Dealerships

Rick Ricart is now the president of Ricart Automotive Group.

He was previously the vice president and director of sales and marketing at the Columbus, Ohio dealer group.

Ricart will be among the speakers at Used Car Week next week in Scottsdale, Ariz. 

He will be a panelist on the Executive Suite: The View from the Top discussion, which will also include:

• Becca Polak, president/chief legal officer, TradeRev/KAR Auction Services
• Fredrick Stanfield, senior vice president, Assurance and Reconditioning, Cox Automotive
• Mike Stanton, senior vice president/COO, NADA

That session will be moderated by Auto Remarketing group publisher Bill Zadeits and is sponsored by Ally.

One of the first things potential vehicle buyers often want to know is how much their monthly payment will be. Car and Driver and DealerScience now are collaborating to give consumers that information.

Hearst Autos, parent to Car and Driver, and DealerScience on Wednesday announced that consumers researching and shopping for vehicles online will now have access to a payment tool that is designed to offer accurate payments powered by DealerScience’s proprietary software.

Officials explained the accurate payment means that a full account of the price, including dealer and OEM incentives, state and federal taxes, and any fees, are included in what payment the consumer sees on a dealer’s website. 

While accurate pricing is common on many other retail shopping sites, the company insisted this information hasn’t existed in the auto shopping process until now.

“This new tool offered by Car and Driver and DealerScience enables consumers to truly complete a critical and necessary step in the online car shopping and buying process. Consumers prefer to use their time at a dealership learning about and test driving the car they intend to buy, rather than spending unwanted hours filling out paperwork and haggling over price and payment,” said Nick Matarazzo, president of Hearst Autos. 

“This tool significantly accelerates the process for consumers and instantly improves dealer and OEM trust with consumers because they can now deliver on something that their potential customers have long wanted,” Matarazzo continued.

A recent car shopping study by Jumpstart Automotive Media revealed that 61 percent of consumers surveyed said that accurate pricing and payments were one of the most important considerations that influenced their car purchase decision. 

DealerScience’s Penny-Perfect Payments is a proprietary tool that is geared to shift the pricing paradigm when vehicle-shopping online.

“We recognized that automotive digital retailing experiences broke down when the consumer was offered different payments at different points in the sales process,” DealerScience president Andrew Gordon said.

“At my family's Honda store, we realized that the best way to build trust throughout the car-buying process was to ensure consistency for the consumer from the website to the showroom,” Gordon continued. “So, we built the DealerScience engine to calculate penny-perfect payments, optimizing deals for the lender, term, interest, and taxes. Now we can present those accurate payments to consumers through lease and finance website buttons, automated specials, and payment search.

“We’re proud to be powering Car and Driver payments by DealerScience,” Gordon went on to say.

Contact At Once reached a new threshold of dealerships using its tool on a mobile device.

The LivePerson company announced on Tuesday that 10,000 dealerships have now migrated to its web-based app, CAO! Connect, meaning two in three stores using Contact At Once applications are now taking advantage of the benefits of its latest innovations.

CAO! Connect can help dealerships enable conversational commerce with shoppers and owners, showcasing inventory, rich media and digital retailing tools. Shoppers and agents can see the same content in the conversation window.

Tapping on the YouTube preview, for example, will open a slide-out to display and play shared media.  Inventory information and vehicle history reports are readily available for agents when they’re engaging in conversation with shoppers.

“CAO! Connect is fantastic,” said Marty Phillips, internet manager for Harry Robinson Buick GMC located in Fort Smith, Ark. "It allows my Internet team to engage with online shoppers and really communicate with them in a way that gets the customer through the front door.

“You can’t sell anything to a voicemail or an email that never responds back. Contact At Once helps my team connect with the customer from the word, go,” Phillips went on to say.

Dealers and automakers worldwide use Contact At Once to message with consumers looking for new and used vehicles, service and parts. 

“Our goal is to help dealers have more fruitful conversations with car shoppers and owners, and move them closer to the dealership visit,” said Yuval Lubowich, Contact At Once vice president of product development.

“We are excited to pass this major milestone, with over 10,000 dealerships using Connect across the globe within the first four months of launch. The interactivity between the agent and consumer has been elevated to new levels,” Lubowich added.

The company recently announced that it is now a customer service platform (CSP) for Apple Business Chat, supporting another way for consumers to reach local dealerships and manufacturers when they have questions.

Auto Remarketing recently hosted an informational webinar with Contact At Once to explain how Apple Business Chat can help. The webinar can be viewed here.

Store personnel that leverage Auto/Mate Dealership Systems now do not have to toggle between screens as they complete their work for customers.

On Monday, Auto/Mate announced the integration of its DMS with Kelley Blue Book Values. Auto/Mate customers no longer have to visit another website or utilize a separate application to calculate the value of a vehicle.

Kelley Blue Book Values for new vehicles include Invoice, MSRP and new car fair purchase price. Kelley Blue Book Values for trade-in vehicles include typical listing price, used-car fair purchase price, lending and auction.

“The trade-in valuation process is one of consumers’ least favorite parts of buying a car,” said Mike Esposito, president and chief executive officer of Auto/Mate. “Consumers trust Kelley Blue Book valuations, and being able to quickly assess that information allows salespeople to complete the sale faster and increase customer satisfaction.”

Kelley Blue Book can help streamline the vehicle trade-in and purchase process from online to in-showroom with information and services to promote confidence among all parties involved. Valuations can be accessed through the desk/mate and vehicle merchandising modules in the sales suite.

“With the latest valuation information readily available, buyers and sellers can make the best possible vehicle decision,” said Damon Bennett, senior director of syndication for Kelley Blue Book.

“Both parties come to the table with the same trusted information, helping facilitate the negotiation with ease, using data backed by more than 90 years of expertise,” Bennett went on to say.

Auto/Mate's integration program, Open/Mate, is based on open standards, allowing third-party vendors to easily integrate with the DMS.

For more information, visit www.automate.com.

Record earnings, the role of diversification in achieving those earnings and the prominence of used vehicles as part of that diversification were among the main themes of the Penske Automotive Group third quarter 2018 earnings results.

PAG and its chairman and CEO Roger Penske reported during the results call on Oct. 25 that the record quarter was driven by diversification, and the company’s standalone used-vehicle supercenters helped lead the way in that diversity, along with Penske heavy-duty truck dealerships and truck leasing investments.

Roger Penske expanded on the strength of used vehicles during the question-and-answer period at the end of the results call, noting that consolidated reconditioning locations and double discounting played a role in the company’s record earnings.

“Double discounting means you have an Internet price, someone comes in on an Internet price, and the first thing your salesperson does is give him a discount,” Penske said. “So, I think it’s managing your team. Double discounting has really helped us to maintain our used, and both new and used gross profit as you’ve seen that increase during the quarter.”

PAG’s earnings results were mostly positive all around. For the three months ended Sept. 30, 2018, income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders increased 38.0 percent to a record $130.1 million, and related record earnings per share increased 39.1 percent to $1.53 when compared to the same period last year.

Total revenue of $5.7 billion represented an increase of 2.4 percent, while same-store retail revenue increased 0.2 percent.

Roger Penske elaborated on the benefits of diversification in a quote from the press release that accompanied the earnings report, noting that the strong earnings in the quarter were due to increases in new-vehicle, used-vehicle and finance and insurance gross profit per retail unit sold, along with a 70-basis-point increase in service and parts gross margin.

He also gave attention to the strength of the company’s standalone used-vehicle supercenter operations in the U.K., stating that the supercenters, along with Penske’s premium brand mix, helped contribute to another record quarter for the company’s U.K. business.

Supercenter strength

Further emphasizing the importance of the company’s used-vehicle supercenters during the earnings call, Roger Penske noted that the company expects to retail nearly 70,000 vehicles through the supercenters in 2018, and they will generate about $1.2 billion in revenue.

He added that the five supercenters in the U.S. and nine in the U.K. use a one-price, no-haggle approach. Year-to-date, the standalone used dealerships retailed 56,000 units and generated $1 billion in revenue and a return on sales of approximately 3.9 percent. Penske noted during the earnings call that the average transaction price is $15,000, and the variable gross profit per unit is almost $2,200, for a variable gross margin of 14.5 percent.

The revenue mix for these stores is 84 percent used vehicles, 9 percent wholesale, 6 percent F&I, and 1 percent service and parts. Gross profit contribution is 42 percent used, 2 percent wholesale, 39 percent F&I, and 17 percent service and parts.  

“We expect to grow the standalone used business through a combination of e-commerce initiatives and new market introductions,” Penske said. “We're in the process of developing four new standalone sites, which we expect to open in the latter half of 2019.”

He discussed how his company sourced used vehicles in response to a question from an earnings call participant. Penske noted that trade-ins were “the first level of acquisition of used,” followed by auctions. Internet purchases were another sourcing method.

“And then, there’s a tremendous amount of lease returns coming back … not only in ’17 (and) ’18 but beyond into ’19,” he said. “We have the opportunity to make big purchases on those. In fact, in the U.K., I know they buy sometimes between 1,000 and 1,500 vehicles at a time, which gives them very good pricing and a broad mix of vehicles, so those would be the key areas of acquisition.”

Technology was another main theme of the earnings call. Roger Penske went on to discuss the technology in use at the used-car supercenters in the U.S. and U.K., and a presentation accompanying the earnings report noted that certain U.K. standalone used-vehicle supercenters allow customers to reserve a vehicle online. That technology has allowed the company to use the fundamentals of determining what it buys at what price and for what location.

“I think with the technology they developed, and this is in-house, it’s given us the ability to buy the right vehicle to give us the turn on our inventory,” Penske said.

Another questioner asked Penske if PAG could double the revenue of its standalone used-vehicle business in the next two to three years. Penske answered that although acquisitions are not currently at the top of the company’s list at the moment, “acquisitions, plus organic growth, plus the new sites will give us a chance to double that revenue.” 

Going back to the opening remarks, Penske concluded his remarks by noting that in a strong U.S. economy and with the strength of the business’ premium and luxury automotive brand mix, the continued strength of the class 8 heavy-duty truck market in North America, the growing standalone used vehicle operation, and the benefits PAG continues to receive from its truck leasing investments, “We remain confident and optimistic about the future of our business.”

National dealer management system (DMS) provider Autosoft recently announced a new integration with VinAudit, a provider of automotive historical data.

This partnership is designed to give Autosoft dealers access to affordable vehicle history reports that are National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) compliant.

Founded in 2012, VinAudit, an official access provider for NMVTIS, has built a robust database of automotive records. VinAudit's vehicle history report covers the key areas, including:

— Title records
— Junk, salvage and insurance records
— Theft records
— Lien, impound and NS export records
— Sale records
— Title brands

Dealers can also see the estimated market value and ownership costs of a vehicle. Dealers can view a sample report at this website.

Reviewing a full VinAudit report before every transaction can help dealers acquire clean inventory and helps customers purchase with confidence. Dealership employees can simply click a button in Autosoft's Sales and F&I vehicle screens to register and access VinAudit reports.

“As a small technology company out to deliver ‘the data without the brand,’ VinAudit is excited to partner with Autosoft to enable dealers to pull up instant vehicle history reports at a fraction of traditional costs,” VinAudit chief executive officer David Wu said. “It doesn’t get much easier than this.”

Autosoft president and chief executive officer Bryce Veon added, “Our dealers depend on us for an innovative, efficient, and profitable dealer management system. We are excited to add VinAudit integration to our Connect program and give Autosoft customers an affordable way to access their vehicle history reports.

“The features of this integration will help our dealers maximize their profit potential and increase their customers’ confidence,” Veon went on to say.

Whether the music your potential vehicle buyer likes most is by Bruno Mars, Johnny Cash or Adele, Vboost says it has dealers covered.

The viral marketing company focused on the auto industry announced this week that it can now customize viral marketing for its dealer clients down to the musical taste of the customer. As a result, Vboost said the dealer videos have seen a dramatic increase in shares and views.

Vboost developed quick and easy process to capture photos at the time of vehicle delivery and quickly gets those “branded” photos out to the customer. Now the customer becomes the dealer’s advocate by posting/sharing the photos. The captured photos are stitched into a slideshow set to music and sent to the customer. New updates to the platform further improve the customization as the salesperson can input the customer’s music and song preference from classic rock, to Latin, country, oldies and more. 

Vboost pays the publishing rights so dealers can use nearly any song they choose. Customers share these videos via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other social platforms, and additionally email them to their friends and family.

“With over seven million video views, the concept has truly caught fire,” said Paul Moran, Vboost president and chief executive officer. “Music makes the viral world go around. When messages go out, the more they mirror the customer and their individual tastes, the more likely they are to get shared. Popular license music adds entertainment value and raises the bar to a higher standard, setting the dealership apart from the competition. As customers are not used to hearing their favorite song associated with a local car dealership, imagine the difference that makes in marketing.”

The Vboost Viral Marketing Platform can deliver and track thousands of viral messages monthly — all designed to create referral business for dealers and their individual salespeople. With just a few clicks on a mobile app, hundreds of Vboost dealer clients can send thousands of viral messages every month, reaching new customers through the customers’ friends and family.

Vboost reiterated that its mission is to produce and deliver viral marketing messages that promote the dealership and the sales rep, creating referrals. The customer receives the content in a format that compels them to share on their own terms. The shares and views are then tracked and optimized.

“The key to producing high share rates and true viral marketing is different for each person. Customization and fast turnaround are key. Most of our dealerships’ customers share their experience before they even leave the dealership -- that is very powerful marketing,” Moran said.

For more information, watch this Vboost overview video available here or at the top of this page.

For additional information and to schedule a demonstration, call (800) 799-3130 or visit www.vboost.com.

Auction123 has enhanced its dealer website and inventory management solutions, as well as its automated marketing tools for sites like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist and eBay with vehicle-specific pricing information for Carfax Advantage dealers.

The company highlighted those dealers now can compare their pricing with the Carfax history-based values for units in inventory. Using Carfax information combined with local market trends, Carfax can provide a unique price for each vehicle.

With more accurate pricing information, dealers can market their vehicles competitively and reinforce to customers which vehicles are the best value.

“By integrating the Carfax History-Based Value with Auction123’s solutions, we are giving dealers the ability to more accurately price their vehicles based on a specific VIN’s history, as opposed to simply matching a vehicle to others in the market based on options and condition,” said Tracy Amato, executive director of Auction123.

“This is a huge game changer when it comes to determining the best pricing for a dealers’ inventory and identifies the value of vehicles that have fewer owners, more detailed service history and no accidents,” Amato added.

The Auction123 system is now geared to offer greater insight that can help dealers more accurately evaluate each specific VIN in their inventory. The company insisted dealers no longer have to rely on limited market value pricing for all vehicles matching the year, make, model, trim and condition.

Dealers can filter stored vehicles to see which units are priced above or below the Carfax History-Based Value and pull up the Carfax information on each one. In addition, dealers can view and adjust the trim, color, condition and options for each VIN as needed.

“Vehicle-specific pricing helps dealers hold gross on their inventory,” said Paul Nadjarian, head of products for Carfax. “With this information built into Auction123’s entire suite of products, Carfax Advantage dealers make better decisions when acquiring, advertising and retailing used cars.”

For more information or to get access to Auction123’s solutions, visit www.auction123.com.

More valuable intelligence for your dealership’s service drive arrived on Tuesday.

Vincentric released an in-depth update to its vehicle maintenance data with additional detail added to its automotive cost-of-ownership database. The latest enhancement includes costs for more than 400 services per vehicle with more detailed estimates of parts pricing, labor times and labor rates for light-duty vehicles in the U.S. and Canada, resulting in more accurate total cost-of-ownership calculations.

 Vincentric maintenance data includes both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance costs, with scheduled maintenance costs using specific manufacturer recommended maintenance schedules as its foundation.

Unscheduled maintenance costs include items without specific service intervals, such as brakes, batteries and tires.

Vincentric reiterated that it uses a standard replacement interval for these services and then applies vehicle specific parts prices and labor times. This information is then combined with hourly labor rates that are customized by state and province based on a Vincentric survey of automotive dealers.

Current national rates are $96 per hour in the U.S. and $112 per hour in Canada, with slightly higher rates for luxury vehicles.

“Our customers can now more accurately estimate maintenance costs at any mileage interval up to 300,000 miles or 480,000 kilometers,” Vincentric president David Wurster said.

“Each calculation is done using our dynamic cost to own technology to determine specific costs for that driving distance without the need for any averaging,” Wurster continued. “Our web service can deliver this data on demand either as part of our cost-of-ownership solution or as an independent maintenance data delivery.”

In addition to delivery via web service using a VIN match or other unique vehicle matching keys, Vincentric data can be delivered via text file or other formats as needed by its customers.

Further information regarding Vincentric maintenance data can be requested from marketing@vincentric.com.

And Vincentric is again a part of Used Car Week, which begins on Nov. 12 in Scottsdale, Ariz. The company will be handing out honors as a part of the Used Car Awards Luncheon sponsored by TradeRev.

There is still time to register for Used Car Week 2018 by going online here.

Another publicly traded dealer group has made a significant investment in the online car sales space.

AutoNation said Tuesday it has obtained roughly a 7-percent ownership stake in Vroom after a $50 million strategic investment in the online car retailer.

“We are excited about our investment in Vroom and the potential collaboration between our companies,” AutoNation chairman, chief executive and president Mike Jackson said in a news release.

“With this strategic investment, AutoNation remains uniquely positioned to lead our industry towards the future of the consumer buying experience,” he said.

Vroom has been one of the leading online car sales platforms to crop up in the past handful of years, along the likes of Carvana and Shift. 

Paul Hennessy has been Vroom’s CEO since June 2016. He joined the company after serving as the CEO of Priceline.com and chief marketing officer of Booking.com (both are part of Booking Holdings Inc.)

“AutoNation has been one of the chief trailblazers in transforming automotive commerce in the past several decades,” Hennessy said in the news release. “It is a perfect fit to have them in our family as our industry is quickly scaling towards the digital purchase and sale experience that we are offering.”

AutoNation reported third-quarter results Tuesday morning and was set to host an investor’s call at 11 a.m. ET.  Net income from continuing operations for the quarter were $112 million, up from $98 million a year ago. The earnings per share of $1.24 was a third-quarter record.

In its earnings release, AutoNation says investing in Vroom, “provides a foundation for potential strategic partnership opportunities with experienced and proven e-commerce executives.”

It follows a similar move by fellow public retailer Lithia just last month.

With its $54 million investment, Lithia led a $140 million round of Series D financing in Shift, an online automotive marketplace. The funding, which included equity and debt, more than doubled Shift’s total financing of equity and debt, bringing it to $265 million. Lithia and Shift also formed a strategic partnership, and Lithia CEO and president Bryan DeBoer joined Shift’s board of directors.

And then in mid-October, Shift quadrupled its floorplan capacity thanks to a new credit line for buying used cars. With that news came Lithia acquiring more equity interest in the online marketplace.

Lithia chief financial officer John North said in an Oct. 11 news release: “Our deep industry relationships resulted in an immediate benefit for Shift. Access to capital for inventory procurement will increase vehicle sales. As a result of this collaboration, Lithia has received an additional equity interest in Shift.”