On the Job

>>For the past 15 years, Car Right Auto Sales owner Jay Cartwright has combed dealerships, driveways and streets across Southwest Florida in search of quality autos. The result? Two lots filled with around 100 cars in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and prices. “I have everything from $500 hoopties to cars priced from 10 to 12 grand,” he says.

What does a typical day entail?

I’m open nine to six daily, closed on Sundays. I’ve got a family, so I’ve got to have one day to breathe. I do work Saturdays. I do everything from A to Z. I buy cars, sell cars and do in-house financing to give my customers purchase power. We offer our customers tons of in-house financing, which has been a big thing lately because a lot of the banks and credit unions are stricter.

What’s the most difficult aspect of your job?

I enjoy what I do, so it’s really not that challenging. The most challenging part would be finding clean, used vehicles to buy for my clientele. Especially now, because nobody’s buying new cars, and I buy a lot of my inventory from new car dealers that take them on trade-ins. It’s hard to find good used cars when nobody’s trading in their cars. I buy cars off the street all the time and people bring them in.

What is the most rewarding?

Just making a living in tough times and being self-employed in a free market economy. Having the freedom to do what I do every day.

How has the economic downturn affected  your business?

I sold more cars in ’08 than I did in ’07. You have a lot more people shopping in my end of the price spectrum. I’ve recently had to adjust downward the value per unit that I sell. Stuff in the $10,000 to $15,000 range doesn’t sell anymore. People are really shopping in the $4,000 to $7,000 range over the last two years. People whose kids were going off to college in more expensive cars are now going to school in $5,000 to $6,000 cars, which I’m not sad about. Only the kids going off to college are sad about that.