Two blockbuster dealer group acquisitions this year — Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of the Van Tuyl Group, along with Lithia Motors buying DCH Auto Group — are proving to be game-changers on the mergers and acquisitions side of the retail auto business. As Erin Kerrigan, founder and managing director of Kerrigan Advisors, said in her firm’s […] [Read More]

The Pennsylvania Department of General Services announced this week that it will be hosting the final state vehicle auction of the year on Tuesday. The auction, which will feature nearly 500 vehicles for public bidding at the Manheim Central Penn Auto Auction, was featuring a preview period through Monday. “We are closing out the year with […] [Read More]

Dealers and buyers that use AuctionEar — a mobile app developed by Xcira, which adds audio and video to the company’s mobile bidding platform — can now use the tool on their smartphones and mobile devices. The app is now available for both IOS and Android devices. The tool first launched in August, and the […] [Read More]

For more than a year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, an unelected government agency tasked with regulating the consumer finance market, has doggedly pursued what it views as “disparities” in auto lending. On this issue, you have to respect their determination: They’ve let nothing stand in their way, including lack of evidence. It came as […] [Read More]

Reynolds and Reynolds announced this week that Reynolds Document Services has partnered with the Chicago Automobile Trade Association (CATA) to launch the Reynolds LAW Illinois F&I Library, a comprehensive catalog of standardized, legally reviewed finance and insurance (F&I) documents that can be used by dealers who are CATA members. The LAW Illinois F&I Library of […] [Read More]

Much of the business at Matthews Motors in Clayton, N.C., is from customers in subprime credit tiers. Fulfilling the needs of this segment is something of which store owner Steve Matthews understands the importance and opportunity. “There will always be people with bad credit. We work extra hard to get them in a nice car […] [Read More]

Days after Toyota and Honda announced they are calling for a coordinated industry-wide joint initiative to independently test Takata airbag inflators that have been the subject of recent recalls, the Merchant Law Group announced it is launching Canada-wide class action litigation in Ontario and Saskatchewan regarding the defective airbags. The airbags in question contain inflators […] [Read More]

Q: What are three things you should accomplish before the end of the year? Julian says… I am going to give you a different approach: What’s one of the things that you need to do every three years? Think about what lawyer you would go to if you thought every dime you’ve got is on […] [Read More]

The results of November’s Dealertrack Technologies TradeTracker Used Vehicle Market Report remain relatively on point with the year’s trends. The Ford F-150 remains the top most-appraised vehicle and top most looked-at domestic vehicle by domestic owners for the month of November, a trend that has remained prevalent for the last three months and year-to-date. The […] [Read More]

A common problem for many dealers is consumers not having enough money to put down on a vehicle.  This situation usually results in one of three ways: you accept less, you defer the down payment, or you don’t sell the vehicle.  Here is a prime example for a vehicle that you would normally ask for […] [Read More]