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...

5 Ways Automotive Inventory Software Can Help You Succeed in 2023 | vAuto

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...

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 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...

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...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: A Closer Look at a Bronze Car Problem

Across the country, the share of distressed vehicles in dealer inventories is rising. On the surface, a rise in the number of distressed vehicles in a single dealer’s inventory isn’t necessarily...

A Pivotal Time for Dealers and Used Vehicles

It’s a pivotal time for dealers retailing used cars as they head into the final quarter of 2022. Why pivotal? Well, there’s been a marked shift in consumer and dealer sentiment about where the...

Why It’s Time To Tighten Up and Be Ready in Used Vehicles

Two things occurred in the past week that prompt this call for dealers to be ready for a rougher run in used vehicles for the remainder of the year than many, including me, have expected. The...

“CPR” to Offset Declining CPO Profits, Sales for Dealers

I’m seeing more fault lines around certified pre-owned (CPO) sales that, over the years, have become the backbone of used vehicle departments for many franchise dealers. The fault lines aren’t...

ProfitTime GPS in Practice: From Skeptical to Sold

When Mike Cirona, general manager of Scott Robinson Honda in Torrance, CA, initially heard about ProfitTime GPS, he didn’t think his store’s used vehicle department would benefit from it. “I...