going to be sales this weekend, but I think they do have a couple of specials. (We're) kind of still just looking."
Amanda McDonnell was also at Quirk Chrysler Jeep on Sunday and was looking to buy a four-door Jeep.
"I have vacation," McDonnell said about what drew her into the dealership this weekend. "I'm a teacher, so I have the week off."
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Over at Tufankjian Honda of Plymouth, general manager Mike Bender said that car sales this weekend have been average compared to previous years.
"It's pretty typical — a lot of buyers (are) out more than normal sales," Bender said. "Not the biggest ever like 20 years ago...but it's pretty solid. We're doing well."
Bender said they've sold 20 cars this holiday weekend, as of Monday morning, but Monday tends to be the biggest sales day of the weekend. In an average weekend they sell about half that number of cars, he said.
At Best Chevrolet in Hingham, Alex Shulman, dealer principal, said that sales have been consistent despite low inventory, due to the pandemic, but that they cannot please every customer due to these inventory constraints.
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"It's been consistent, but that hasn't really changed much in the past six months," Shulman said. "The sales levels have been pretty competitive across all dealerships. Despite a COVID market, we're all doing pretty well. There's low inventory that everyone's dealing with, but its like the housing market — when there's very little inventory, prices tend to hold a little bit better, so that's kind of been our competitive advantage."
Shulman said they've had a good weekend overall, selling about 15 or 20 cars, although there is nothing to compare the new numbers to, as indicators have changed, in terms of expenses and inventory, for example, due to the pandemic.
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The Link LonkFebruary 16, 2021 at 04:15AM
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Presidential tradition: Holiday weekend helps drive car sales - The Patriot Ledger
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