On Tuesday in Austin, Texas, the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association wrapped up its 2026 BHPH Dealer Forum, which combined dealer-led education and roundtables with visits to four nearby buy-here, pay-here dealerships.

“The best ideas in this business come from dealers who are doing the work every day,” NIADA director of education Brent Carmichael said.

Built for dealership leadership teams — owners, general managers, and sales, finance, service, and collections managers — the forum focused on the issues shaping the BHPH segment, from underwriting and collections to inventory, capital access, fraud prevention, and marketing.

On Monday, dealers toured four Austin-area dealerships — Texas Auto Center, Third Coast Auto Group, Discovery Auto Sales, and Chacon Autos — for a firsthand look at how successful BHPH operations handle branding, sales operations, finance and collections, and service.

That afternoon, NIADA hosted three hours of dealer-led roundtables, with attendees grouped by dealership size and business model.

The BHPH Forum began on Sunday afternoon with a general session panel titled, “BHPH at a Crossroads: Navigating Today’s Challenges. Preparing for What’s Next.” The panel featured:

—Nick Markosian, president of Markosian Auto in Salt Lake City
—Jack Carter, owner of Turn & Burn Motors in Conyers, Ga.
—Blake Ingram, CEO of Auto City in Dallas

The opening day also included breakout sessions covering vehicle finance fraud, managing inventory as an investment, underwriting to collect, social media marketing, artificial intelligence, building a business model and pro forma, reading portfolio data, and mastering the BHPH path to sale.

Tuesday’s closing general session featured Ryan Copacia, principal at TikTok Automotive who presented, “Different Animal, Same Opportunity: TikTok for BHPH.”

That segment followed with Carmichael orchestrating NIADA’s Best Idea Contest, where the top recommendations from Monday’s roundtables were presented and attendees voted on a winner.

“Buy-here, pay-here dealers provide reliable transportation and access to credit for customers who often have nowhere else to turn,” NIADA CEO Jeff Martin said. “That work has never been more demanding, and the BHPH Dealer Forum exists so these dealers can learn from one another and leave Austin running stronger, more resilient businesses.

“We’re grateful to every dealer who made the trip and to the sponsors who (made) this event possible,” Martin added.