There were claims that Heard's salespeople were using aggressive sales tactics. Allegations included telling customers they were pre-approved for loans when they had not been, advertising vehicles for sale that weren't on lots, and sending out mailings to customers designed to look like General Motors vehicle recall notices in order to lure them into the dealerships.
Bill Heard Enterprises agreed to pay a $188,000 fine to the state of Georgia in 2004 in a deceptive advertising case.
"We have made changes in our structure that will enable us to correct the mistakes made in the past and continue to improve our efforts in these areas," Michael K. Elwood, then-vice-president of Atlanta operations for the company, said at the time the fine was paid. "We will provide comprehensive training opportunities to our managers in the key areas addressed in our agreement."
A month ago, the Georgia Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs filed a lawsuit in Fulton County alleging deceptive and misleading business practices. Claims included falsifying documents to lenders and charging Georgia customers for parts not installed on vehicles.
That case is still pending. There were similar complaints about the company's business practices in Arizona, Tennessee and Florida, according to published reports.
The company defended itself in the latest legal and consumer cases, saying it has been successful because of repeat business, not misleading practices.
"Bill Heard Enterprises is among the most successful businesses of its kind in the industry, the country, and the State of Georgia," the company said in a statement in late August. "Over our more than four decades in business our customer base has historically grown, been overwhelmingly loyal and satisfied, and has returned to do repeat business with us in large numbers."
The consumer complaints continued to pile up. At the same time, the national economy turned very sour. The housing market deteriorated, gas prices soared and consumers decided to spend less. That meant not buying gas-guzzling trucks, a longtime lucrative staple of the Chevrolet brand.
Bill Heard Enterprises sales tumbled, although the company managed to post $2.1 billion in revenue in 2007. That dropped the company to No. 11 on Automotive News' list of largest auto dealer groups. That was down from No. 7 six years ago.
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In a lengthy Ledger-Enquirer interview in mid-July, Heard acknowledged his company had been slow to react to the economic downturn. He also said its failure to diversify from Chevrolet products had put the automotive juggernaut on the defensive. Banks also tightened credit standards for people shopping for a new or used car, he said.
"This one has got everybody — gas, the banks, the homebuilders and the laborers. It covers the whole spectrum," Heard said of the current economic downturn. "We built this business when General Motors and Chevy were coming on strong in the late 1980s and early ’90s. We are struggling to strengthen things in the current situation."
To cope with the financial pressure, Heard said he was looking to sell two or three of his struggling dealerships. He said the one near Memphis, Tenn., was being sold, and its new store in Scottsdale, Ariz., was having problems.
The knockout blow for the company, however, appeared to come in late August when GMAC, the company's prime lender for new car inventory, froze its credit, viewing it as a risk. Heard's son Edward flew to Detroit in hopes of working out some sort of finance deal.
"There are no plans to close the Columbus Bill Heard dealership," Bill Heard spokesman Kent Illges said at the time. "We are looking to sell a couple of the other dealerships around the country so as to diversify into other brands."
The full-court press for a financial lifeline failed. With the company bleeding red ink, it shut down the remaining 13 dealerships on Wednesday, leaving the bulk of 2,700 employees nationwide — 350 of them in Columbus — without a job.
The company, yet to file for bankruptcy, continued negotiations through the week, desperately seeking a buyer for the dealerships. However, talks with longtime Columbus auto dealer Carl Gregory fell through on Friday.
Heard will be hard to replace, say those on the receiving end of his philanthropy. That includes the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, which has rewarded the city's Teacher of the Year with free use of a car the last several years courtesy of Bill Heard.
"He initiated that out of his support of the educational system in Muscogee County," said Joel Ames, chairman of the foundation. "That is a gracious and kind gesture, so of course it will be missed."
But those in the Columbus business community say they aren't counting out Mr. Big Volume, even as his business slowed to a trickle before drying up completely last week.
"Bill is still here," said Mike Gaymon, president and CEO of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce. "It's not like we're writing his epitaph. He's got assets here ... He still has a lot of ideas and suggestions and you just don't know what the future will hold."
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