Pub. 4 2015-2016 Issue 4

28 San Diego Dealer S ome thirty years ago, a small but growing company embarked upon an unprecedented expansion in the car rental industry. They aggressively pursued the local market, insurance and service replacement sectors like no other company had ever done before. Opening thousands of offices at or near new car dealerships in just a few years, they thrived by relying on the incredible opportunity afforded to them at these establishments. Here were locations with a seemingly endless supply of customers handed to themon a silver platter. These Service and Body Shop customers that needed a replacement vehicle were happy to find a car rental company on-premises or nearby to meet their needs. Most everyone knows the rest of the story. That rental company has since become the largest in the world. You will find themat most airports and they have locations around the globe. And one could argue that it all started with growth based on customers provided by new car dealerships around the U.S. A Different Business Climate For dealerships and their rental departments, times have changed. Warranty coverage for Service customers that includes substitute trans- portation is commonplace. Replacement vehicle coverage for Body Shop customers through their insurance policy is the rule, not the exception. And the demand for neighborhood vehicle rental availability continues to grow, proven by the success of the aforementioned company and thousands of other independent, franchised and dealership-owned rental departments. Clearly, a dealership based rental operation can be a success. On a national basis, even the laws that made running these businesses amore difficult proposition have eased, becoming friendlier to the rental industry. Combine all of this with the reduction in the number of new car dealerships in the U.S., there is no doubt that this has helped dealerships grow their customer base, thereby expanding their potential market for car rental customers. A Better Set of Tools These days, there are many innovations available to help manage a rental department. Vehicle Rental Software that handles every aspect of the business is affordable and easy to use. Some offerings have the ability to integrate with your Dealership Management System for both Accounting and for providing customer information. You can quickly and accurately process transactions and billing. Certainly every dealership has a website…. Now you can link your dealership website to your rental software to allow for reservations to be uploaded automatically. And customers on your website can have access to real time rate and availability information while making these reservations. Years ago, certain levels of technology were only cost effective for the largest rental operations. This is simply no longer the case. Now you can close a rental contract on your iPhone, process the credit card, and email the customer their receipt in a matter of seconds. Vehicle Rental Software can provide you with all the data that you need to manage the business effectively. Knowing where your vehicles are, what is due back and what is overdue is all just a matter of a few keystrokes. Customer data can be utilized for marketing purposes, building your overall dealership business. All the Details Opening a rental department, either as a division within the dealership or as a separate company located on-premises, can be an involved undertaking.There are employees, inventory, office equipment, marketing, The Case for Your Dealership to Open a Rental Department Why You Should Consider This Option for Your Business By ROB HANO