CarLotz, a national consignment auto dealer, is set to open its first Louisiana location at the end of the year or early 2022 at the former Salsbury’s Dodge City dealership on Airline Highway.
The company sells cars on consignment, which it says offers the best deal for people who want to sell a vehicle with the convenience of avoiding a trade-in at a dealership and or hassle of selling to strangers. CarLotz then sells the automobiles through its website, dealership and other websites, such as cars.com.
“We put the power of the dealership in your hands,” said Michael Bor, chief executive officer. “We do all the work for you. We professionally market your vehicle, we clean your vehicle, we list it everywhere people shop for cars.”
CarLotz charges $299 to list a vehicle and takes $799 when the automobile sells.
The company has an inventory of about 2,500 cars. By the time the Baton Rouge location opens, Bor said that number will be around 4,000 to 5,000. About 400 cars will be on the lot locally.
CarLotz was founded in Richmond, Virginia, in 2011 and has 16 locations across the U.S. The company went public in January and raised $300 million.
This has allowed the company to grow into “the best and exciting markets” in the U.S., such as Denver, Seattle, Nashville, Tennessee, and Orlando, Florida, Bor said.
Going into Louisiana made sense because CarLotz has locations in Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee and Florida. “We’re filling in the Southeast,” he said.
Mark Hebert, of Kurz & Hebert Commercial Real Estate, said the site at 9550 Airline is under contract to an investor, who will buy the land for nearly $2.5 million and lease the property to CarLotz. Hebert is representing the sellers. Stirling Properties is representing the buyers.
The 6-acre site has been on the market since November 2018, when Salsbury’s moved to a bigger location at 13939 Airline Highway. The dealership has since been purchased by New Orleans auto dealer Matt Bowers.