Manitowoc car dealer sells across the globe

Web site creates overseas sales for First Chrysler

Charlie Mathews | Herald Times Reporter | MANITOWOC — Mark Wilson wasn't able to kick the tires on the 2005 Dodge Ram SRT-10 pickup truck he bought from First Chrysler earlier this month.

Wilson lives in New Zealand. His truck will arrive in several weeks, with a $12,000 shipping fee on top of the $28,500 purchase price from the car dealer on Manitowoc's west side.

He is one of more than 200 customers who have, in the past five years, bought cars from Dick Kornely via the Internet.

"Many customers are more comfortable negotiating online, rather than talking to a salesman face to face," said Kornely, who's been in the car business for more than 25 years.

Cars on his Expo Drive lot are sold to customers around the globe via the World Wide Web.

"Cars.com has helped take First Chrysler global," Kornely said, noting his dealership also shipped a Chrysler Town & Country Limited All Wheel Drive mini-van to the Magnus Thor Arnarson family in Iceland.

"We flew out to Wisconsin and drove our Chrysler van back," said Sharon Fisher, of Albuquerque, N.M., in a phone interview. "The Manitowoc dealer's van had the options we wanted."

Customers who choose to have their cars and trucks shipped are responsible for the delivery charges. First Chrysler will arrange for truck delivery to exporters on the West and East coasts when the vehicle is headed overseas.

Wanted DVD system

An Icelandic family will end up paying some $20,000 on top of their $22,193 purchase price for their preferred minivan, with rear seat DVD entertainment system and wireless headphones for their four children.

Mike Rosinsky is First Chrysler's Internet representative, responsible for entering information on various Web sites on about 400 new and used vehicles.

He likes the cars.com Web site because it offers greater flexibility in the descriptive text Rosinsky can link to a particular vehicle, hoping to entice buyers from the Lakeshore area and beyond.

About 85 percent of the dealership's sales have been used vehicles. Potential buyer anxiety about the condition of the vehicle is usually alleviated with Chrysler's 8-year, 80,000-mile power train warranty and 3,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty on certified used cars.

It's more difficult to measure, but Kornely and Rosinsky also are convinced many new car buyers use the Internet to comparison shop, after "building" via the Web their preferred make, model and options.

"Selling off the Internet, we still try to make a fair profit margin," Kornely said. "A difficulty is establishing a fair trade-in value to both parties. We can't see, hear, touch, feel their car over the Internet."

The Web sales are sought after, especially during difficult times like the first nine months of this year, when First Chrysler sold 214 cars, compared to 309 in the same time frame last year, a 31 percent decrease.

Other cars.com participants in the area include Pietroske GM, Pekarske Automotive, Krajnik Chevrolet and Van Horn Chrysler.

One local dealer had its cars appear in more than 1 million cars.com Web site search results, with 36,000 seeking additional details.