AUCTION ACTION
Ocoee site’s ‘organized chaos’ pushes 200,000 cars through 268-acre site annually
OCOEE — The words and values come fast and furious from auctioneer Sherrell Williamson.
“How about 27-5, do I hear about 28, do I hear $28,000?”
From the floor, reps from car signal to Williamson their bid.
A wink. A subtle nod. An index finger.
Eventually, Williamson shouts the one word the bidders have come to hear: “Sold!”
It’s a dance he does thousands of times on the days he leads the chorus at the 268-acre Manheim auction site in Ocoee.
And the auction, open to dealers and brokers only, has been growing along with the 27-5? What dealerships outstretched used-car industry, which saw 2.7 million certified pre-owned cars change hands in the United States last year.
The increasing demand helped prompt a $4.8 million investment to expand the site’s repair shop and operations. And with the growing use of on-demand, fleet-based car rental apps like Zipcar, company leaders expect continued expansion.
“One of the things we have seen over the last few years is the transformation of the industry,” said Alan Lang, Manheim regional vice president. “With ridesharing and more fleet customers, there is a great demand for service to those particular clients.”
The facility each week sees thousands of cars roll through its dozens of auction bays, with an auctioneer rattling off values at tongue-twisting speeds for each one.
Manheim has built itself into one of the largest automotive auction companies and used car dealership suppliers in the world.
Even traditional car dealerships must be aware of what’s going on at the auctions.
“No matter how much they like or dislike Manheim, every dealer has to deal with them,” said Matt Sadelfeld of Ocoee-based auto broker Simple Car Buying. “They are such a big part of the industry that you cannot disregard them. Their cars set the values for whole markets, so you have to pay attention.”
Sadelfeld, whose company also tracks down Carfax reports and research for banks doing business with prospective customers, often attends the Manheim auctions.
He said he is not surprised people have
been opting to buy used cars more often than in the past, especially as newer cars tend to last longer and can be driven for more miles than ever before.
Though Sadelfeld said today’s newer cars hold value when they roll off the lot better than in the past, fees imposed by dealers end up costing customers more.
“New car dealerships tend to be heavy on backend fees and financing, so some people are turned off and go the pre-owned route,” he said.
Auction day at Manheim can be hectic but set up for the showcase happens all week.
On-site mechanics inspect cars when they are brought in, poring over the automobile’s systems and making sure the car gets entered into Manheim’s robust inventory system.
The cars can then be scooted through Manheim’s machine shop, getting painted and prepped for their time on the block.
They are rolled out slowly, placed in front of bidders for what the auction directors call “organized chaos.”
But while the bidding process — duplicated more than 200,000 times annually at Manheim — has been similar for years, Manheim’s partners have changed.
While used car dealerships continue to make up the majority of its customers, more businesses looking to build a fleet for carshare programs now visit the auctions.
It’s a product of a shift in how people drive, Lang said.
“The younger generation is not as interested in a new car as the previous generations are,” he said. “This leads into these fleets needing servicing and us needing to support that type of mobility.”