Published October 2002

Auto industry cruising along, dealers say

By Kimberly Hilden
SCBJ Assistant Editor

The past few years have been good to the Skagit County auto industry. In 1996, the county recorded $163.6 million in taxable retail sales of new and used vehicles, according to the state Department of Revenue. By 2001, that number had more than doubled to $339 million.

According to state figures, sales for the first quarter of this year were down only slightly from the same time a year ago — despite a soft economy. And throughout this year, sales have continued to be healthy, area auto dealers say.

“Sales at this store have been substantially higher,” said Pat Brady, sales manager of Foothills Pontiac Buick Toyota in Burlington.

Over at Blade Chevrolet in Mount Vernon, President Mike Blade echoes that sentiment.

“We’re blessed to have survived a lot of bad news, economic and otherwise,” he said, crediting in part the zero-percent financing incentives that General Motors implemented shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks last year, when the already sputtering economy was at the receiving end of another jolt.

“Since then, they’ve been ahead of the curve, trying to do everything they can to move inventory and help keep the economy going,” said Blade, noting that sales in automobiles and trucks continue to be healthy at his dealership, which carries new Chevrolets, used cars and trucks, and new and used recreational vehicles.

But there was a sales slump in RVs from Sept. 11 through March, Blade said, with “six months of drastically lower sales” as people decided not to spend their money on items deemed a luxury. RV sales have since rebounded, though, with Blade experiencing a “normal summer.”

“We like to think that we’ve done a good job here with our corporate philosophy of selling: treat your customers like your neighbors and give them more than they pay for,” he said.

It also helps that Skagit auto dealers like Blade have been and continue to market to its neighbors to the south.

“We like Snohomish County. ... It’s been a growing market for us for five years, growing every year,” said Blade.

So does Skagit Auto Center in Burlington, which advertises in print from the Canadian border to Everett and in radio, reaching even farther south.

“We’re strong in Whatcom, Snohomish and Skagit. We also see people from the Seattle market,” said Mike Grisham, general sales manager of the dealership, which carries Jeep, Lincoln, Mercury and Mazda brands, plus assorted used vehicles.

“We see more and more people from Seattle for the lower tax rate,” he added.

In Skagit County, the sales tax ranges from 7.6 percent in unincorporated areas to 7.8 percent in cities such as Anacortes, Burlington and Mount Vernon. That compares to tax rates ranging from 8 percent to 8.9 percent in various parts of Snohomish County and 8.4 percent to 8.8 percent in various parts of King County.

While that might mean a savings of just a hundred dollars on a $10,000 automobile, it does attract business, said Joe Carson, sales manager of Gateway Auto Center in Mount Vernon, which specializes in late-model used vehicles.

“We tell the customers, ‘Our tax is a lot less than down south, 7.8 percent,’ which helps a bit,” he said.

What also helps a bit is the growing number of tourist attractions.

“A lot of people seem to come down on the weekends because we’ve become more ‘touristy,’ ” Carson said of the county, which is home to the popular Skagit Valley Tulip Festival, La Conner’s shopping district and museums, Anacortes’ Waterfront Festival and Mount Vernon’s Highland Games and Scottish Faire.

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