SAN DIEGO -

Jennifer Costabile has spent most of her career on the new-car side of GM’s business cultivating dealer relationships, so now that she works on the used-vehicle side of things, she’s calling upon these connections and knows a key concern for dealers in today’s marketplace is finding enough vehicles to certify.

GM’s new general director of used vehicle activities, marketing, fleet and commercial operations, said the automaker is stepping up to the plate to meet these dealer needs.

In a recent meeting with GM’s Dealer Advisory Council, she assured these dealers that the automaker will push a consistent flow of vehicles through the auctions to ensure dealers have enough units to certify. Costabile said she will work with fleet and rental partners to maintain a solid mix of models, as well, coming back through the auctions.

“We’re going to work with fleet and rental partners to control thing, to ensure a really strong mix of inventory. I really feel dealers are our partners,” she pointed out.

For dealers who still might struggle to find units, Costabile said her team will work with them on identifying strong trade-ins to recondition and certify.
Her primary focus in her new position, in addition to helping to ensure dealers have enough certifiable inventory, is keeping an eye on the resale and residual levels of GM’s vehicles.

On the new-car side of things, Costabile said GM has raised a lot of its transaction prices, which in turn raises residual values.

“I really feel very strongly that GM is working hard on the new-car side and this will help vehicles on the used side retain as much value as possible. A really good job on the new side helps us on the used side,” she told Auto Remarketing.

The company is also spending more money to recondition vehicles going through the lanes in order to make them front-line ready for dealers.

Costabile said she realizes that not all families are in the market for a new vehicle. So a used vehicle can present a good option to get these folks into the GM brand and ownership cycle. And having high residuals can help this immensely if a customer feels like his used vehicle is going to retain its value well, she added.

Since Costabile has taken on her new role, she’s spent quite a bit of time on the road visiting auctions, meeting with auction staff and meeting with dealers in the lanes.

“I’ve been out to the auctions. I really feel strongly about growing our relationships with auction partners. My mission is to go out to every auction partner. I want to interact with the dealers in the lanes, make sure the auction staff is equipped with the best technology and work on the best ways to maximize resale value. Auctions help us in the long run do a better job. It’s important to have good, solid relationships with auction partners,” Costabile said.

“It’s pretty amazing meeting all the auction staff and seeing auctions help us recon the vehicles. These are really professional folks. They are the best technicians and recon people. The people at auctions do a phenomenal job,” she added.

Ultimately, her role is to help the GM team, auction partners and dealer partners to all work together to drive success, she said.