NW 41st and May Avenue

[RadicalModerate]

Sorry, amigo, but that post reminded me of this scene from the classic bicycle movie, "Breaking Away" . . .

Now, whether the buyers who left happy ALSO got good deals is up for debate. It's a truism in that business that often those who got the best deals are the least happy, and those who are the most happy unwittingly also got a solid screwing.

Perfect.

[Pete]

Ah, yet another example of the "good ol' days".

Imagine a dealership trying any of those tactics now... They'd be crucified in social media.


Buying a car used to be an absolute nightmare, even at the nicer dealerships. I bought my first new car in 1982 from Jack Robbins Porsche/Audi on Broadway (an Audi 4000) and it was a horrible experience, more or less like the infamous scene in the movie Fargo.

Those old time car dealers made absolutely tons of profit, mostly in dishonest and/or unethical ways.

[Jim Kyle]

I believe that the younger Hickeys were running the show by that time. We did go there, once, after the high pressure tactics came in, and the experience was very different from what we had experienced in the very early 80s.

As an insurance adjuster handling the dealership's account before 1984, my wife had become quite well acquainted with the whole upper management echelon there (and her firm also handled accounts for other dealerships so she had a good basis for comparison) and felt that it was the best in the city at that time. However, things can and do change greatly when control passes to a new generation. After getting her company car out of bondage on that last visit, we never even considered going back.

I have vague memories, too, that the younger Hickeys retained ownership of the land when selling the business, which might explain why it has remained empty for so many years...

[ctchandler]

Pete,
I agree, I bought my 1971 MG at Bolen Imports on N. Robinson and even the financing was a huge deal. I told the salesman up front that I was paying cash (I had already gotten a commitment for a loan from my credit union) and he said that was fine. Then when it came time to write the check and sign the paperwork, I was taken in to the manager's office. He was irate that I wasn't borrowing the money from them and I wasn't sure he was going to allow me to leave if I didn't change my mind and take their loan. All that for a lousy 1/2 percent, the dealers profit from the loan. Needless to say, I had no kind words to say about that dealer. I should have gone to Fretwell's on N. May.
C. T.

[rte66man]

Sorry to disagree with you Jim, but the shenanigans like the tire slashers, "losing" the keys to your trade-in and the "guard" in the "guard shack" actually being a last-chance sales manager actually happened when Lynn Hickey owned the dealership. Lots of people had wonderful experiences there, but those were usually people who specifically to buy a Dodge and who found the one they wanted there. If you were just kicking tires, or looking for "a car" but not specifically a Dodge, you could expect some high pressure tactics before you were "allowed" to leave.

Now, whether the buyers who left happy ALSO got good deals is up for debate. It's a truism in that business that often those who got the best deals are the least happy, and those who are the most happy unwittingly also got a solid screwing.

I too disagree with Jim. We bought an 88 Shadow there. Despite many efforts and a screaming fight with the service manager, they refused to fix ANY of the things that were wrong with the car (and no, it was not a used car). Refused to go back after that.

[Urbanized]

I think now that what Jim was saying was NOT that the high-pressure stuff started only after LH was bought out; just that it didn't happen until after LH's son(s?) were running things. That could certainly be true. I recall Wade Hickey being also prominent in the advertising during that period, so he possibly was running things without much involvement by his dad. The fact still remains that there were some seriously shady shenanigans during that time.

I worked for Fred Jones Companies for about five years in the mid-nineties and got to know people who had previously worked at LH (and many other dealerships). One was a finance manager who had worked there during the height of that monkey business, and the stories he told were straight-up shocking. Of course, I was probably easily shocked; FJ was the only company I ever worked for in that industry and though rarely some folks went off of the reservation, there was a strong corporate bias against screwing customers.

One other comment: if you think a dealership can only mark your loan up half a point, you probably have had a few notes that made the dealer/lender a BUNCH of money.

[ctchandler]

Urbanized,
At that time, 1972, that was a normal amount that a dealer would receive for his cut. The dealer did nothing except convince the customer what a good loan it was, all the risk was with the parent company, the credit checking was covered, and at that time (maybe forever since I believe Bolen's was always a GM dealer) Bolen's auto loans were actually financed by GMAC. I have never had a loan from the dealer, although when I married my late wife, she had purchased her 1966 Chevy Malibu from Murdock Salyer in Norman and she took the GMAC loan.
C. T.

One other comment: if you think a dealership can only mark your loan up half a point, you probably have had a few notes that made the dealer/lender a BUNCH of money.

[cindycat]

Tom Parks it was. He had a regular circuit.

It was Tom Park. Google the name and find his website - still in the business, I guess. You can even get a DVD of his commercials. Darn! I wish I'd known about that before Christmas. What a lovely gift that would have been.

[biznesschic1959]

Remember when poor Lynn was suspended on that crane for about a week, and failed to sell the amount of cars he vowed to sell until he came down? Last I heard of the guy.

[BB37]

I think Lynn got his start in the car business down the street at Dub Richardson Ford. My dad bought his 1966 Mustang new from DRF, and Hickey was the salesman.

[BB37]

Just saw a new posting that this property has been sold for a new Sam's Club.

Sam's Club to 39th & N. May - OKCTalk

[Computerguy]

If anyone wants to see what Lynn Hickey Dodge looked like, you can look at the area on Bing's map website. The old Mayfair Market and Smicklas Chevrolet on there too. I am glad to see some new businesses come to the area.