The used-vehicle supply pipeline has dried up immensely and according to analysis from NADA Used Car Guide, it will likely get even more challenging as the market is close to being three years out from the leasing erosion that started in late 2008.

It likely also doesn’t help dealers of Japanese brands, in particular, that new-car production was backed up earlier this year and is only now getting back on track.

So how, then, did Honda dealers find the necessary inventory to hit a record for certified pre-owned sales last month? Likewise, what used-car sourcing strategies did Kia dealers employ to push their automaker to an all-time high in the CPO segment?

At Findlay Honda in Las Vegas, used-car manager Chuck Loubert said he approaches customers with CPO-worthy vehicles that come into the service lane.

“I’ve actually probably averaged buying five to six cars a month off my service drive,” he told Auto Remarketing.

The store’s certified sales for July came in at 17 units (up from 15 in July 2010), and his year-to-date CPO sales have reached 145 units, compared to the 68 he moved in the first seven months last year.

Loubert also turns to fellow dealers. He taps into the connections he has with the non-Honda dealers around town to source CPO-worthy Hondas that those stores might not be able to use.

Another dealer, Albany Honda’s dealer principal Graham Edwards, still leans heavily on off-lease returns at his Georgia dealership. Secondly, he turns to trade-ins.

“We fully utilize the Honda Financial lease-return website and try to reach out and purchase the lease returns that are being made available as a Honda dealer,” he told Auto Remarketing.

Edwards pointed out that the lease returns from 2008 thus far originated when Honda was still seeing some strength in leasing. Furthermore, with gas-prices climbing so high at the time, Honda’s fuel-efficient lineup was quite popular in the new-car market.

However, he acknowledged those lease returns are “drying out.”

So what will Edwards do six to nine months down the road?

While saying with a laugh, “We’ll see when we get there,” he emphasized that the dealership will keep going after trade-ins and, if necessary, turn to auctions.

Moving along, Honda dealers like Loubert and Edwards are also getting some support from the OEM to help them find certified-worthy inventory.

“With the interruption of new-vehicle production, we knew the dealers would increase their focus on their used-vehicle operation and HCUC vehicles, in particular,” said Dan Crowe, national remarketing manager for American Honda Motor Co.

“Honda Financial Services did an outstanding job of stepping up to support the dealers’ CPO activities,” he continued

More specifically, Crowe said HFS has done the following to help its dealers:

1. Upgraded the financing rate for Honda CPO vehicles to the level it offers on new cars and is now offering the same advance parameters that new cars have on all Honda certified from model years 2008 and forward.

2. So that Honda dealers have enough salable inventory, HFS limits the VIPS and Live Stream auction platforms to just Honda dealers.

3. HFS is letting dealers with used flooring lines increase their flooring limits temporarily.

“With this behind the line support, it allows the dealers to do what they do best: sell cars and take care of their customer and set new sales records along the way,” Crowe continued.

At Kia — which also set a best-ever certified total in July — CPO manager David Carp said that dealers are increasing their participation at Kia-sponsored auctions.

And interestingly enough, he said the automaker is actually seeing an uptick in off-lease volume thanks to stronger residuals in the last three years. As many can attest, off-lease vehicles are often the bread-and-butter source for CPO-worthy supply.

“We are currently continuing our special certified pre-owned financing with Kia Motors Finance and we implemented a field incentive to help bring more focus from our regional sales staff with regard to our Kia CPO Program,” Carp explained.

“We have also seen an increase in Kia dealer participation at our Kia-sponsored auctions where we offer transportation assistance to Kia dealers,” he continued. “In addition, we are experiencing an increase in Kia off-lease vehicles returning to the market, as we benefit from our residual rise over the last three years that continues this year with our (2012 model-year) lineup. This year we received the award from ALG as the most improved brand.”