Cent. Ind. car dealers brace for cuts

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - It is a tense week for some Central Indiana auto dealers. Some 2,000 car dealers across the country are expected to receive notice that they're going to be put out of business.

"We're all sitting on pins and needles," said Dave Cox, owner of Hare Chevrolet in Noblesville.

Cox is confident his dealership is strong, and that it will survive. But sometime in the coming week, it's likely Chrysler and GM will notify thousands of its dealers that they are no longer wanted.

"Ninety-five percent or more of the dealerships in the state of Indiana are family-owned businesses, are independently owned by private people," said Cox. "And this is really tough when you've been running a business for years and years and years, several generations of a family, and you get notice that you may get shut down."

More than 100 people work at Hare Chevrolet. Statewide, more than 21,000 people work at auto dealerships.

"The folks who may have a more difficult time are going to be the mechanics, the people who worked in the service bays, the administrative folks who handle all the paperwork for either the new cars or the servicing of the new cars because, where are they going to go?" asked Carol Rogers of the Indiana Business Research Center.

"It's a sad day, it really is," said Dave Cox. "And in lots of cases, there's no situation where it's bad business. It's just, things are changing."

Cox said he hopes that, despite all the uncertainty, people aren't afraid to buy cars right now. He said warranties will protect them, even if a dealership disappears.

He added that if people were able to get credit more easily right now, the dealerships would be in better shape.