Though the trade-in numbers for vehicles three years old and younger has been “very low,” Jack Ballinghoff has found that fellow Toyota dealers shouldn’t have any problem finding off-lease vehicles. The general manager of Koons Tysons Toyota said that while he’s not pursuing the three-year-old and younger vehicles right now, Toyota dealers who are can […] [Read More]

CU Direct Connect announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with AutoNation that names CU Direct Connect as a preferred lender for all of the dealer group’s stores in Colorado. The agreement is effective as of today. Officials said that CU Direct Connect, through its 34 member credit unions, is collectively the largest auto […] [Read More]

A new TransUnion study found that people who monitor their own credit files open significantly more new auto loans and credit cards, and perform generally as well on those loans as consumers who do not monitor their own credit. The company's study determined that consumers who monitor their credit in any given credit score range […] [Read More]

“Dale, what can I do to take my used-vehicle operations to the next level in 2013?” This question comes my way more frequently, and much earlier in the year, than it did in the past. To me, this is a good thing: more dealers are thinking hard and planning ahead to do a better job […] [Read More]

Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems recently hired a new vice president of sales. Joining the provider of repossession and remarketing services is Jeff Swisher. CARS is looking for Swisher to help the company further scale the sales organization and continue to build brand recognition. “We are excited to bring Jeff and the wealth of knowledge and […] [Read More]

A new Arizona-based vendor screening company on Monday launched what it's calling the first online compliance management system for the auto lending industry. Vendor Transparency Solutions explained that it developed an industry-specific, comprehensive, supplier screening solution designed to assist the lending community to reach the highest level of compliance. The tool is also geared to […] [Read More]

Are gas prices finally on the way down? According to the latest “Beggs on the Used Car Market” report, gas prices at the pump made the biggest week-over-week change since July, and wholesale price changes may be directly impacted. Ricky Beggs, managing editor of Black Book, said gas prices fell by $0.13 this past week […] [Read More]

The seven highest ratings for reliability among 28 car brands studied went to Toyota and other Japanese makes, as Consumer Reports this week released the results of its 2012 Annual Auto Reliability Survey. Meanwhile, one particular domestic brand dropped dramatically; going from being among the top 10 two years ago to coming in next-to-last in […] [Read More]

With so much industry talk about pent-up demand being a spark for vehicle sales, a dealer recently asked Manheim chief economist Tom Webb to explain why his story wasn’t enjoying the traffic and turn uptick experienced by other dealerships. In the October Auto Industry Brief from Manheim Consulting, the dealer told Webb that “I see […] [Read More]

Supply: the topic that has been at the forefront of used-car dealers’ minds for the past few years as quality pre-owned vehicles proved scanty in the lanes. And as leasing dried up in the years after the 2008 recession, both off-lease and off-fleet vehicles — which had fed the auction lanes in the past — […] [Read More]