Here we are — the holidays are upon us.  As usual, the IRS is warning of a delay in tax refunds. Everyone is stocking up on inventory, hoping for a grand tax season. Customers are not making preparations to deal with the holidays. Special finance operations are still interfering with BHPH sales.  So what are you […] [Read More]

While speaking to a group of business owners at an event, I asked the audience if anyone had an eight-track tape player. One person raised his hand.  (If you are too young to know what an eight-track tape is, substitute cassette tape, or ask someone in their 40s. Either way, it was prior to the […] [Read More]

Since my retirement from active skip-tracing eight years ago, I now have the opportunity to sit back and observe the industry closely. Since I’ve taken on a teaching and training role, reaching a new generation of skip-tracers with MasterFiles, I hear much talk and concern on the topic of best practices and compliance. To the […] [Read More]

"Hard cases make bad law" is a maxim attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes, an associate justice and acting chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court at the turn of the last century. The maxim suggests that cases with extreme facts often prompt courts (and regulators) to stake out extreme legal positions in response. On July […] [Read More]

When Advantage Funding co-founder Ed Kaye makes a presentation to buy-here, pay-here dealers, he often begins with a list of seven questions for them to consider. Before going any further, Kaye recommends that operators stop finance companies from going any further unless they can explain their programs in a concise, understandable way. “We believe that […] [Read More]

Recently an operator came to Ken Shilson and told the founder of the National Alliance of Buy-Here, Pay-Here dealers that he found an easy way to save money on every sale he made at his dealership. Immediately after Shilson applauded the operator on the achievement, he asked the BHPH dealer how he did it. The […] [Read More]

Most dealers are crunched for used supply these days, as off-lease vehicles remain scarce — even though rumors of expanding supply are on the horizon. And as dealers look to alternative sourcing methods to fill their used-car lots, one term they have most likely been hearing about quite a bit this past year is dealer-to-dealer […] [Read More]

Transaction prices were up in 14 of the 15 used-vehicle age groups in the latest quarterly data set from Edmunds.com. But that comes with one big Catch-22. In its Q3 2014 Used Vehicle Market Report, Edmunds said the “one downside to selling more expensive vehicles is longer lot times.” Analysts added, “This is especially true […] [Read More]

The Dilawri Group of Companies announced this week it has added a 50th dealership to its franchised dealership lineup. The dealer group has bought Audi Queensway in Toronto. "We are proud to welcome Audi Queensway to our company," said Kap Dilawri, who along with his brothers Tony and Ajay, are principal directors of the company. "This is […] [Read More]

AutoNation reported year-over-year increases in several new-vehicle metrics for the month of November. The group posted 27,055 new-vehicle sales for November, marking a 6-percent increase compared to November 2013, despite having one fewer sale day in 2014. The sales in each segment each rendered a year-over-year increase, with the biggest jump being in domestic sales, up 8 […] [Read More]