Dealer Codes?

[jollyjoker]

Does anybody know who dealer codes "6053" and "7306" were? I believe they were down in the southwest, maybe around Phoenix area.

(Yes, I know that dealer code numbers were supposed to be 5-digit numbers, but this is the way they were entered on my glovebox door. I have seen these hyphenated before - i.e., 5-XXXX, and had been told that the first digit referred to a region. Maybe that was true originally, but I've seen the first digit for dealers in Utah sandwiched between two from West Virginia.)

Also, does anybody know of a comprehensive list of Dealer Codes? I found one online, but it dated from the early 2000's, and doesn't really do you much good if you're trying to find the dealers from the 60s and 70s.

 

[ImpJay]

Does anybody know who dealer codes "6053" and "7306" were? I believe they were down in the southwest, maybe around Phoenix area.

(Yes, I know that dealer code numbers were supposed to be 5-digit numbers, but this is the way they were entered on my glovebox door. I have seen these hyphenated before - i.e., 5-XXXX, and had been told that the first digit referred to a region. Maybe that was true originally, but I've seen the first digit for dealers in Utah sandwiched between two from West Virginia.)

Also, does anybody know of a comprehensive list of Dealer Codes? I found one online, but it dated from the early 2000's, and doesn't really do you much good if you're trying to find the dealers from the 60s and 70s.

Did you check Hamtramck-historical.com?

 

[CBODY67]

Curious as to the interest in these things?

CBODY67

 

[CBODY67]

Typically, the only places that a list of dealer codes existed was within the inner confined of the OEM's sales operations. NOT published for general consumption. Any dealer lists would be similar, usually.

Somebody in the Buick GS club had a connection who had a list, from when he worked for Buick. It had the lists by sales zone office, then listed the dealers and related towns. That's the ONLY such listing I've happened upon, in another forum.

Another place that such a list could have existed was at the individual dealer level. A listing of dealership, location, phone number, and dealer operative. This information would have been important to know in the case of "dealer trades" of vehicles, unsold vehicles. Most were purged and such when computerization increased.

I know that GM used to publish a list the dealers got, late '70s time frame, which indicated what cars they'd shipped to the dealers, when, equipoment levels, ordering vehicle, dealer code, and a few more items. Those reports were usually discarded as they were obsolete in a few weeks after being printed/distributed.

The window sticker would also have had the ordering dealer's dealer code on it. Just a sequence of numbers "in space" without any designation, possibly.

Enjoy!
CBODY67

 

[shooter65]

@CBODY67, from my perspective, dealer codes are just another interesting piece of information that may help someone find out more info about their car. I find all the minutia interesting and part of the history of the cars. I would like to find a repository of this information.

@jollyjoker, unfortunately, I don't know what these dealer codes are but figured I post the Dealer Code for Ellison CP of Blythe CA in case anyone was interested and wanted to start making a list of codes. I believe it is 62467 based on this warrenty speedo replacement document I have for my car. Please tell me if this is NOT the dealer code.

 

[CBODY67]

Thanks for the explanation. Once you know the "decode" for the dealer code number, it might be even MORE revealing!

CBODY67

 

[jollyjoker]

Yes . . . as shooter65 mentioned, this little bit of trivia can provide good info as to the car's early history and location. Typically, I'd imagine that a lot of people would have brought their cars into the local dealer for oil change, etc while fairly new. Those dealer codes often recorded inside glove box door. For example, I know where my 65 was up thru 69 . . . if I only could reference the two numbers to the actual dealer. I imagine that this info would be of interest to a lot of us here . . . or in purchasing, if you could tell that the car came from the sunny dry SW, vs the middle of the rust belt.

BTW . . . I have been making an effort to track down some of the numbers that I can positively identify. As I stated in my OP, there is a list out there on the web - BUT it is from just before when Chrysler closed all of the dealerships in the early 2000s (I think). Not much good to research all of those dealers from the 60s and 70s.

There are several places I've found the codes (and I'm sure there's more). Back of the book in the glovebox typed on the ID card, on the Certicard, on the part/shipping label of NOS parts from the depot, on some of the window stickers, or other dealer paperwork. (Yes . . . I do think that number "62467" is his code).

Anyway, sorry for rambling. If I can locate an old list, I'll try and post it or a link. Meantime, I'll keep plugging away manually . . . but there are probably thousands . . . and I really DO have a life!

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Joker, although I can't help you with the specific codes you asked about I wanted to reply with some codes that I have info on. Perhaps we can get enough people to come forward with their dealer code info to compile a list since none seems to exist currently. I have two codes that I'm posting.

First code is.....
52572
Harold Medow Inc.
222 N. Lafayette Blvd.
South Bend, Indiana 46601

This was the local dealer in the '60's & '70's until they went bellyup in 1980. I bought many parts from them and also bought my brand new '79 Dodge Magnum XE GT from them just a month or two before their bankruptcy.

Second code is......
66595
Marv Borr Chrysler-Plymouth Inc.
222 N. Lafayette Street
South Bend, Indiana 46601

You'll notice this dealer has the same address as the first one. Marv Borr was a local Toyota dealer (if I recall correctly) at the time Medow's went out of business. Borr bought Medow's old Chry/Ply dealership from the bankruptcy court and opened it back up within a year of it closing. I don't recall how long he kept the dealership open, but at least from '81 into the later '80's before he closed up too. What's interesting is that although the "physical" address of the dealership remained the same, a new dealer code was established when Borr took over.

 

[shooter65]

Here’s some more info. This is some info I got from PSP HEMC regarding a 66 Fury PSP car that was restored by a PSP Sgt. The paperwork shows:

Region #: 43 - Pittsburgh, PA

Dealer Code #: 61809 – Highland Chrysler –Plymouth, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA

 

[jollyjoker]

Thanks to all! This is exactly the type of info that we need to compile a list.

Since, apparently, I DON'T have a life . . . I guess I'll offer to try and put this information into some sort of a usable document format.

If anybody wants to forward me data . . . a photo of the part label or owner card or document is the most useful, because it is sometimes a little hard to make out some of the printing, and I have to do some additional research to get meaningful info. When I transcribe this stuff for reference, I really try to be as accurate as possible - I've seen a lot of info over the years in which errors just keep getting repeated over and over . . .