Darling presides over auto empire

loading...

In the spotlight: John Darling

John Darling is one of Bangor’s auto czars, but he’s no pitchman. His face doesn’t appear in his advertisements, and he’s not loud and aggressive, two characteristics often associated with automobile sales.

But Darling certainly has built an auto empire. He and his children own controlling interests in Bangor Ford, Darling’s Honda and Darling’s Auto Parts. His two auto dealerships also are Bangor’s representatives for Volkswagen, Audi and Nissan.

The profit-sharing plan for Darling’s employees is the biggest owner in Parts Wholesalers, another of the Darling companies.

The current economic climate hasn’t been kind to auto dealers. “I admit it’s hard to do business,” Darling said. “But I think we’re pretty close to bottoming out.”

Despite the poor economy, Darling says that sales have been up 35 percent at his Honda dealership this year. “It is possible to do well in a down market,” he said.

Last year, there were many repossessions of automobiles.

“The banks and auto-finance companies were too loose,” Darling said. “They put too many people in cars with too-little downpayments. The banks have become more conservative.”

This new conservative stance by lenders has been one reason for the slow market. “A lot of people have trouble getting financing,” Darling said.

Part of the problem came when people started to finance cars for four- and five-year terms.

“With the long-term financing and low down payments, a lot of people never really have equity in their cars,” Darling said. “It’s like leasing.”

With the longer-term financing, people obviously can’t trade as often as in the past.

According to Darling, the worldwide production of cars is “way beyond what consumers can absorb.” He thinks that manufacturers will have to cut back and probably “have a couple of tough years to get back on track.”

In the auto market of the 1990s, products are getter “closer and closer” in terms of features and quality, Darling said.

“What attracts buyers is the dealer and how they’re taken care of once they own the car,” he said. “Customer relations are very important.”

And what is John Darling’s advice to car buyers?

“They should read the consumer magazines and trade magazines and ask friends and relatives about their experiences with dealers and products,” he said. He likes his customers to shop around and to know what they’re after when they buy a car.

The ownership of auto franchises in the Bangor area has become very concentrated. John Darling, his brother, Ed, and his cousins, the Quirk family, own a majority of the franchises. Concerning his relatives in the business, Darling says that they are friendly, but that they’re always competitors.

“For its size, I think Bangor is a good auto market,” Darling said. He says that there are a couple of thousand cars for consumers to pick from.

“All of the major franchises are here, and most of them are concentrated in one area (Hogan Road),” Darling said.

All of Darling’s endeavors haven’t met with success. He recently closed Darling’s Recreational Division, which sold recreational vehicles, especially motorcycles.

“National sales of these products have been off from 25 to 30 percent a year,” Darling said. “There are two major reasons. One is the demographics. There are fewer young people to buy these products. And the other problem was insurance; it became too expensive for many people.”

Insurance rates also take their toll on car sales, Darling said. “A male under 25 years old and with two speeding tickets is in trouble,” he said. “He can’t get insurance and therefore can’t get financing.”

The Darling family has been in the auto business in Bangor since 1937, when John and Ed Darling’s late father, Owen, started selling cars.

John Darling started working in the business summers and after school while a student at John Bapst High School. He continued the practice while attending the University of Maine, where he majored in business administration. When he was a junior at the University, he took over the recreational division.

Darling runs his companies out of a comfortable office at Parts Wholesalers, which is located on Perry Road in Bangor. It is a high-technology operation with a large computer serving as the nerve center for the several companies.

What little free time he has Darling likes to spend at his home in Bangor.

“I have nothing I’m a fanatic at other than work,” he said.

“I enjoy travel, but I travel a lot for my business, and that’s enough.”

And which of the automobiles that he sells does he choose to drive?

“I drive most of them,” he said. “I might drive a sports car in the summer and a four-wheel drive in the winter.”

He thinks it’s important for him and his managers to drive all of the cars and get to know them. “If you don’t drive a vehicle, you really don’t get to know it.”