Wheelerauto.com to order cars online

Former Acura and Saturn dealer Kirk Wheeler will introduce a new way to car-shop with his dot-com company, wheelerauto.com, which will open next month at 1960 E. Chestnut Expwy. The building that will house the new company is owned by general contractor Dick Patterson and was built about a year ago.

Wheeler will purchase primarily off-lease cars and trucks online from 26 banks and leasing companies, then have them shipped to his location on Chestnut Expressway for customers to pick up. He said the cars are inspected before they are put up for sale on the Web, and will come to him with a guarantee that he will pass on to the customer.

Dealing mainly in used cars, Wheeler said the increased availability of off-lease cars on the Internet led him to start the new company. He said he's not aware of any other companies like his.

"There are more and more cars, specifically off-lease cars that are being turned back in after two or three year leases to the major leasing companies, and are coming available now on the Internet to registered dealers who pay for the service," Wheeler said. "I'm able to find specific vehicles that people are looking for without having to inventory the cars and pay interest and holding costs on them."

Wheeler said most car dealers typically buy 50 to 200 cars at a time, and the longer they sit on the lot, the more interest and holding costs the dealer incurs, which is then passed on to the customer. Wheeler said his customers won't have to assume those costs because he won't have to. He said the turnaround time from clicking on the mouse to buy a vehicle and having it show up at his facility will be about a week.

"I'm going to inventory some cars, but I won't have a very large inventory. The majority of my inventory is going to be a cyber inventory. I can give the customer all the information about the car and a picture of the car, and they'll have my guarantee that the car will arrive as described or better," Wheeler said.

Wheeler said he will cater to those who enjoy the convenience of buying online, which he said he's seen become more accepted by consumers during the last year.

"A year or two ago it would have been too early because there just weren't enough people who considered buying a car that way," he said. "The timing is good now to get into this segment of the busi