I’ve discussed the various issues that are putting gross margins under pressure. Those factors aside, there’s another barrier that dealers have to contend with — the fact that consumers come to the dealership armed with more knowledge than ever. When the amateur knows more than the professionals on your lot, it’s difficult for salespeople to […] [Read More]

“I would like to buy a car with bitcoin.” The majority of dealers and their sales staff likely have not heard those words from a customer. At least, not yet. The global emergence of cryptocurrencies in the last five years has brought to question one serious issue: what can be accepted as money? Is it […] [Read More]

One of the presenting sponsors of this year’s Re3 Conference — Primeritus Financial Services — also enjoyed a record turnout for its second annual agent partner event on Sept. 11 and Sept. 12 in the Music City. During its first agent event a year ago, Primeritus indicated more than 100 attendees came to the company’s […] [Read More]

Carvana executives highlighted that the company that sells used vehicles completely online is on track for a more than 1,000-percent increase in revenue during its first full year of sales. Should the company maintain that pace, Carvana expects its 2014 revenue figure to climb to $50 million. “Since our launch, we have been focused on reinventing […] [Read More]

Edmunds.com announced this week the launch of its new feature for its car-shopping mobile application. Lot Buddy, a location-aware feature for the company’s existing mobile app, allows car buyers to unlock “Price Promise,” no-haggle offers from anywhere, even on the lot. According to Edmunds, this car-shopping tool is the first to offer locked-in pricing without […] [Read More]

Consistency was the word in the lanes last week — especially for the car segments. Black Book’s Ricky Beggs reported the car segments’ prices fell by an average of $71 last week, which is slightly lower than the previous week’s drop of $84. In his latest “Beggs on the Used Car Market” report, the Black […] [Read More]

So far I’ve discussed two factors that are putting gross profit margins under pressure: market-based pricing and the impending increase in the supply of used cars. There’s a third element to this equation: the fact that dealers have fundamentally changed their pricing strategy without also changing their sales and marketing approach. That has led to a […] [Read More]

A little more than a week after Ford announced a formal recall of more than 850,000 midsize sedans, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration formally launched an investigation into another estimated 938,000 late-model vehicles from the Blue Oval. The investigation is connected with the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ from the 2010 through 2012 model […] [Read More]

If one looks a few years down the road, auction prices may illustrate more of a buyer’s market in Canada. But for now, prices are high, and dealers’ pocketbooks are being stretched in the lanes. With this in mind, Auto Remarketing Canada reached out to auction trend experts to give readers a window into what […] [Read More]

Auto logistics services provider MetroGistics announced today that it has formed strategic partnerships with Precision Motor Transport Group and McNutt Automotive Logistics. The company said in its announcement that the combined entities will provide a full range of logistics and asset-based transportation solutions to the full spectrum of customer segments. That includes automakers, the used-car […] [Read More]