Effective Reconditioning Sets the Foundation for Dealership Success
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the car business, it’s that we are in it together. Streamlining processes where possible and improving efficiencies can make a big difference from the front end to the back end. And the reconditioning process is one specific place where I’ve seen most cars get caught up, slowing down sales in the long run.
Reconditioning management software is an effective, but underutilized, tool to keep your used car inventory flowing through the reconditioning process faster — and I’ll tell you just how well it works for other dealerships.
Pinpointing Inefficiencies
Figuring out where the opportunities are to improve your recon process is the key. By measuring and tracking their reconditioning with technology like iRecon, dealerships can easily spot concerns and resolve them quickly, before they become problems. One franchise dealership I work with noted that it was taking them upwards of 15+ days to get their vehicles fully reconditioned and ready for physical delivery.
That same dealership started using iRecon as part of their existing vAuto Provision® subscription and noticed, among other things, the opportunity to outsource parts from multiple vendors and take advantage of any available warranties on cars that qualified. These discoveries reduced their reconditioning costs by hundreds of dollars per car and added more front-end margin.
Building Trust for Boosted Sales
iRecon can give everyone involved in used car operations a better understanding of the reconditioning process, creating a new level of trust and understanding between the front-end and back-end teams. This better workflow allows for streamlined recon, which means a faster time to sell and more room for more cars.
By getting cars to the front line quicker with a more transparent process, dealerships can increase the collaboration between variable and fixed operations. From team friction to shared focus, teams concentrate on achieving the full profit potential of every used car, allowing them to think beyond their individual departments to bring greater success to the dealership.
Promoting Innovation
While many dealers have struggled to increase and maintain their inventory levels, iRecon empowers its users to come up with innovative ways to keep cars flowing to the front line.
One real-life example comes from a dealership group that, by lowering average reconditioning costs, was able to increase purchases of rental cars from local companies to include higher-mileage vehicles with slightly more cosmetic work needed than usual. Using iRecon allowed them to maintain front-line volume by using vehicles they previously would have sent straight to auction or not purchased at all.
The Bottom Line
This same dealership started using iRecon expecting a smoother process but didn’t anticipate just how much the tool would improve sales and profitability across their used car operations. Here’s a quick snapshot of their impressive results:
- $300 improvement in recon costs per car
- 8 days faster on average to the front line
- 44% increase in volume
- 32 Days in Inventory on average, improved from 48
- 136% increase in total gross profit
- 11 inventory turns per year, up from 6 turns per year
If you’re interested in controlling the reconditioning process, and in getting the insights to make the right decisions at the right time to enable your team to sell cars faster and more profitably, iRecon may just be the right solution for your dealership.