GILROY
– We’ve all seen it dramatized on TV or in the movies: A line of
autoworkers puts together a car piece by piece, and suddenly it is
driven out of the factory and into the sunset.
GILROY – We’ve all seen it dramatized on TV or in the movies: A line of autoworkers puts together a car piece by piece, and suddenly it is driven out of the factory and into the sunset.
For auto dealers, this scene is merely the infancy stage for a new car because the vehicle is still several days from being placed on the showroom floor.
At Gilroy Toyota, a new car could have come from one of four locations, says Service Manager Larry Crewse. Some cars come to the local dealership straight from a factory in Japan. Others are shipped in from Detroit, Fremont or San Pedro, the port of Los Angeles.
“Most come off the ships in Los Angeles and then get trucked in,” Crewse said.
Anywhere from 30 to 50 cars and trucks will make such a journey every week, according to Crewse.
“If we sell 50 Corollas this month, we’re going to order 50 Corollas next month,” Crewse said.
Once the truck pulls into the dealership lot, with up to 20 cars on its multilevel truck bed, the new vehicles are driven off and parked in the service center parking lot.
Typically, the $500-per-automobile delivery charge gets passed on to the buyer.
Still, the new cars are not ready to be displayed with the other 150 or so new cars on the Toyota lot because great strides were taken to prevent damage.
A special sort of shrink wrap plastic was placed around the hood, roof and tailgate to prevent scratches from rocks that may have been kicked up by the delivery truck.
To prevent the paint from rusting during its overseas transport, a special gel is placed over the body of the car. Also, a wax-like material is placed over certain internal car parts to protect them from rust and other damage.
Once the car has been cleared of its protective garments, it is checked for any dings or dents. After that, the vehicle’s mechanics are checked out by test driving it around the block and on the freeway.
“It’s basically a series of rides we take around the block and onto the freeway and back to the lot,” Gilroy Toyota Sales Manager Scott Kusayanagi said.
After the vehicle clears inspection, it is placed in the front of the lot or the showroom. The cars in the front of the lot are either grouped by color or type. The cars in the showroom typically have nonstandard features that the dealer wants to show off.
Crewse says wherever a new car is placed, customers seem to track down what they’re looking for.
“No one spot seems to sell cars any quicker,” Crewse said. “Personally, my opinion is people know basically what they want, they find it on the lot and they buy it.”
