Our salespeople cruise the daily Auto Trader, and we make offers. We also sometimes get them on trade-ins. We’re always looking for high-mpg models, especially in this market.
Mark Scarpelli, Raymond Chevrolet, Antioch, Ill.

We always look for this category in the paper. Unfortunately, people today want to trade in gas guzzlers for high-mpg models. Auctions in Hawaii are tough, because my closest is one island away, and it costs me $350 to get a single car here. We try all the angles. For instance, I just bought two small, high-mpg cars from a credit union that had repossessed them.
Joe Hanley Jr., Orchid Isle Auto Center, Hilo, Hawaii

The best source is trade-ins. At the auctions, everyone is looking for the same thing. That particular car, used with high mpg, is the hardest to find. We’ve found some in the newspapers. I pay my salesmen spiffs if they find ’em that way.
Dave Kring, Dave Kring Chevrolet, Petoskey, Mich.

We’re getting them on trade-in, and going through our database trying to find more. We aggressively go after high-mpg used cars, but we also try to show our customers that they can get even better gasoline mileage with a new car. Accords, Civics, and Camrys are trading for $2,000 and $3,000 more at auction than they did last year. Showing customers a new car really makes sense, and often we can sell to them.
Brian Benstock, General Manager and Vice President, Paragon Honda/Paragon Acura, Queens, N.Y.