The biggest problem with the used car business?

There are no absolutes.

I constantly get questions that start with “What if…”

You know the ones:

“What if you’ve got a one-year-old truck with 15,000 miles and you over-appraised it and now you’ve got $50,000 in it?”

My answer usually sounds evasive — because it has to be.

There isn’t one answer.

My opinion on that unit today might be completely different three days from now. The market changes. The data changes. The buyers change. Every unit is different, and every day is different.

At some point, you have to trust your judgment.

Make a decision.
Execute it.
Move on.

I always tell managers: don’t second-guess yourself — but you should second-educate yourself.

Experience is tuition.
You learn by doing.
You learn by missing.

Make mistakes. Just don’t keep making the same mistakes.

And even when you do miss?

Sell it. Move on. It’s short-term inventory, not a family heirloom.

If you’re chasing perfection in the used car business, you might want to reconsider your career. Nothing here is ever perfect.

Better? Yes.
Perfect? Never.

Get over yourself and get back to work.

When I was growing up, basketball players who took a lot of shots were called gunners. They shot and shot and shot again. They also scored the most — because they weren’t afraid to miss.

A bad night didn’t stop them.
They went back to the gym and shot more the next day.

That’s this business.

Take your shots.
Improve your touch.
Stop searching for absolute answers to “What if.”

Because remember…

What if a bullfrog had wings?

He wouldn’t bump his ass every time he jumped.

That’s all I’m gonna say.

— Tommy Gibbs

March Madness is almost over — and so is your month.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the NCAA Tournament isn’t usually won by offense alone. Championships are won on defense. Pressure. Effort. Relentlessness.

Basketball calls it a full-court press.

That means pressure everywhere. Every pass. Every step. Every second. No breaks. No easy possessions.

It takes energy. It takes discipline. And here’s the important part:

It doesn’t always take more talent — it takes more effort.

Less talented teams beat better teams every year because they refuse to let up. They stay in your face for forty straight minutes. They create mistakes. They wear opponents down.

Sound familiar?

Because that’s exactly where the car business is today.

Whether you’re ahead or behind, this business demands a full-court press every single day. Every customer. Every lead. Every appraisal. Every process.

An “in-your-face” commitment to execution.

And before you say it — no, you’re not doing everything you can.

Nobody is.

If you’ve ever played sports, you already know this truth.

Try this:

Raise your hand.

Now raise it higher.

See? There’s always more.

So here’s your challenge.

Write it down.

Make a list of the basics:

• The things you know you should do.
• The things you used to do.
• The disciplines you’ve allowed to slip.
• The processes you know that actually work.

Then commit to a 21-day full-court press.

Hold yourself accountable. Hold your team accountable. No excuses for three weeks.

Why 21 days?

Because habits aren’t built by intention — they’re built by repetition. Give focused effort for 21 straight days and momentum takes over.

I’m pressing you to act.

Pressing you to refocus.

Pressing you to raise your standard.

Every minute of every day is an opportunity to apply pressure.

Start pressing.

And run up the score. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Most of you fall into one of two camps.

You’re either unhappy with your average gross per unit…

or you’re unhappy with your used car volume.

And if we’re being honest — you’re probably unhappy with the total gross too.

Let me remind you of something simple:

The only number that really matters is total gross.

I know that statement is controversial, but it’s a true statement.

I’ve said it for years:

You cannot spend average gross profit. You can only spend total gross profit.

Yet many dealers send completely conflicting messages to their teams.

One day you demand higher grosses.

The next day you demand more volume.

You can’t pound people with two opposing marching orders and expect clarity. All you create is confusion, frustration, and inconsistent execution.

Sure — somewhere out there a store is hitting home runs on both ends. But that’s the exception, not the rule. Stop managing your dealership based on unicorns.

That doesn’t mean you can’t improve both. You can. But you must decide what game you’re actually playing.

And make no mistake — today this is a different game.

Over 80% of used car shoppers start online. That means if you think you can post high prices — or worse, no prices — and traffic will magically show up, you’re mistaken.

The Internet changed the rules.

It doesn’t care about your franchise, your market, or how things used to work.

You have to decide:

Do you want to play the game?

More importantly — do you want to win?

As Dr. Seuss said:

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

If you want more volume, it starts with acquisition — and I don’t mean just buying more cars.

Buying more inventory without strategy is the kiss of death.

All you’re doing is creating aged units you’ll be discounting three months from now.

Volume requires a complete operational commitment:

• Smarter acquisition strategies
• Proper staffing
• Pay plans aligned with objectives
• Efficient reconditioning
• Aggressive marketing
• Market-based pricing

Miss any one of these, and production stalls. Miss several, and you’ll be worse off than when you started.

Here’s the truth:

The fastest path to happiness in a dealership is a stronger bottom line.

And the fastest way to improve the bottom line?

Improve your volume.

When used car volume improves, everything improves — New, Service, Parts, absorption, and cash flow.

That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Accountability

“The quality or state of being accountable; the willingness to accept responsibility for one’s actions”

Simple definition.

Hard execution.

Because accountability doesn’t start with your team.

It starts with you.

It moves outward to everyone around you — and eventually circles right back into your lap.

If you believe leadership sets the culture of an organization, then you also have to accept this truth

You cannot build a culture of accountability without personal discipline.

If you’re unwilling to hold yourself accountable, you have no chance of holding others accountable.

And let’s be honest…

Why should your people do what leadership says is important if leadership doesn’t do it themselves?

There are a thousand ways to explain that, but I’m a common-sense guy.

Monkey see. Monkey do.

A strong leader makes sure people know what matters.

A great leader makes things matter by checking to ensure they actually get done.

Accountability isn’t an event.

It isn’t a meeting.

It isn’t a speech.

It’s a daily standard — led by you.

And here’s the part many leaders forget:

Accountability plays no favorites.

The moment you let one person off the hook, eventually the entire organization slips off the hook.

Standards don’t slowly erode.

They collapse.

Beyond personal accountability, holding others accountable comes down to three things:

1. Street Savvy

Experience matters. Awareness matters. Some people develop it over time — a few are born with it — but every leader must learn to read situations, people, and patterns.

2. Get Your Head Out of the Office

Leadership doesn’t happen behind a desk.

Walk the floor.

Listen more.

Watch more.

Use your peripheral vision and your ears. The truth about your operation rarely shows up in a report first.

3. Data

Look at the numbers — and then look again.

Yes, data can feel overwhelming. That’s why common sense matters more than spreadsheets.

Figure out what actually matters.

Sometimes data misleads you.

Sometimes it hits you right between the eyes.

Your job is knowing the difference.

That’s all I’m going to say.

— Tommy Gibbs

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for a while, you’ve probably noticed a pattern.

More than half of what I write comes back to one thing: discipline in your used car operation.

Why?

Because the truth is simple — whether you like it or not:

The stronger your used car department is, the stronger your entire dealership becomes.

New. Service. Parts. Profitability. Stability.

That’s not an opinion.

That’s not a theory.

That’s a fact.

You can argue with it if you want.

You’ll still be wrong.

There’s an old saying:

“Do the things you don’t want to do, so you can do the things you want to do.”

That might be good life advice, but it’s essential in the automobile business.

No department demands more discipline, structure, and daily execution than used cars.

And the discipline dealers struggle with most?

Inventory turn.

Let me say it plainly:

No unit should ever become 60 days old.

Some of the most disciplined operators I work with are already pushing that number to 30 to 45 days.

Now here’s the reality.

Every dealer says they want to make more money.

But making more money requires doing things you don’t enjoy doing — consistently.

Pricing aggressively.

Holding people accountable.

Managing aging inventory daily.

Making uncomfortable decisions early instead of expensive decisions later.

That’s the pain of discipline.

If you’re not currently operating on a max 60-day turn, getting there will hurt.

It will cost money.

Your team will have reasons why it “can’t be done.”

Excuses always sound logical — right up until profitability shows up.

But once you get there?

The dealership runs smoother.

Cash flow improves.

Stress drops.

Profit rises.

And suddenly… business gets fun again.

Now you’re doing the things you want to do.

You’ve probably heard this before:

“The pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

One hurts now.

The other hurts forever.

If you were using my lifecycle management process, you’d experience a lot less pain.

That’s all I’m going to say.

— Tommy Gibbs