Greg Gerber posted on November 19, 2008 09:48
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. -- Dale Broome’s RV Center will shut its doors this month because owner Leeds Foyil said would-be customers can’t secure financing for purchases.
High gas prices hit the business earlier in the year, Foyil said, but a poor national economy was the final nail in the coffin. About one in 25 customers who are interested in purchasing a recreational vehicle have their purchases financed, Foyil said. “I just can’t run a business like this,” he said.
The business, which Foyil has owned for a year, opened in 1954, he said. At this time last year, Foyil said, customers with a credit score of 525 could secure financing from banks without an initial down payment. “Now, you need a score of 750 just to look,” he said.
Foyil purchased the business after working in construction, he said. He is moving to Oregon, a favorite vacation spot for his family, to buy a pawnshop.
“That’s the number (three) business to have in a bad economy,” Foyil said.
Other local RV dealers, however, said even with a tightening of the national credit markets they have not seen any unusual slowdowns this year. Steve Pietro, owner of Bob Scott RVs, said even if consumers have less access to credit, his business has weathered the economic slowdown.
“We’ve been in business for 20 years,” he said. “We sure as hell aren’t going to stop now.”
Brad Humphrey, owner of Humphrey RV & Trailer, said he is sad to hear about Foyil’s business tanking, but he has not seen any unnatural slowdown. “This … is the best year we’ve ever had,” he said. “We’ve sold more (RVs this year) than we ever had.”
SOURCE: Grand Junction Sentinel