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

Ever wonder why you can’t quite hit — and keep — maximum success in your used car department?

When you really look at it, you’ve got a lot going for you: a solid inventory, plenty of operating capital, enough space to work with, and a management team that (in theory) understands how important a strong used car department is.

You’ve invested in the right software to source, price, and manage your inventory, and you’re doing a quality job reconditioning your vehicles.

So why isn’t it all clicking?

Because until someone truly owns it, it’s never going to happen.

Every dealership has staffing limits — we all know that. But too often, the used car department becomes an afterthought, tacked onto another manager’s already full plate. Maybe it’s sort of the GM’s responsibility. Maybe the GSM’s. Maybe the desk manager’s, the sales manager’s, or some hybrid “used car/sales manager” role.

See where this is going? Nobody owns it.

And in today’s market, the role of a used car manager has evolved. We’re asking people to handle pricing analytics, digital marketing, inventory turn strategies — things that not everyone has the skill set for. Just because you know the wholesale side doesn’t mean you understand the retail game.

When someone truly owns the used car department, everything changes. They come to work with a mission — every single day:

• A mission to make things happen.
• A mission to energize the team.
• A mission to prevent aging inventory.
• A mission to move cars efficiently through reconditioning.
• A mission to boost turn rates and profits.
• A mission to get every car online and ready to sell, fast.
• A mission to study the best operators and emulate proven practices.
• A mission to build a team that dominates the used car market.
• A mission to tackle problem units strategically, not reactively.
• A mission to sell everyone in the store on how crucial the used car department is to total dealership success.

So—who owns your used car department?

That’s all I’m gonna ask, Tommy Gibbs

One of my favorite things to do when working with dealers is to discuss their oldest used vehicles in stock.

If the oldest unit is 55 days old or 155 days old, 99.9% of the time they all have a storyline tied to them.

The conversation will often evolve to where the used car manager will say “We have it priced #1 in the market, it’s a nice car and I don’t know why it hasn’t sold.”

Some of you won’t like my response. But, my response is based on reality. And the reality is, if it’s priced #1 in the market and it still hasn’t sold…it’s not cheap enough.

We’re not talking about a fresh piece. We’re talking about your oldest unit in stock. And, it may have a flaw you failed to identify soon enough.

You’ve had it way too long. It’s time to make it “cheap enough” and make it go away.

That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Successful dealers have a different view, a different attitude, a different swagger
about them and a different way of managing accountability.
This time of the year reminds me of spring training for major league baseball.
Optimism is running high, as it should be, but in a few months, reality will start to
set in.
The stronger teams will have started to pull away and the weaker teams will be
asking themselves, “What happened, where did we go wrong?”
A number of my articles recently have been prodding you to get ready for the New
Year.
Here are a few thoughts to get you moving a little faster toward your goals and
some suggestions for changes you might need to make.
Observe-Spend a Saturday just sitting in the tower observing. Say nothing. Take
notes. Of course, you’re not going to see the true picture, but you will see enough
to give you an idea of where the loopholes are.
Ask Questions-Meet with your GSM/Sales Manager and ask him/her to review
with you what the selling process is. Better yet, prior to the meeting, ask them to
write out the selling process to bring to your meeting. Make this a regularly
scheduled activity.
Get After Them-Tell them what you observed and how far off track they are
compared to the list and the discussion you just had. Of course, first, tell them all
the things you observed that they are doing well. Do your best to end the meeting
on a positive note and create a plan of action to improve. That last sentence
would seem to be common sense and something I shouldn’t have to say. I said it
because we all need to be reminded of what’s important once in a while.
Re-Commit-Get them re-committed to what they say they are supposed to be
doing. Reviewing the processes is the single most effective way to do this. A lot of
people talk-the-talk, but very few walk-the-walk.
Re-Deploy-get them on a mission to get back on track through renewed focus,
training, disciplines and processes. Get a commitment for the training they intend
to do with the sales force over the next 30 days. Training requires an investment
of money. Invest some money.
Create Accountability-create a daily checklist to review what they are doing as
compared to what they said they were going to do. Continue to observe and
whenever it’s not right go back to step one and start over again. Your number one
job is to “Guard the Processes,” and therefore eliminate evaporation.
Raising expectations is in part about raising your level of intensity and creating
accountability within the team. Human nature being what it is, people will do what
little they have to do to get by.
I hope you’re off and running. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Let’s stop pretending people change because they “want to grow.”

No, they don’t. Most people don’t change until the pain hits a level they can’t ignore.

There’s a pain point… and then there’s a death point.

A pain point is annoying. It’s uncomfortable. It’s that little voice saying, “You should probably fix this.” And what do most people do?

They slap a Band-Aid on it and keep limping through life.

A death point is different.

That’s when the pain gets so loud, so sharp, so exhausting, you realize:

If I don’t change… this thing is going to own me.

That’s the moment people finally move.

Not when it stings.

When it suffocates.

The truth?

You don’t need to wait for the death point. You don’t need to let the pain get unbearable. You can make the change when the pain is still whispering instead of screaming.

But most folks won’t.

Most folks wait until the house is on fire before they grab a hose.

Leaders, winners, and people who actually get somewhere in life?

They act at the pain point.

Leaders, who have they eyes open and are paying attention often see the pain coming and catch it before it catches them.

Smart leaders never have to deal with the “death point.” That’s all I’m gonna say.  

People love to blame what they don’t know for holding them back.

The truth for most people is it’s what they think they know… that just isn’t true anymore.

We all carry around old beliefs, old rules, and old habits we’ve never bothered to question. That’s where the damage is done.

Ignorance is fixable.

False certainty is deadly.

The minute someone says:

• “We’ve always done it this way,” (You sometimes don’t say it, but you think it.)
• “Our customers don’t want that,”
• “That’ll never work,”

…you know growth is about to hit a wall.

The smartest people aren’t the ones who know the most.

They’re the ones who challenge themselves the most.

They constantly ask:

• “Is this still true?”
• “Where am I wrong?”
• “What needs to change?”
• “Is there a better way?”

It’s not what you don’t know that hurts you.

It’s what you do know… that just ain’t so. That’s all I’