David Andrews, owner of City Auto in Memphis and other automotive enterprises, began his 2017-2018 term as president of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association (NIADA) by receiving the President’s Ring during the National Leadership Awards Banquet at the association’s 71st annual convention and expo at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
During his address at the banquet, Andrews, who succeeds 2016-17 president Billy Threadgill of South Carolina, encouraged his fellow independent dealers to keep pace with the rapidly changing automotive marketplace.
“Are times changing? Definitely,” Andrews said. “We are all pioneers, we are all trailblazers and we are all visionaries. These are times ripe with opportunities, times for making the seemingly impossible possible.
“There are millions of low-mileage late-model cars hitting the used car market, and the availability of credit has never been better,” he added. “Now is the best time ever to be a used car dealer.”
Andrews, 65, got his start in the car business as a teenager, working at his father Sonny’s dealership. He soon went into business for himself, opening his own dealership at age 20 – “and I never looked back,” he said.
Andrews has grown that single underfunded lot into a thriving operation that includes four retail dealerships – two each in Memphis and the Nashville areas – as well as five wholesale auctions located throughout Tennessee and Alabama, a management company, a floorplan company and a finance company.
Andrews previously served on the NIADA executive committee as a regional vice president, senior vice president and president-elect, and is a past president of the Tennessee Independent Auto Dealers Association (TIADA).
