While determining that overall April wholesale prices moved higher both sequentially and year-over-year, KAR Auctions Services chief economist Tom Kontos drilled deeper into the latest data, focusing on what he called “two bellwether model classes.” And what he found tells a much different story about what happened in a particular pocket of the wholesale space last […] [Read More]

KISS Concepts Group founder and president Rod Heasley has joined American Auto Shield to build a vehicle service contract program that will give consumers the ability to choose their own terms, coverage, mileage and price. Heasley will serve as president of an American Auto Shield division dedicated to developing the company’s upcoming vehicle service contract […] [Read More]

Even as TransUnion noted that auto finance origination volume appears to be losing a little steam, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Household Debt and Credit Report released on Wednesday showed how the balances consumers are absorbing for their vehicles helped to push total consumer debt above the highest level ever recorded. The report […] [Read More]

Alternative credit data provider FactorTrust and 700Credit, which offers credit reports, compliance solutions and prescreen products, finalized an alliance this week to provide buy-here, pay-here dealers with access to alternative credit information for potential customers who have thin credit files or are underbanked. The companies pointed out that many customers who lack the traditional loan […] [Read More]

The American Bankruptcy Institute reported that total U.S. bankruptcy filings fell nearly 4 percent year-over-year in April. According to data provided by Epiq Systems, bankruptcy filings totaled 67,670 in April, down 3.96 percent from the 70,457 filings reported in April of last year. The 64,323 total noncommercial filings recorded in April represented a 3.93 percent […] [Read More]

While wholesale auctions are still the primary channel for commercial vehicle owners to remarket end-of-cycle vehicles, a growing trend among progressive vehicle remarketing professionals has been to sell vehicles through the emerging retail channel, either through their own dealerships, online service providers, or retail consignment. What’s driving this trend? 1. Growth in off-lease volume First […] [Read More]

Late-model auction sales volume in the first third of the year is still up 7 percent, but it slowed last month. According to the Used-Car Light Truck Guidelines report from J.D. Power Valuation Services, there were 244,381 auction sales of late-model vehicles in April. That’s down 7 percent month-over-month and off 1 percent year-over-year. That […] [Read More]

Attributed in part to what analysts see as struggles to turn new models, J.D. Power Valuation Services’ seasonally adjusted used vehicle price index fell for the 10th straight month, leaving the reading at the lowest level since September 2010. J.D. Power Valuation Services (formerly NADA Used Car Guide) reported in the May issue of Used […] [Read More]

It’s another big acquisition in the KAR Auction Services family, this time in the vehicle shipping platform segment of its business. And one that gives it a presence in consumer-ordered car transport. KAR subsidiary CarsArrive Network has purchased the vehicle transportation business of Dependable Auto Shippers, the parent company said in a news release Wednesday. Through […] [Read More]

In a news release earlier this week, The Presidio Group discussed a few details surrounding the sale of four Serra Automotive, Inc. dealerships to former AutoNation executive Mike Maroone, a deal in which it advised Serra Automotive. As part of the transaction, which was completed Monday, Serra Automotive will keep a minority interest in these […] [Read More]