CARY, N.C. -

Certified pre-owned sales have never been higher than they were in the first quarter of this year, according to Autodata Corp., which said Q1 represented the best quarter ever for CPO sales.

But that’s not to say there aren’t challenges.

As part of our annual “Best CPO Dealers in the United States” special edition this winter, we asked Planet Hyundai dealer principal David Tamburro what he saw as a top challenge for the CPO market, and what his dealership does to respond to that challenge.

“Our biggest challenge is securing good trades for the used-car department; we are constantly working with our customers in service to get their trades which have a history that we can talk about with future buyers,” Tamburro said in that CPO feature.

“We also work with customers that are at the end of their leases. Good clean used cars are critical to the CPO program,” he continued.

One challenge that may come up in your CPO operations is engagement, both in terms of getting the consumers interested and educated about certified and in getting your staff to buy in.

For the same “Best CPO Dealers” issue, we asked DeWayne Martin, managing partner at Mazda of Clear Lake, how his dealership gets its staff to buy in to CPO.

Martin said it’s all about the “four P’s.”

“Our team believes it come down to the four P’s: People — In our opinion, having the right people is the No. 1 key. Without a team of the right people understanding all the value and benefits of the Mazda CPO program then the processes in place, product on the lot, and CPO program itself becomes a moot point,” he said. “Processes – Our management team is constantly training over the benefits of the Mazda CPO program and how purchasing a Mazda CPO vehicle, in many aspects, has more value than buying a new vehicle with another manufacture. We believe, this gives the customer the ‘peace-of-mind’ they are looking for in their next vehicle purchase.

Product — We also believe for any program to have complete success there has to be a full commitment on all fronts. This includes the dealer doing their part by fully investing in a variety of CPO vehicles for the consumer to choose from. We have all heard this before, ‘You can’t sell what you don’t have,’” Martin continued.

“Program — For sure, Mazda has done their part with Mazda CPO Vehicle Program. They have built a program that is packed full of value and benefits that is transparent for the customer from the time they start searching for a vehicle. By doing so, it has made it much easier to build a culture around the Mazda CPO program that everyone believes in,” he added. 

Staff Writer Josh Hyatt contributed to this report.