Light Truck and SUV Blogs

If you’ve been around for a couple decades, you may remember those old Maytag repair man commercials where it showed the Maytag repair man bored out of his blooming skull as he waited for a Maytag product to break down. The commercial gave the impression that the poor sop had been there doing nothing for a long time and would continue to be idle indefinitely. As a kid, I remember thinking, “Man this guy needs to fix other types of appliances that break down more often.”

With new truck and SUV sales in a double digit slump this year, I’m guessing there are a number of shops out there who are feeling a little like the Maytag repair man. Are you sitting waiting for new unit sales to increase so you can sell accessories and bolster your bottom line? If so, you may be waiting awhile. It seems that the “new” truck and SUV segment may continue to be slow for awhile. This doesn’t mean that there isn’t an active market out there for aftermarket products.

As trucks and SUVs get traded in for hybrids, the ole’ used car lots are going to be chuck full of these types of vehicles. I believe this will present tremendous opportunity as these vehicles become more affordable and the prices on them drop. The consumers buying them will be people who either need the utility they provide, or people looking for a toy. Both groups are prime aftermarket targets. Partnering with used car lots before and after the sale of used vehicles could turn into a gold mine. I know many of you do this already, so I wanted to see if any of you could share successful marketing ideas you have tried in regard to the used market. If we can get the creative juices flowing, maybe all of us can take a few good ideas away to try. Besides, it’s better than sitting around playing solitaire like the Maytag repair man.