A lot of choices for sellers

Spokane Park-It Market has a simple business plan: you park your car on their lot. They try to sell it. They and you split any proceeds from the sale.

Launched in June along the East Sprague dealership strip, Spokane Park-It Market is one of the first Spokane used-vehicle businesses using a “sell-it-on-our-lot” philosophy. Similar ventures have sprouted across the country, including Autos By Owners, which opened in Coeur d’Alene earlier this month.

Consignment vehicle lots typically get a percentage take of any vehicle sale. That’s usually an inducement to higher prices, people in the car industry say.

Spokane Park-It-Market and others that take a similar approach charge a flat fee per sale

The company’s business manger, Dan Franks, said the plan is to help vehicle owners find buyers more quickly than using the want-ads. The lot’s other appeal is to not buy the cars it’s got on display. Without spending money on acquiring vehicles, the dealership can help keep down the prices for vehicles, said Franks.

That saves money for the buyer. Franks said dealerships like Park-It-Market also put money into the pockets of the seller. Those who take their cars to a regular dealer will find trade-ins usually result in the loss of up to $3,000 in value, said Ed Courton, sales manager at Park-It-Market.

Sellers might not be able to help a would-be buyer get a loan. “That’s where we offer added services,” Courton said. “We can provide credit” to a buyer or even take a car in trade to help make a sale happen.

Park-It Market takes used cars, trucks, motorcycles, even boats, and helps get buyers to visit its lot and make a purchase.

Courton and Franks are brothers-in-law who decided to move to Spokane in the past year, at the invitation of Harold Franks, Dan’s father, a Spokane resident.

Harold Franks, who works in Alaska much of the year, spotted a flourishing company doing the same thing in Anchorage. The elder Franks suggested his son and Courton start the same kind of business in Spokane.

They’ve added four other office workers — all family members.

“This looked like a great opportunity to start a business that can help people in this area, and be something people in our family could work for,” said Dan Franks.

The initial month of June netted one total sale. July was better, but still just three sold vehicles, said Courton. “It’s exhausting work. We spend a lot of hours here,” said Dan Franks.

They now have an inventory of about two dozen cars and trucks. “We expect that more people will stop in as they see our inventory grow bigger,” Courton said.

The cars on the lot (or in the interior showroom) fall into three categories. Group one is the most basic group of vehicles simply left on the lot by the owner. “We don’t represent those vehicles,” Courton said. The owner pays $30 per week and the dealership doesn’t split the sale proceeds.

In the second group, owners park the car and leave the key with Courton and Franks. Would-be buyers can start the engine and look inside, but that’s as much as involvement as Park-It-Market has. The business gets $149 under this plan for a four-week use of the lot.

The third option is the full-bore effort. Courton and Franks take cars or trucks they consider high-value deals, they clean and certify their condition, and advertise them through TV, the Internet or print.

Buyers get free Kelly Blue Book quotes plus a free Carfax car history. Park-It Market also helps a buyer get financing if needed.

Under the third plan, the owner pays $399 up-front for four weeks of lot rental. If the vehicle sells for more than $5,000, Park-It Market makes an extra $500 fee. If sold for less than $5,000, the fee is $250. Higher fees apply for sales of RV homes, campers, boats or utility vehicles.

Under the first two options, sellers choose the sale price. In option three, Courton and Franks help the seller try to find the optimum best price.

“But ultimately, whatever the owner wants to charge, he’s in charge,” Franks said.

Spokane-area resident John Goris, who’s retired, decided to sell his daughter’s 1999 Jetta at the lot recently. He opted for the second option “because I just don’t want to take the time to run down to some lot and meet people. This is a time-saving option for me,” Goris said.

He’s set the price on the vehicle at $5,990 and hasn’t had any serious buyers so far. “I’ve had a few calls on it, but response hasn’t been great, so far,” he said.

At Coeur d’Alene’s Autos By Owners — at 1710 N. Fourth St. — people pay a flat fee to display their vehicle for 35 days. The fees vary by sales price. For a car priced at $5,000 or less, the lease price would be $149.

Potential buyers must contact the sellers if they want to take a car or a truck for a test drive. The lot keeps a set of keys, but only to move the vehicle in case of an emergency, said owner Mike Fowle.

Since Autos By Owners opened three weeks ago, three vehicles have sold.

Business writer Becky Kramer contributed to this report.