Beach Auto Brokers shows their support in the local community by sponsoring Life Rolls On, a subsidiary of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, on Saturday, August 8 at the Virginia Beach oceanfront for They Will Surf Again.

They Will Surf Again (TWSA) is an award-winning series of bi-coastal events that empower paraplegics and quadriplegics to experience the freedom of mobility by riding a wave with the assistance of adaptive equipment and the support of hard working volunteers. They Will Surf Again has the unique ability to engage and bridge the able-bodied and disabled communities, as they collaborate to push the bounds of possibility for those with SCI.

When the opportunity came up for Beach Auto Brokers to sponsor this event, Brian Jones, a local surfer himself and Dealer Operator for Beach Auto Brokers, jumped on it.  “As a local business owner and a father myself, it means so much to me to be able to give back to the community and make a difference.  Watching those who you wouldn’t think could get on a surfboard be able to ride the waves is an inspiration to us all, and we are proud to be a part of this event” Jones commented.

Life Rolls On is a non-profit organization that inspires others to see the boundless possibilities beyond paralysis. Established in 2002, LRO’s signature adaptive surfing program, They Will Surf Again, has grown into a catalyst of hope for thousands of individuals throughout the world.

About Beach Auto Brokers: Located in Norfolk, VA, Beach Auto Brokers has fresh Inventory arriving daily with prices starting below most Hampton Roads Competitors, and a wide selection of brands including Chevy, Ford, Dodge, Nissan and Toyota to select from. For more information about Beach Auto Brokers, visit www.beachautobrokers.com or call 1-757-480-6500.

If you grew up in the 1960’s or the 1980’s, you most likely watched The Jetson’s and probably dreamed about being in a car that could actually fly!!!  Well, today we are telling you that dream may actually come true.  The Jetson’s tv cartoon was set in 2062, and believe it or not that is right around the corner (even though when you were a kid it seemed eons away!).

In 2009, a company named Terrafugia (they make flying cars) promised that its first flying model, the Transition, would roam the highways, byways, and airways by mid-2010. Two months later, there was footage of the Transition in flight. And in mid-2010 – right on schedule – the FAA gave the Terrafugia Transition its blessing. WOW!

But five years later, we’re still looking to the skies, hoping to see the Transition on the horizon.

So while it may seem that Terrafugia Transition may be charting a course for the trash heap (because Terrafugia seems completely uninterested in promoting the Transition model that was actually approved by the FAA), we still must acknowledge that the flying car is coming… and we are excited to see it happen!!!

Beach Auto Brokers has been in business since 1985, Driven by excellence and proudly serving the Hampton Roads community for over 25 years. The Beach Auto Brokers full inventory of vehicles is available for you to look at, test drive, and ask questions about.  And our knowledgeable staff is ready to help you.  And while you’re here, we’ll take a look at your current vehicle and tell you what its worth – on the retail market and the trade-in value.

With 3 major American Patriotic holidays all falling around the summer – Memorial Day, 4^th of July, and Labor Day – summertime makes us all feel a little more patriotic.  So it seems like a great time to note that Americans are increasingly rediscovering the importance of buying local, or buying U.S.-made products. And for some households, that value system extends to their family vehicle.

One of the main reason why people buy American is the economic impact, of course we want to purchase something that helps our own economy. That’s where the so-called Made In America Index, from the Kogod School of Business at the American University, Washington, D.C., comes in.

The index looks at these items:
– Profit margin (depending on where the headquarters are located)
– Labor (assembly point), research and development
– Inventory, capital, and other expenses (location of assembly)
– Engine and transmission origin (location)
– Body, interior, chassis, electrical, and other (location)
– For the latter item, the index uses the current AALA percentage, although here it’s given a strong push up based on the assembly location, R&D activities, and parts and materials sourcing.

“The index reveals that vehicles produced by automakers whose headquarters are located in the U.S. rated higher in overall domestic content because the profit derived from the sale of these vehicles was more likely to return or remain in the U.S,” said the authors of a report explaining the methodology.

We do have to recognize that there is no 100% American model on the market; every vehicle has some foreign-made parts.  In fact, there are all sorts of variation. Some models have been engineered in the U.S. and have some home-grown parts but are assembled overseas, or in Mexico, while other models have final assembly in the U.S. but are made of a surprisingly high percentage of foreign parts.

We thought we’d share with you the top 15 vehicles for Total Domestic Content, with their AALA percentages in parenthesis:

Buick Enclave: 87.5 (75)
Chevrolet Traverse: 87.5 (75)
GMC Acadia: 87.5 (75)
Cadillac CTS Coupe 87.5 (75)
Chevrolet Colorado: 83 (66)
GMC Canyon: 83 (66)
Chevrolet Express 83 (80)
GMC Savana: 83 (80)
Ford Expedition: 82.5 (65)
Ford Explorer: 82.5 (65)
Ford F-150: 82.5 (65)
Ford Taurus: 82.5 (65)
Cadillac ATS: 82.5 (65)
Cadillac CTS Sedan: 82.5 (65)
Chevrolet Equinox: 82.5 (65)

Beach Auto Brokers has been in business since 1985, Driven by excellence and proudly serving the Hampton Roads community for over 25 years. The Beach Auto Brokers full inventory of vehicles is available for you to look at, test drive, and ask questions about.  And our knowledgeable staff is ready to help you.  And while you’re here, we’ll take a look at your current vehicle and tell you what its worth – on the retail market and the trade-in value.

We meet people every that walk into the dealership showroom, but really don’t want to be there… they want a new vehicle, but have an aversion to the process.  Well, many of these people shop online for almost everything else in their lives.  And they would rather shop for their next car that way too.  That being said, its not surprising that a new survey shows that 76% of consumers around the globe would consider buying vehicles online rather than in a showroom.

Here are some of the key findings in the study that was completed:
– Most consumers do research online when looking for a new car, and most of them do so before approaching a dealership.
– Consumers were mostly satisfied with their recent purchase experience.
– Maintenance and customer service are big concerns for shoppers.
– 87% of respondents predicted that the car-buying process would be simplified by moving online in the near future.
– Consumers today seem far more comfortable with online car purchases than they were just three years ago.
– However; Consumers do seem a bit more wary of carrying out the entire process on the web.  They just want to start the process there, but finish it in person.

It’s clear from the study that consumers are relying on the web in greater numbers. Only 4% of respondents said that they didn’t use the web at all when buying their last ride.

One thing that we know as a dealer our customers value is customer service.  The study told us as well that consumers expect more from dealerships in the way of perks and services. That’s not surprising: with cars of all stripes made increasingly well these days, the differentiating factor between auto brands and dealerships is customer service.

Beach Auto Brokers has been in business since 1985, Driven by excellence and proudly serving the Hampton Roads community for over 25 years. The Beach Auto Brokers full inventory of vehicles is available for you to look at, test drive, and ask questions about.  And our knowledgeable staff is ready to help you.  And while you’re here, we’ll take a look at your current vehicle and tell you what its worth – on the retail market and the trade-in value.

The study referenced above was conducted by Accenture.  It asked 10,000 people in Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. about their use of digital technology before, during, and after buying a car.

Well, the answer could depend on how long you’ve owned it.

The longer you keep your car, the less likely you are to replace it with another model from the same brand.

There may be plenty of brand-and-model exceptions, but that’s what a new analysis from Experian Automotive finds across the vehicle market—and it definitely upends some inferences about the two, as they’re often used in advertising and marketing.

Experian found that, on average, only 33.8% of those who owned a vehicle for 12 years would choose another vehicle from the same brand family; whereas for those who only owned a vehicle for one year, the loyalty rate was nearly 25% higher—57.3%.  Loyalty keeps up near 60% through three years of ownership, then it skews quite sharply downward.

Both Dodge and Buick owners held on to their vehicles the longest (113 months, or about nine and a half years). But Dodge had a very low loyalty rate of 22.6%, while Buick did better, at 38.4%.

And apparently, with more time you’re not exposed to the latest and greatest from the brand you currently have, comes a greater the chance you’ll set eyes on something with a different badge.

“Over the course of seven years of ownership, a lot of things change, including vehicle product offerings, vehicle budget and credit score,” said Experian’s director of automotive market statistics, Brad Smith. “Additionally, the increase in time between dealer interactions, whether they are for sales or service, increases the probability of a customer defecting to the competition.”

Ford and Subaru were among the top brands for loyalty, at 61% and 59.4%, respectively. Among those, Subaru stood out as having a markedly lower, 85-month length of ownership.

Among luxury brands, Acura and

Volvo were the brands with the longest length of ownership.

Beach Auto Brokers has been in business since 1985, Driven by excellence and proudly serving the Hampton Roads community for over 25 years. The Beach Auto Brokers full inventory of vehicles is available for you to look at, test drive, and ask questions about.  And our knowledgeable staff is ready to help you.  And while you’re here, we’ll take a look at your current vehicle and tell you what its worth – on the retail market and the trade-in value.