You’ve heard me talk about embracing a “new mindset” when it comes to the used car business. Some would argue there’s nothing new at all, but I believe there is, particularly in how dealers source used vehicles and how they should be marketing to consumers. I had the opportunity to recently to get with a few top pro’s in the field and explore these ideas and see how they are embracing a new mindset within their used car departments.
Proactive strategy
During this recent discussion with Vehicle Acquisition Network Founder Tom Gregg (a DealerRefresh Sponsor) and Guests Aaron Gomez of Epic Auto Sales and Gary Wade of Morrie’s Auto Group on “Buying Used Cars from Private Sellers,” we concluded that based on our observations, there are only about one in five dealers that deploy a proactive strategy designed to source vehicles outside of auctions and vehicle trades.
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Unique Approach
My guests explained how each of their dealerships has its own unique process of acquiring used cars. Aaron Gomez, Remarketing Director at Epic Auto Sales, explains:
The wholesale market is completely different from the way it was even just a few years. We are seeing dealers unable to acquire all the used vehicles they need from the auctions. One of the more effective ways for us to provide our dealers with the vehicles they need is to offer great value to customers off the street.
Aaron and I talked about this in more depth during our interview on Vehicle Acquisition Network, where he explained what the new mindset is, how dealers can apply this way of thinking to used cars, and why a consumer would want to sell their car to a dealer.
Epic Auto Sales partnered with VAN earlier in the year and has been utilizing the network to build a more profitable used car strategy around buying more vehicles from private sellers.
Fundamental Shift
Many dealers are reluctant to change their approach and focus on establishing (and growing) a high-profit used car buy center. These dealers, I believe (and I’m not the only one) will be left behind. There’s a fundamental shift in the used car business – Buying used cars from consumers is more profitable.
Four Elements Video
Watch this condensed version of this live web chat about buying used cars from consumers where we discuss the Four Elements to Running a More Profitable Buy Center. This will give you an idea of the core guidelines to follow in adapting to a new mindset and establishing a process which can lead to greater profit margins and a higher ROI with used cars.
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