Ready to See Used Car Profitability Grow? Start by Looking Closer at Your Inventory. | vAuto

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: A Longtime Appraisal Problem That’s More Problematic

Every dealer would agree that you make your money when you buy a used vehicle. That’s why appraisals are so critically important. The appraisal establishes the return on investment (ROI) and...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: How and Why “Cost” Doesn’t Drive Pricing Recommendations

I’ve had a version of the following conversation with dealers in recent weeks. The conversation typically arrives after I’ve shared why dealers should be treating their distressed (or “Bronze”)...

How to Sharpen Your Vehicle Acquisition Strategy in an Uncertain Market | vAuto

A Head-Scratcher Market and an Imminent Moment of Truth

I’ve been in multiple conversations with economists and data scientists at Cox Automotive, as well as members of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, that have focused on the apparent and surprising...

3 Digital Vehicle Merchandising Best Practices | vAuto

A Strategy-Based Approach to Tame Appraisal Variability

As I’ve been helping dealers reckon with the vehicles they purchased at the top of the market and failed to retail in recent weeks, I’ve been reminded of what might be considered the “wild, wild...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: Who’s Your Used Car Captain?

It’s fair to say that there’s often a gap between the way a used vehicle manager manages a used vehicle department and the way a dealer believes the department is being managed. The gap often owes...

A Universal Used Vehicle Problem—Inverted, Irrational Pricing

Heading into NADA, I wondered how dealers would respond when they saw their used vehicle pricing presented to them through the investment-based lens that ProfitTime GPS provides. My curiosity came...

NADA Day 1: A Busy, Optimistic, Discipline-Minded Day with Dealers

I’ll be taking home a new term that I learned in the first of my two workshops here at NADA—“learning journey.” It came from a dealer during the workshop Q&A as the dealer asked for guidance on...

NADA Day 2: EVs, F&I Pressure, Stability and an Opportunity

Not so long ago, some observers questioned whether dealers would want to sell and support the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) given their long-standing history and investment in selling and...

NADA Day 3: Factory Moves, A Stocking Problem and a Fond Farewell

Several themes emerged in conversations with dealers at NADA that suggest future strain on their factory partner relationships. Beyond the OEM efforts to push dealers to invest in electric vehicle...

Super-Excited to See Dealers in Dallas for NADA 2023

Like a saddle bronc in the chute, I’m chomping at the bit for this year’s NADA convention in Dallas. As many of you know, I get excited as NADA approaches. It means I spend my days talking to...

Inventory Write-Downs: A New Year Rite That Isn’t Right

Every January, some dealers exercise their right to an annual rite—the financial write-down of used vehicle inventory they have in stock as the calendar moves from one year to the next. This...

An Ongoing Gross Deception That’s Growing—Moving Cars Between Stores

I’m seeing a correlation between the current and pre-pandemic market in the way dealers with multiple rooftops are managing their used vehicle inventories. Back in 2019 and earlier, dealers with...

A New Reality in 2023: More Variability in the Used Vehicle Market

It’s fair to say that many dealers experienced and saw things in used vehicles during the past year that ran counter to traditional wisdom. In the early part of 2022, we saw a continuation of the...

A Return of Margin Compression? Yes, But Not Necessarily

I’ve been struck by how often the term “margin compression” has come up in recent conversations with dealers. Interestingly, dealers aren’t necessarily complaining about margin compression. It’s...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: A Big Difference Between Two Dealer Groups

I’ve been talking to a lot of dealers lately about how they’re doing in used vehicles. Often, I’m in these conversations because a dealer’s become convinced that vAuto’s new inventory management...

Emerging Pressure Points on Used Vehicle Profitability

As dealers are getting ready to close out 2022, some are seeing two trendlines in their used vehicle performance that give them pause. The first trendline relates to front-end gross profit....