Manheim Auctions

Manheim, Inc. is an automobile auction company and the world's largest wholesale auto auction based on trade volume with 145 auctions located in North America, Europe, Asia and Austraila. As a subsidiary of privately owned Cox Enterprises, Inc. based in Atlanta, Georgia, Manheim's primary business is wholesaling vehicles via a bidding process that can done in traditional or online formats. Manheim also provides other vital dealership and wholesale services, such as financing, title work, transportation (auto hauling), recovery, auto body repair, dealership management systems, dent repair and automotive reconditioning, and automotive re-marketing at each location.

History

"The Beginning"

In 1945, Benjamin Z. Mellinger, a Ford dealer in New Holland, Pennsylvania, and Arthur F. Walters, a Firestone tire dealer in Manheim, met to discuss the idea of auctioning cars after watching a farm equipment auction. They with Jacob "Jack" H. Ruhl, Paul H. Stern, and Robert Schreiber formed a partnership, each contributing $5000, and then, purchased a decrepit building along with its seven acres just south of Manheim to form the Manheim Auto Auction, Inc.. Their first sale ran three cars and sold just one to the general public. By 1947, the new building with four lanes to auction vehicles opened and soon the partners realized the general public was purchasing their vehicles at the auction instead of their dealership franchises. This action prompted the partners to make Manheim Auto Auction a dealer-only enterprise, making Manheim the largest auto exchange in 1959.