When consigning a vehicle for retail sale, sellers face an important question: What, if any, investment should I make in improving the vehicle’s condition to maximize its sale value? The answer depends, first and foremost, on the specific condition of the vehicle but is certainly influenced by the unique preferences of the likely retail buyer […] [Read More]

The year has started with a big push in volume for newer used cars, as nearly 273,000 late-model units made their way into the auction market last month. And that includes massive lifts from some SUV and truck segments.  That’s according to the latest Guidelines report from J.D. Power Valuation Services, which said auction volume for […] [Read More]

Mark Fields remains involved in the automotive industry — in a heavy-duty way, as a matter of fact. Fields, who retired as president and chief executive officer of Ford last May, recently was appointed to the board of directors of FleetPride, one of the largest independent distributor of aftermarket heavy-duty truck and trailer parts. Fields certainly […] [Read More]

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) looked at the cost of replacement parts for the Top 10 stolen vehicles from the 2016 model year and uncovered how lucrative illegal operations can be that chop up these units — and potentially take away business from your dealership’s service drive. NICB insisted that expensive parts will continue […] [Read More]

Senior executives at captive auto finance companies from around the globe recently gathered to discuss and debate the latest developments in FinTech in the auto finance industry at White Clarke Group’s third Auto Captives Summit held at The Shard, London in late January. The Auto Captives Summit 2018 centered on providing attendees with real-world examples for […] [Read More]

Industry experts like Swapalease.com executive vice president Scot Hall are trying to get a handle on the used-vehicle market — a segment that will be influenced by interest rates expected to continually increase in 2018, despite the recent stock market sell-off, and wholesale prices continuing to fall this year, mostly due to rising supply. Sharing additional […] [Read More]

In what certainly comes as good news given how many of these vehicles are resurfacing in the used-car market — particularly as off-lease units — J.D. Power reported that overall dependability of 3-year-old vehicles is up 9 percent year-over-year. And the dependability of vehicles is “without question, at its best level ever,” a company executive said. […] [Read More]

Private equity firms continue to see auto financing as an excellent option to leverage. In recent weeks, Bain Capital Ventures injected $55 million into defi SOLUTIONS, and Fair secured a round of strategic equity funding that is led by Siemens-backed next47 global venture fund and also includes BMW, CreditEase FinTech Investment Fund, Millennium Technology Value Partners, […] [Read More]

While numbers remained flat throughout the year for most brands, among non-luxury dealers, both domestic and imported, Lincoln saw the largest share-of-visit increase year-over-year (plus 2.25 percent). This is according to The Year in Location: 2017, Auto Report from PlaceIQ results released Tuesday. Luxury brand BMW (plus 3.9 percent) saw the largest share-of-visit increase year-over-year, followed by Acura […] [Read More]

Across the United States, the number of operating automotive dealerships remained steady in 2017. That's according to the latest Automotive Franchise Activity Report from Urban Science released Tuesday. There were a total of 18,213 dealerships rooftops as of Jan. 1 — a 0.2-percent increase from a total of 18,170 on Jan. 1, 2017, according to the report. The […] [Read More]