Dallas-based Tricolor Holdings opens 200,000-square-foot facility in Wilmer - The Dallas Morning News

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A Dallas-based company that finances and sells used cars primarily to Hispanic buyers has opened a new 200,000-square-foot reconditioning center in Wilmer.

Tricolor Holdings’ new facility includes a 12-acre parking facility with 200 service bays, a paint and body center, and an automated car wash to “recondition” Tricolor’s supply of used cars. The project will create 200 jobs in the southern Dallas area.

“We’ve been in business 15 years and ... have aspired to deliver a vehicle to the customer that we would say is more mechanically sound and actually visually appealing than any vehicle they might be able to access,” said Tricolor CEO and founder Daniel Chu in an interview.

“If you look at our business today, we sell and finance to underserved Hispanic consumers,” he said. “We’re the only issuer of an investment grade bond with loans originated to undocumented immigrants.”

The company performs a 150-point inspection and invests an average of $2,200 in every vehicle before reselling them, Chu said. The company spends $20,000 to $25,000 per vehicle it buys.

Chu said Tricolor is one of the top used vehicle dealers in Texas.

“Reconditioning for us is doing all the basic stuff: tires, brakes, oil change, fluids, belts, hoses, but it’s also digging into any of the mechanical issues that were eliminated during the inspection process,” Chu said.

The price of used cars has skyrocketed in the last year because of inflation and supply shortages. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that used car prices surged 6.6% year-over-year in July 2022. Kelley Blue Book, one of the leading automotive pricing sites, said the average used car sold for $28,219 in July and listing prices now stand 11% higher than a year ago.

A year ago, Tricolor received a $90 million growth investment from Wall Street behemoth Black Rock for a minority stake in the firm.

Tricolor operates 50 retail centers in Texas, California, Nevada and Arizona under Tricolor Auto Group. It also has a shared services center in Guadalajara, Mexico. It has 1,000 employees in the U.S. and 350 in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The company is a community development financial institution that offers auto loans to buyers with no or limited credit history.

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