Drunk on Profits: Preparing for the Used Car Hangover

Pope Francis Calls For ‘Revolution Of Tenderness’ In Surprise TED Talk

“A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you.” In a surprise appearance via video at the TED 2017 conference in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday evening, the...

A Thoughtful Note from NCM Associates

I received the following thoughtful note from Terry Wichmann, a retail solutions consultant at NCM Associates. Dale, Thanks for your continuing help when I ask you to send your books to current...

Two Perspectives On Sourcing Auction Vehicles

Let’s imagine there are two dealers in the auction lane, bidding for the same car. The first dealer wants the car because he’s sold a few of the same units recently, and did pretty well in terms...

4 Reasons To Rethink How You Source Auction Vehicles

“How has your auction-sourcing process changed in the past 12 to 18 months?” I’ve been asking dealers and used vehicle managers this question a lot lately. It’s interesting to note the four...

4 Ways To Increase Profitability In 2017

It’s not a very pretty picture when you open the hood on dealer financials in new and used vehicles. Consider the following data from the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA): New...

4 Used Vehicle Fundamentals To Help You Stay Strong As Fall Unfolds

There appears to be good news and bad news on the horizon in used vehicles. The good news first: The healthy pace of used vehicle sales, particularly in near-new segments with good-credit buyers,...

A Market-Minded Path To Improved New Vehicle Inventory Profitability

It’s here—the slowdown in new vehicle sales that many dealers and industry observers have expected to arrive for some time. As one analyst puts it, “the new car market is no longer growing, which...

3 Reasons A Chief Complaint About Auction Purchases Falls Flat

It’s not uncommon for dealers and used vehicle managers to complain that “we have to pay too much” to acquire auction vehicles. On one hand, I get it. The auction environment is one where...

3 Tips To Tune Up Your Used Vehicle Performance and Profitability

It’d be wise for dealers to take a deeper look at three aspects of their used vehicle inventories: What percentage of your used vehicles are less than three years old? How does this figure compare...

A Dealer’s Evolutionary Velocity Journey In Used Vehicles

Nearly a decade ago, I met Brian Benstock, general manager and vice president of Paragon Honda and Paragon Acura in Queens, N.Y. At the time, Benstock thought he was doing pretty well in used...

A Call For Improved Effectiveness and Efficiencies In Human Capital Management

If a new or used car manager made the wrong decision nearly 75 percent of the time, chances are pretty good that individual wouldn’t be working very long at your dealership. Most dealers would...

5 Pointers To Preserve and Protect Profitability As You Acquire Used Vehicles

Most dealers would agree that you make your money in used vehicles when you acquire a car. If you pay too much for an auction or trade-in vehicle, you’ve shrunk the spread between your costs to...

3 Ways to Maximize Your New Car Sales With Improved New Vehicle Management

It’s sometimes startling to see the disparity in the ways dealers manage their new and used vehicle inventories. As a dealer recently put it, “I have $1.4 million in used vehicle inventory, and we...

3 Essential Steps To Maximize Gross Profits On Auction Cars

If you ask dealers for their top complaint about the used car business, many will say it’s difficult, if not impossible, to acquire wholesale vehicles “on the money.” Dig a little deeper, and the...

4 Ways To Turn Auction Cars Into Advantage At Your Store

You could say auction cars offer a blessing and a curse for dealers. The blessing is that auction cars are always available—offering a way for dealers to acquire inventory they need that they...