The past several years reshaped the economics of automotive retail, creating operating conditions that were never likely to last. Dealers who thrived on thin supply and outsized margins are now addressing a harder operating environment: rising floorplan costs, more price-sensitive consumers, and compressed per-vehicle gross. The dealers who will outperform the next five years are […] [Read More]

Used-vehicle prices are up just 0.2% this month, a $40 increase, according to Carfax. On the surface, that may seem steady. However, there are some basic economic drivers at play that are balancing out the market, Carfax says in analysis around its monthly index, and that could have implications for both dealers and consumers. Especially […] [Read More]

Challenges were abundant for auto retailers in the latest Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index, and that includes the used-car department of the dealership. But despite hurdles around supply and affordability concerns, there were some glass-half-full findings in Cox’s analysis of the used-car market in the third quarter. The used-vehicle sales index in the report came […] [Read More]

Used-car sales were down in the reporting period for the latest monthly AutoVision Used Vehicle Inventory Analysis. But there’s a silver lining for dealers: they’re doing more with much less. The report from the Reynolds and Reynolds subsidiary “covers 95% of all used-vehicle activity conducted by dealerships with a website across the continental United States, […] [Read More]

When it comes to making it easy for customers to schedule service on the phone or their websites, Volkswagen dealers, apparently, do it best. Pied Piper released its 2026 Service Scheduling Effectiveness Auto Industry Study, which examines the customer experience scheduling service on dealership websites and via telephone. Topping the list was VW, whose dealers […] [Read More]

Consider this idea: Shrink the days between committing capital and reusing it. Automotive retailers understand turn. A vehicle sitting in inventory represents capital, carrying cost and risk. Move it faster, and the same capital can be deployed again. We have spent decades applying that thinking to inventory. I believe we should start applying it to […] [Read More]

It’s a bit of a Catch 22. The two used-vehicle segments whose prices increased notably from July — luxury cars and the car segment (i.e. sedans, coupes, wagons, convertibles, etc.) — climbed for an ironic reason. They’re affordable. While used prices of most segments were flat month-over-month in August, car segment prices were up 1.0% […] [Read More]