Can I get an amen that it’s hard to find good technicians? Heck, can I get an amen that’s it hard to find technicians period?

I’m going to be more specific. How about used car technicians? Tough gig isn’t it?

Regardless of how you slice it and dice it there are only about 3 models to pick from when you think about how to get used vehicles through the mechanical shop.

1. Goes thru your regular shop, assign vehicles to technicians in the same rotation as a retail customer. Everybody in the shop works on your used vehicles. Works well for the shop, not so well for the used car department.

2. A separate used vehicle shop. Works much better for the used car department, but there can be issues with keeping the technicians busy when there is any kind of slow down with incoming used vehicle inventory. And, very difficult to do due to space restraints.

3. Within your regular shop you have separate used vehicle technicians that only work on used and a used vehicle service writer who coordinates their activity. Of the three choices, given the issue of facilities and staffing this is the one that has the most potential to create efficiency and harmony.

The major problem when service managers think about having someone dedicated to working on used is they don’t want to pay them what they are worth.

There are many reasons for this and one of them of course is the service manager doesn’t want to upset the top “franchise” technicians in the shop by paying the used vehicle technicians at the top level.

And even more to the point, they have been taught very well that they must keep their cost of sale in line in order to make a profit and for their numbers to look good to upper management.

The reality is a good used vehicle technician needs to be one of the highest paid technicians in your shop. A good used vehicle technician’s skill level has to be equal or greater than whoever your top dog might be. And, you need to pay them as such.

So, if you’re mentally fighting with the cost of sale thing, let me suggest that you can keep your cost of sale in line for service and let the used vehicle department participate in some of the additional compensation required to get and maintain top level used vehicle technicians.

It might be an incentive that’s paid based on some formula that in the end compensates the used vehicle technician for what they are really worth, not for what the shop thinks it can afford.

Paying more is not always the answer. But, paying people what they are worth is far better and a lot more productive than paying them what the shop thinks it can afford.

If you can improve your speed and efficiency it’s money well spent. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Can you believe it? The year is half over. Time really does fly doesn’t it?

How was your June? How have your first six months been? It’s July. Half the year is gone. Kinda scary isn’t it?

Some of you have had a great first half. Some of you, not so much.

Some of you have been running full speed ahead. Some of you have been dragging through the sand.

Something has been holding you back. There may be some legitimate excuses, but maybe you just had the wrong plan in place. Just because you had the wrong plan does not mean it’s too late to fix it. You’ve still got 6 more months to go.

Those of you who have had a good first 6 months need to be cautious of becoming complacent. Even though things have been going well, you would be very smart to review how you can make things better as you tackle the second half.

Everything we do is about choices. You can choose to let things be as they are or you can choose to dial it up a notch or two.

To do so means to review your plan and the strategies you have in place. And, make the changes that are necessary to get you where you know you need to go.

Your other choice is to do nothing. Go sit in your office and stare at the wall. Enjoy your seat and pretty soon it will be over.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Make a list and attack your 10 most expensive units every day. With one exception, make sure they are priced really, really right. The one exception is if you know you always make money on a unit that’s on the list then use some common sense, don’t give it away.

Consider putting bonus money on those 10 units regardless of the number of days they have been in stock. Sooner rather than later. Most dealers bonus their sales staff when the units have aged. Do it early, you will be much better off.

Make sure the service manager gets a copy of the list every day. If one of those units happens to be in the service department, the service manager has to understand they must get it out of the shop in a hurry because it’s one of your 10 most expensive units.

Also give copies to the sales managers and F&I managers every day. The entire team needs to have top of mind awareness that these vehicles need to go.

In many cases your top ten most expensive are also some of your oldest units in stock. Duh…that’s because there are fewer butts that can fit in those seats. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

A number of months ago, I wrote an article comparing constipation to aged inventory, or to be more clear, those units over 60 days old.

When you’re constipated, it’s virtually impossible to be as productive as you might otherwise be. Having units over 60 days is the same as being constipated.

Exercise, drinking lots of water and in some really bad cases taking a strong laxative can often relieve the problem and get you back on your “A Game.” You can never perform your best when you’re all stopped up.

Until you get the water out of your used car inventory you will never be but so good. You will have a few good months, but unless you commit to a good diet of solid processes you will always struggle.

One of the best ways to fix the problem is to reappraise the entire inventory, extract the water, give each unit a new birthday and put in my “Life Cycle Management Process.”

As long as you have aged units aging, then you’re going to have a lot of water. When you have lots of water, the more the sales people will walk around the aged units.

They don’t want to sell a unit they can’t make any money on. Believe it or not, the managers don’t want to sell them either. They would much rather sell something that they can make some gross on. This isn’t rocket science.

Here’s the tip of the day. If you ever decide to write your inventory down, you have to change your overall strategy of how you’re going to manage your used car department moving forward. It does little or no good to write down your inventory and go back to your stinky old ways.

Constipation is fixable. Aged inventory is fixable. When you fix it, you feel better. When you feel better, you make more money. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

I’ve always been a big believer in trying to retail everything that has a breath of life left in it. Certainly you have state safety laws to abide by and of course you may have your own standards for safety and reconditioning.

Often dealers draw the conclusion that they don’t want to mess with the older used vehicles because they don’t want to damage their reputation. I’ve never understood that part. The customers buying the older, cheaper units are thrilled to have that vehicle. It’s not going to hurt your reputation.

In case you’re sitting on the fence on a “Budget Center,” ask yourself these simple questions.

1. What about all the parts and service gross that would have been generated on the less expensive cars going through service and reconditioning?

2. What about the fact that you could have put more money in some trades because you intend to retail them vs. wholesale them? How many more car deals do you end up making because you have a better plan?

3. Does the increase in volume from the less expensive units impact the attitude of the sales staff and their ability to earn additional income? Isn’t it true the best time to sell a car is when you just sold a car?

4. What’s the benefit of having someone driving a car, any car, high dollar, low dollar, that they purchased from you?

5. Is there a chance you just sold a car to someone who might never have set foot in your store simply because you had a vehicle at a price point they could afford to pay?

6. Is it possible that this new customer has a friend or relative who might one day come buy something because of the way this new customer was treated during the buying experience?

7. Are the odds in your favor that they may come back for an oil change or other service?

8. Does doing business generate business?

9. What’s the “Return on Investment” on selling these less expensive cars? Relative to the amount of money tied up, aren’t they a far better investment than what you would make with a $25,000 car? How many times in a year can you turn over a $7,000 to $10,000 investment vs. a $25,000 investment?

10. Doesn’t it make sense that if you can sell more cars with less money tied up that it’s a good thing? There really isn’t much of a downside to increasing volume and decreasing investment.

It’s found money, that’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs