When I was growing up in Richmond, VA my dad was in and out of the used car and nightclub business. My father has always been a bit of a hustler. I don’t mean that he would hustle you. (Well, he might.) I mean that he was always scrambling to make a living.

One of the bad habits my father had was he loved to gamble. He loved the “action” that gambling brought to his brain, the adrenaline rush or whatever. To this day, at age 89, he still loves going to the auction. It’s all about the thrill of the kill for him. It’s the “action,” not the auction that turns him on.

When growing up in the 60s I often observed my father gambling, playing cards and shooting craps with a bunch of his used car cronies. It wasn’t unusual for him to go to the Windsor Auto Auction in Windsor, VA with no cars. He would register some late numbers, buy a few early cars and then assign them to his numbers. He would make money without investing a penny of his own and then turn around and lose it all at the end of the day shooting craps on the back of a pickup truck.

My dad and his friends would often rent a hotel room at a downtown hotel in Richmond and have really big poker games. One of the characters that played with him was a used car dealer by the name of Howard Hughes who went by the name “Mad Man Dapper Dan.” Dapper’s slogan was “I’d give ’em away, but my wife won’t let me.”

Dapper nicknamed my dad “Nervous” because when they would have these gambling sessions my father was always nervous about the cops showing up and putting them in jail.

I’ve come to believe that I inherited my dad’s nervous gene. Used cars have always made me nervous. In the early 80s when Ashton Lewis and I first partnered up at Parkway Pontiac Volvo in Chesapeake, VA it was a real struggle to make any money. Jimmy Carter was president and floor plan interest rates were over 20%.

It was not an easy time and we were struggling along without much cash on hand. Turning used cars was not a strategy, it was a necessity.

My nervousness was in part due to GMAC being such a pain to deal with and the magical word called “curtailment.” Curtailing used cars was a real drain on cash, so whenever any, and I mean any, used cars came on the lot I was a “Nervous Nellie.”

This is the time of the year when you need to be nervous for a number of reasons:

1. If you’ve not already started to plan for the first quarter of 2013 you are already behind.

2. This is such a critical time of the year to make sure your inventory is under control which will put you in the driver’s seat as 2013 kicks off.

3. The “Hurricane Sandy” hangover. With a shortage of used cars in the northeast it will be easy to get lulled into a false sense of “let’s keep ’em longer cause the values are going up.” It’s a really bad bet that used car values will stay up very long.

This cycle is a repeat performance from a few years ago. Back then some dealers said “Wow, I can take my inventory to the auctions and make money therefore I can keep them longer.” Not! Stay nervous, there is no substitute for turning your inventory.

If you have units in the 60-day-old range you should be super nervous because you’re not buying and selling in “today’s market.” You are getting ready to get your head handed to you on a platter. Don’t for one minute bet or structure your game plan based on a used car shortage and values going up. If it happens it’s temporary and a really bad model to base your business on.

I’m getting more nervous by the minute. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

I was returning from the gym early one morning and noticed three bus stops in a three block area and I couldn’t help but observe that at each stop all the people were looking to their left watching for the bus. Upon checking my rear view mirror I realized there was no bus in sight, but they were still looking for ‘da bus.

For most people it’s human nature to look for the bus. The bus is more than likely going to show up, and when it does there are some things to keep in mind:

1. The bus might be running late.
2. The bus might be full.
3. The seat choices once you get on the bus might not be very good.
4. You could end up sitting beside someone you don’t know or don’t like.
5. Most buses don’t have seat belts so if it has an accident you might get hurt.
6. The bus is going to make a lot of inconvenient stops along the way.
7. If traffic is heavy the bus will not take an alternate route.
8. Riding a bus can be a very rough ride.
9. You have very little control when you’re waiting and/or riding ‘da bus.

The bottom line is waiting for a bus has lots of flaws. When it comes to used cars are you waiting for the bus or are you driving your own bus? Driving your own bus means making something happen rather than waiting for something to happen. Far too often I observe dealers and managers sitting back and waiting to see if someone else is going to come up with the next great thing so they can board the bus and ride along.

If you happen to be the Dealer or GM I cannot imagine how you can be in the automobile business today and not be in a 20 group. How are you going to get the latest greatest ideas by sitting inside a parked bus in your driveway? Having your own bus is one thing, going somewhere in it is another.

It doesn’t matter if you’re the Dealer, GM, Used Car Manager, Salesperson or in some other type of business; what you have to ask yourself is are you driving the bus or are you letting someone else do the driving? As long as someone else is doing the driving the scenery is going to be very limited and your success even more so. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Dealers are always asking "How can we sell more used cars?" The answer is "the dealer." Yep, the dealer is the answer to selling more used cars. Always has been, always will be.

The definition I’m going to use for the dealer in this article is the PIC (Person in Charge.) In almost all cases the PIC has a used car manager or management team that they have high expectations of and continue to be frustrated with in terms of production and profits.

The common theme among dealerships is that they need a used car manager/used car department that can get the job done. There are a few used car managers that can actually "get it done." They understand both the technology side and the common sense side of the business and the dealer knows how to lead these special people. These are few and far between.

The answer to fixing your used car business is the PIC. The PIC is who can improve the used car numbers the fastest. Most PICs want to sit in their offices and push buttons. If you are the PIC and want to take a major leap with your used car business then you need to become the used car manager. You read that right, become the used car manager.

I don’t buy your excuse that you don’t have the time. Most dealers have a good Comptroller, a good Parts Manager, a good Body Shop Manager, a Good Service Manager and a Good Sales Manager. Most of these departments run better when you keep your nose out of their business.

You have the time if you want to make the time. Far too often the PIC wants to be just that…the Person in Charge…they don’t want to dirty their little paw paws with the day to day issues of the used car department and market.

In all my travels around the country the number one common thread for the Cracker Jack used car operations is the PIC. I can tell you that as a new car dealer for 20 plus years I had the most success with my used car operation when I personally took ownership of it. Every time I turned it over to someone else it went south. That’s not because I was a great used car manager and the people I turned it over to were not. It’s just a fact of life.

I’m not the smartest used car manager that’s ever lived, but because I took ownership of the used car department, I made it work and I made it work really well. As the Dealer (PIC) I could make really quick decisions. If I made a mistake I fixed it and moved on.

When you’re the PIC you know anything and everything that goes on in the used car department. When your typical used car manager makes a mistake he/she can’t always fix it without the wrath of the boss coming down on them.

If you’re the used car manager you are operating under a handicap. It’s called experience. Not your experience, but the experience of the PIC. The PIC has been burned so many times with other used car managers they have tied your hands to the point that no matter what you may think or want to do/try they just can’t turn you loose.

So, even though they themselves won’t dig in they won’t let you dig in but so much. But, they still have these grandiose expectations of what they want out of the used car department. I can tell you until the PIC becomes the used car manager and actually takes the reins it’s never going to happen. And, knowing human nature the odds are about 90% that it’s not going to happen.

Let me share one final thought with you. The biggest complaint I hear from management these days is either the service department is too slow or too high. Without a doubt the PIC can fix this problem. When the used car department becomes the dealer’s "baby," you will just about be guaranteed that something is gonna change pretty darn quick in the service department.

So Mr. or Ms. PIC it’s a matter of choice. You can choose to make it happen or sit around and wish for the "Superman Used Car Manager" to show up at your front door. 

And even if they do show up, they will leap a few tall buildings, might even run faster than a speeding bullet, but for sure they will eventually hit a brick wall. They can’t jump as high as you and they can’t run as fast as you. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs