I want you to consider not looking at the Used Car Guide books for the next 30 days. The book values are a result of a crazy market and not the reality of what these vehicles should be worth. Everyone is in a panic these days. It’s like things and values are changing moment to moment and so is your reaction.

There is only one way to get yourself out of this panic mode and that is to ignore it and do the things you know that work. That’s not to say you should ignore competitive pricing on the Internet, but on the other hand you cannot let that rule your life on every unit you are trying to buy, trade or sell. One of the workshops I’ve conducted over the years is called “When Common Sense Meets Technology.” Never has there been a time when it’s more important to apply those strategies. In some cases we are over thinking things and relying too much on data. I never thought I would make that statement, but some of us have taken it too far.

We are allowing data to create a knee jerk management style. We have forgotten our roots. I have an old friend by the name of Joe Faulk in Chesapeake, VA. Joe may be one of the best used car guys ever. For about the last thirty years Joe has been a very successful used car dealer. A few years ago he picked up a couple of New Car Franchises.  (Joe, what were you thinking?) What has always impressed me so much about Joe is that when I would see him at an auction he never looked at a book when buying a vehicle. Joe based his decision on what he knew he could sell a car for. He knew his local market. He knew what he thought a car should be sold for.

For years you’ve run your business pretty much like Joe does. You used good common sense and used the books as a guide, yes, as a guide, but not as a Bible like some of you are now doing.  You have fallen prey to the news media and what’s going on at the auctions today. You have to realize that part of what takes place at the auction is that it is taking advantage of two people’s ignorance.

I’m a big 60 day guy, actually 45 days, but right now is not the time to dump your crap at day 60. Right now is the time to retail your mess. Actually, that’s always my theme. You never have to dump many cars at day 60 if you manage them right from day one. I’m not selling my workshops in this article, but my current workshop titled “This Ain’t No Mutual Fund, It’s a Short Term Stock” says it all.  

While I’m on the subject of inventory, a common question I’m getting these days is, “Is now the time to buy?” There is never a bad time to buy, if you buy smart and buy the right stuff. Don’t be stupid and load yourself up on anything. If you’re doing well right now with SUVs, just don’t go nuts and load up. (I will tell you “I told you so.”) There are some cars that are cheap right now (Panic has set in again) and if you buy the right stuff, at the right price point you will not get hurt. How much can you get hurt with a $10,000 car? How much can you get hurt with a $30,000 car?  Stay with what you know, don’t over think it, don’t over analyze it; just put your car savvy to work. You’re smarter than the book. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

In the movie “Bucket List” Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson have made a list of things to do before they die. In the opening moments of the movie Morgan Freeman is philosophizing about life.  He states “The sum of a person’s life, some would tell you is measured by the ones left behind. Some believe it can be measured by faith, some say by love, other fools say life has no meaning at all. Me, I believe that you measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you.”

I tend to agree with Morgan Freeman. Ask yourself if others are measuring themselves by you? If they are, then you are excelling in the following:

Endurance is the measure of a person’s stamina or persistence and their ability to endure hardship. You are being put to the test these days. Others are watching you endure. They don’t totally understand the pressure you are under, but they know it’s a lot. Your style, your grace and your coolness matter to them. Vince Lombardi said “The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

Courage is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Furthermore it is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement. It is easy to become discouraged these days. It takes courage to fight through the daily battles laid out on your plate. Vince Lombardi also said "If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done."  You are making many sacrifices these days because you believe what you are doing is worthwhile. You know it’s not just about you but all those around you who are counting on you. Others are watching your display of courage.

Fortitude is the power to have strength and be firm in those things you believe in and know to be true. It is the strength of your mind which enables you to deal with adversity without murmuring, depression, or despondency. "Extolling patience is the truest fortitude." Milton. "Fortitude is the guard and support of the other virtues." Locke. Your intestinal fortitude is being challenged daily and others are watching to see if you have what it takes. Are you following a game plan that you believe in or are you bouncing around in uncharted waters. In rough seas you need to stay the course, but you must also first chart the right course.

In closing, let’s revisit Morgan Freeman’s words, “You measure yourself by the people that measure themselves by you”.   So as others around you measure themselves by your Endurance, Courage and Fortitude keep in mind that those three attributes are going to be the difference between the dealers that make it and those that don’t.  This is a win/win deal for you and those that emulate you. You win as you excel in those three areas, and those around you win as they enhance their lives by following the example you set. That’s all I’m gonna say.
Tommy Gibbs

I have an old friend, Kevin McHugh, who gave me some great advice a number of years ago. I was in the process of trading some stock in a Virginia dealership for stock in a Toyota dealership in Tallahassee, FL.  With franchises like Pontiac, Volvo, Isuzu, Hyundai and Suzuki located in Chesapeake, VA, who wouldn’t want to move on to Toyota in Tallahassee, FL?

Kevin’s advice was “Tommy, now is the time to re-make yourself.”  When he first said that I thought, why would I want to re-make myself?  I was already a pretty darn good car guy. His point was that when you set sail on a new adventure, new opportunity, or as is the case today a major drop in sales volume it’s the point in time that you can correct your known deficiencies and become a new you.

I gave his advice a lot of thought and set about to attack and make changes in my management style in those areas that I felt needed improvement. Those changes allowed me and my new team to maximize our potential and build a strong dealership.

Is now the time to re-make yourself?   Absolutely. As bad as the situation is in the car industry, this presents a golden opportunity for you and your dealership. Sad but true, some in the business are not going to make it and that is an absolute tragedy, but those that do survive have an opportunity to start with a fresh sheet of paper and a legitimate excuse to remake themselves if they in fact needed an excuse.

Every dealer in the business is making cuts and analyzing what is and what is not necessary from personnel, to inventory levels, to advertising and everything in between.  It’s the perfect time to reshape your management team and what your expectations and accountability levels will and will not be. Mediocrity is not an option anymore. If you have not been tough enough, now is the time to toughen up. If you have in fact been tough in the past, now is the time to get even tougher. If you have not been a good numbers cruncher, now is the time to get good. If you have been a good numbers cruncher now is the time to get better. (Please join a Twenty Group and go to the meetings.)

You have now learned through this crisis (call it what you want) that you cannot keep people around that do not perform and are not willing to adapt to a changing market.  Far too many of us having been keeping people for the wrong reasons.  Good guy/gal, been with us a long time, so loyal, like family. Bull Crap. If you want to stay in business, you need to rethink what these people really bring to the table. I can fully appreciate loyalty, but far too often we confuse loyalty with good business sense. I can guarantee you that when we come out of this it will never be business as usual for you again. This experience is going to shape the rest of your life, be it good or bad. Even those who don’t like the changes will understand.

I don’t know how you would define the word crisis, but if you research history I think you will find that many prosper after wars, downturns in the economy, etc. There is opportunity ahead for those that take action. This opportunity to remake yourself will only occur a few times in your life. I have no way of knowing your position or situation in life. Whether you are a Dealer, Manager, Sales Person, or something else in the automobile business, I know that there are so few opportunities to make a “New You.”  This is that moment in time that you need to grab a hold of the opportunity staring you in the face. Don’t be afraid of it, embrace it, and as the Nike commercial says “just do it.”  If you’ve not already read my newsletter titled “Buckets,” go to the bottom of this newsletter and do so. Apply those three principles in buckets and it will go a long way towards helping you remake yourself.

I want to leave you with one final thought. Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankees catcher had many famous quotes. One of my all time favorites is, "If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else".  That’s all I’m gonna say. 
Tommy Gibbs

I was standing in the lobby of a hotel at the convention this past week waiting to meet some friends for dinner. I overheard a dealer introducing a person to someone as his CFO. That sort of introduction is certainly not unusual. For whatever reason, it brought to mind my Marine Corps days. One of the unique things about the Marines is that your title/job is irrelevant when it comes to war. Every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost or affectionately called a “Grunt.” A “Grunt” is the heart and soul of the Marine Corps.

As we all know, the sales department is the heart and soul of an Automobile Dealership. You can believe what you want, but trust me, nothing happens until we sell a car. The office has no work, and there are no parts and service sales. Quit selling cars and see how much work you eventually have for parts and service.

Since we are now in a war of survival I’d like to suggest you turn all of your people in to “Sales Grunts.” Every employee needs to become a sales person. Let’s pretend for a moment that you have 20 employees that don’t work in the sales department and let’s pretend that those 20 employees help generate one sale each this month. That’s 20 extra sales you didn’t have. Suppose you have 75 employees who don’t work in sales; that would be 75 extra sales this month. Do the multiplication; how many employees do you have that are not in the sales department?  What would those extra numbers do to your bottom line? Even if you cut them in half, it will make a big difference.

Don’t leave anyone out, including the office staff.  They all have friends and relatives who buy cars. More often than not they hear about it after the fact because they are not out promoting your dealership. Many years ago we dropped all titles on name badges and changed them to read “Customer Service.” These are different times so consider putting the word “Sales” on all your name badges.

You need to rally the troops and explain that they are now “sales grunts.” Try assigning all these people to a sales staff member and create teams with a “Team Objective” Assign a manager to each of these teams and have each team meet once a week to discuss strategy and where they stand toward reaching their objective of one car per person on the team. Publish or post a list each day of where they stand toward hitting their objective. Make a big deal out of this. I really don’t think you should have to pay them for these sales, but that’s your choice. They need to understand that our, and their, mere survival depends on them generating those extra sales. At the end of the month throw a “lunch party” to acknowledge those that hit their objective.

You might at first think my “Sales Grunt” idea is silly, but these people losing their jobs and/or you losing your business isn’t silly at all. Some of you are in a war of survival. For you to survive you need all hands on deck, armed and ready to fight. “Now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of their country”. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

Have you ever heard or used the following quote: “Gross is a state of mind.” Or how about “Sales people control volume; the desk or manager controls gross.” Many of us have used those adages for years. With each passing moment they become less and less of a reality.

I’m not saying that talent at the desk and your positive thinking doesn’t have some impact, but what I am saying is that it becomes less and less of a factor due to the Internet. Our new and used car business is very transparent. 

Although there are extenuating sets of circumstances where there is a hot franchise in a market with few dealers, these days you can’t often achieve both high gross and high volume. You have a far better chance of improving your volume than you do gross even in a down market. As my good friend Dale Pollak points out an “efficient market,” is when buyers and sellers have equal knowledge about choices and alternatives.  The principles that govern all efficient markets are supply, demand and price sensitivity. If that doesn’t describe the automobile market today I don’t know what does.

While I’m a big proponent of Twenty Groups, they have in some ways skewed our thinking about gross profit. We all want to be top dog in average gross per unit. You might want to adjust that thinking to being top dog in inventory/money turn which results in a high ROI and much higher volume. How does a dealer in Peoria IL sell 300 used a month? How does a dealer in Louisville KY sell 600 used a month? They understand turn and the impact that effective internet pricing has on their ROI.

This is a changing and evolving business. If you don’t change you will become a dinosaur. I don’t know much about dinosaurs, but I suspect that part of what killed them off was the changing temperature of the earth and their surroundings. If you don’t adjust to the current changes the heat and your surroundings (competition) are going to make you extinct.

It’s interesting to talk to dealers who have made the adjustment. They will all tell you that they were doing this and that and then all of a sudden they “Got it”. There is no one thing they are doing. How about you, have you “Got it”?  There is no magic bullet. Here’s the deal in the nutshell:

1. They use Dale Pollak’s vAuto Tool and my common sense approach to the business.
2. They have a sense of urgency from the time the car gets purchased/traded to the time it gets         on line.
3. They get the car on the Internet way sooner than it gets physically on the front row.

4. They have moved away from conventional pay plans tailored to gross profit to a combination of salary and volume bonuses.

5. Their managers understand that they have to work harder and smarter than ever before to earn the same money they did a few years ago.

6. Focus, Discipline and Processes. These are my three favorite words. Many talk the talk, but few walk the walk.

7. They are intense and have a sense of urgency.

8. They are always in a hurry.  Hurry up and get it shipped. Hurry up and get it off the truck. Hurry up and get it out of service. Hurry up and get it on the front row. Hurry up and get it sold. Hurry up and get it delivered. Hurry up and turn that baby into cash!

I’ve never been as excited about the car business and especially the used car business as I am today. Next time you think gross is a state of mind, thing of it as gross is a state of volume and how many times you can turn the money over in a year. Or think of it like this “Gross is a state of turn.” That’s all I’m gonna say,
Tommy Gibbs

I’m mad because I don’t think you’re listening. I’m mad cause you ain’t paying attention. I’m mad cause you’re not ready. I’m mad cause I keep telling you and you keep discounting my advice. Ok, so you couldn’t care less that I’m mad.

You keep jerking around about how you’re going to fix your mess, but it’s still not done and “S Day” is just around the corner. “S Day” is the spring selling season. There’s a pent up demand and you’re not going to get to play the game cause you ain’t ready. Your people aren’t ready, your leaders aren’t ready and your inventory is still screwed up. Even if your inventory is half way right, it’s only because you have been taking so many hits on your old stuff which has caused your gross to go in the tank. Your staff has been sitting and whining and their heads are stuck in the sand.

This business is a contact sport and you ain’t contacting. It’s time for action. Why some of you don’t join a Twenty Group is beyond me. Even worse, some of you are in a Twenty Group and not going to the meetings. Your excuses of don’t want to spend the money, don’t want to be away from the store and don’t want my employees to get the wrong idea are all lame. I just spoke to a Twenty Group where only 6 members showed up. Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. The very time you need to fine tune your mess you’re staying home and pouting. Your brain has been frozen by the cold winter months. Can you hear me screaming?  Do something, do something even if it’s wrong.

I’m sorry if I’m screaming, but I see dealers around the country really “getting after it” and making a difference and I see others letting it “get after them.” Some of you are relying on your service business to carry you. If you don’t already know this, let me explain a little something to you about your service business. When you sell a new car you have about an 18 month window with those customers in terms of them coming back to you for service. The used car customer is even more challenging for lots of reasons that I hope you should know. The real point here is that because your new car sales have declined eventually your service business will decline. You can “Frequent fly” them all you want, but they only stick around so long.

So here I come again. It’s all about used cars. The hours per RO on a customer pay ticket runs about 1.7 hours. The hours per RO for a used car that you run through your shop is about 4.0 plus, plus, plus. Why don’t you understand that your overall success is tied to used cars? Get stronger in used and you’ll sell more new. Get stronger in used and you’ll be running more hours through the service department. Get stronger in used and I’m not mad anymore. That’s all I’m gonna say, Tommy Gibbs

Turn out the Lights; Bubba the Buyer is Dead…

Bubba the used car buyer died today. Actually, he’s been dying a slow death for about 10 years, but the market finally killed him (or her, whatever) It was a slow death and he just didn’t want to go. Kind of like my 14 year old Labrador retriever, Sidney, that we had to put to sleep a few years ago. As the vet said, Labs love people so much, they just won’t let go and die on their own regardless of how sick they are.

Your buyer has fallen prey to that same sort of thing. He loved those cars so much he just didn’t want to let go. He loved the smell, the touch, the pretty colors, the eyes those cars had, the sound they made, and the gross he fantasized about.  But finally, he’s dead. Yes finally.

Just in case you missed it, Curt Schilling of the Boston Red Sox retired on Monday. Guess how he announced it? On his blog. No news conference, no tears, no regrets. Lance Armstrong, 7 time winner of the Tour de France, broke his collarbone in a race in Spain. Guess how the story got out? He Twittered it. If you haven’t read a blog or if you don’t know what Twitter is then you may have Bubba’s disease and your days may be numbered.

Many of you are buying cars just like Bubba was doing; the old fashioned way. The gut check way. The, I think I can make it work, way. The, I just have a feeling about this car, way. The, I’m going to ask a few sales people what they think they need, way. The, I can out bid you, way. The, I’m smarter than technology, way.

Do me a favor, actually do yourself a favor. Check real quick and tell me if your used car inventory is more than 50% of your own brand? If it is, do you mind if I call you Bubba? You’re dying and the Dr. just hasn’t told you yet. Dr. Gibbs just told you.  Since I’ve diagnosed your impending death, and being that I’m such a smart Dr. and I care about you, I think I can save your life if you will take the medicine I’m going to write you a prescription for.

First I want you to take a daily dose of Dale Pollak’s vAuto Stocking tool. Take it daily for the next 90 days. Do not deviate from the directions on the bottle. This is high tech medicine and guaranteed to change your life, but only if you take it daily.

Second If you are going to compete in today’s market you have to understand the role the Internet is playing in your business. Dale Pollak’s vAuto Pricing tool will allow you to position your vehicles in the marketplace and take advantage of the massive business the Internet can bring to your door. How does a Ford dealer in IL sell more used BMWs than the local BMW dealer sells new and used combined? By taking advantage of the technology that’s available… that’s how.

Inside the box there will be a pamphlet that will fully explains the benefits and side effects. If you miss a day, simply take two pills the next day and you will be back on track to a full recovery. 

Third, you have to get off your diet of being the top dog in average gross profit. Your new diet shall consist of understanding that turn is more important than the average gross. You’ve heard the term “burn, baby burn.” Your new term will now be “turn baby, turn.”

Fourth, I want to teach you SETS & SUBSETS and I’m so interested in your recovery that I will charge you nothing to teach it to you. Since my schedule is so busy with other patients you will have to call me to schedule a time when we can do a conference call. If you are already doing SETS and SUBSETS then you should still call me. I will give you free tips on how to make it better.

See, Bubba would have mixed bourbon with honey and figured it would fix his problem, but as we know Bubba was dead wrong. You and I can save your life, but you have to take the medicine and some of you would rather die than change. Rest in peace, that’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

P.S. I don’t work for Dale Pollak and vAuto, but I like their stuff. The fact of the matter is I don’t care whose software you use, I just care that you use it in order to maximize your potential.

Have you ever climbed a tall tree? I wasn’t all that good at it, but I did really well when the branches all lined up perfectly. You know the type of tree where the branches are nice and fat and it’s almost shaped like a ladder with branches/steps on each side. Climbing a tall tree like this reminds me of what it’s like to be a new car dealer when you have a hot franchise.

It’s like the perfect tree. It doesn’t take all that much effort to be a good tree climber when you have the perfect tree or in these cases the perfect franchise. The right franchise in the right place at the right time. Yes, you sell more if you know what you are doing, but put the village idiot in one of these deals in the right place at the right time and he/she looks like an expert tree climber and he ends up with a lot of fruit.

If I was looking at several trees to climb I would ask myself which of those trees gives me the best opportunity to get to the top so I can have some fruit? In your case you have 5 trees to pick from. You have a new car tree, used car tree, service department tree, parts tree and a body shop tree. But before you make a decision which tree to climb you have to consider which of the trees has the strongest root system. There is a big difference between the strength of a palm tree, an oak tree, a pine tree, a maple tree, and a weeping willow tree (that by the way would be the new car department tree)

Of the trees you have to pick from, the service department and the used car department trees are the strongest. So, we’re going to pick the used car tree today because it’s the one we can have the greatest control over. We know from history that if we give it the right fertilizer and proper water it can get big and strong and bear amazing fruit.

The used car tree is your greatest opportunity but it’s not going to happen by accident. If you have the right equipment (software) and the right training (me) then you will have a much better chance of getting to the top of the tall tree with the best fruit.

Confucius also says: "Dealers that hire Tommy, make the most money" That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

First let’s make something perfectly clear; sometimes it’s not so much what we buy, but what we don’t buy. If you have come to an understanding that being in the NEWSCAR Business is a self defeating prophesy then that is the first and most important step to take towards improving your Used Car business. (NEWSCARS is when the average cost of your used car inventory keeps creeping up and up until you end up with used cars that are too close in price point to your New Cars. When the factory comes out with rebates, interest rates, and a hot new employee purchase plan you get your head handed to you on a platter.)

Here are some other thoughts for you to ponder:

 

1. Car Max buys 40% of their cars from customers that don’t trade with them. Let’s assume that’s not possible for you, but even if you could buy 20 or 25% of your cars from customers that don’t buy from you then you are that much ahead of the game. You have to advertise it, and promote it all the time including on your website. It won’t happen by putting it in your ad for one week.  (For the life of me will you please tell me why you have not shopped Car Max to observe how they do things?  They do a lot of things that we can all learn from. Next time you see a Car Max store, drop in, play dumb, see what you can learn.)
2. Mobile Buying Center-take a truck, van, or Suv and paint it up as a mobile buying center. Assign a buyer or used car manager to drive it and make house calls if necessary in order to buy some cars from individuals that you would not normally get a shot at. If nothing else it’s great advertising a message that your dealership “will buy their car even if they don’t buy yours.”
3. It’s a given you can’t buy the cheaper cars at the auction. (I write like I talk and I call it what it is.)  But what you can do is not buy the expensive ones. Yes, there is a place for program and certified cars, but you have to keep them under control, be very price conscious and only have a few each in inventory. It does not need to be a big part of your stock.
4. We need to trade for more cars at the door. Especially those that fit a certain price tier.  For the most part cars and trucks under $15,000 are the ticket.  You need to study the Auto Count USA data to determine the fastest moving vehicles in your market, but even more important there needs to be a mindset to step up on those cars that fit the less than $15,000 retail target range. 
5. A full time buyer on the street and attending auctions and working other dealers is almost a must. You cannot find the cars you need by going to the auction once a week or every two weeks or when you need cars. You can use an outside buyer and they do not need to be a full time employee. It doesn’t matter if they are buying for other dealers. What matters is how you pay them and the list of vehicles you tell them to go look for. That list includes by model and price points you need.  Pay them well. You can pay them $500 per car, but they only get paid if and when you sell the car at a break even or a profit.  They are not just working auctions but working other dealers, who you probably don’t have access to.  $500 is not too much to pay if you get a car that turns quickly and keeps your Used Car manager at the store doing the things he or she needs to be doing. 
6. Depending on the size of your store, pick two sales people. Assign one trucks and one cars.  They need to be somewhat detailed people with good communication skills. Have them go through the paper, Auto Trader Magazine, or whatever type of Car Magazine they have at the 7-11 Store. Have them circle vehicles “For Sale by Owner.” Put the publication in their desk drawer. A week later have them get on the phone and call these people. By that time some reality should have set in for these sellers. Odds are they have been jerked around and aggravated by so called potential buyers. They will be in a much better mood to listen to your offer, plus they might even decide to trade with you.  If you are in a state where it’s an advantage to trade your car versus selling and then buying because of the tax code then you may want to set up an excel spread sheet to be able to do the math and point out how much more money they will need to get for their vehicle to overcome the tax issue, thus they may decide to trade with you.  For every car the sales person buys, pay them a nice finders fee. $200? What does it matter, you just got another car that you didn’t have to go to the auction to buy where you always pay stupid money.
7. You might want to consider setting up a similar program for your ASMs in service. If they have a customer they have written an estimate for and the customer opts not to do the repair and we trade them out, pay them $200 (whatever) as a finder’s fee. Make sure they understand to get paid they have to bring the customer personally to the sales manager, etc.
8. With today’s technology I believe we are close to being able to do the following:  Get a visual on this. In the customer lounge we have a LCD screen. This screen will be able to instantly post desirable vehicles that we have a need for.  Let’s say a hot model for us is a 2003 Camry.  We know that from our research and we have programmed those vehicles into our computer system. When a customer gets written up in Service Write up, the system automatically knows we need the car and it’s flashing on the screen telling the customer we need these cars please see Joe Smuck our sales manager if you own one. Furthermore, the system could automatically send these customers an e mail advising them of the same. Ok, in the meantime at the very least you could post a board of some sort in the Customer Lounge with the vehicles you know you have a need for.
9. Mining our own customer base. If you are not demanding e mail addresses from your sales staff and ASMs shame on you!  This list can be a powerful marketing tool for both sales and service.  Go after those customers that have the cars and trucks you need. Send them special e mail offers. “We have a need for your 2003 Toyota Camry. Print this coupon out for an extra $1000 trade allowance and present it after you make your best deal. If you’re not interested in buying a vehicle we are more than willing to buy yours and give you an additional $1000 over Kelly Blue book.”  Of course you can do direct mail as well with this. You have a huge customer base that you need to go after and most of us are not doing so. 

The first paragraph talked about it’s more about what we don’t buy. It’s also about what we don’t keep or at least what we don’t keep very long. There needs to be a mindset about attacking our more expensive units in stock and making them go away in a hurry. It’s imperative that we price these higher dollar units at a price point that makes someone want to come in and take them off our hands. Believe what you want, but the internet has changed the shopping habits of the car and truck buyer. They can now shop your price and vehicle like never before. There was a time in the business when you could sell almost any used car because there was “a butt for every seat.” That was true because it was hard for the buyer to compare your vehicle to others without driving all over town. Not true anymore. They can look at hundreds with the click of a button. Never forget we are working with a depreciating asset and the sooner you turn it the better.  Consideration should be given to putting bonus money on these more expensive cars sooner rather than later. Improving your used car business is about being pro active. Sitting around and waiting for a miracle to happen is very foolish and costly.

New Car Addiction is a serious problem. Many have beaten this addiction but it’s on its way back into our business. New car addiction tends to take total control of the brain’s actions and leaves the user in a state of confusion and more often than not broke. CNN reports that hundreds of dealers suffer from new car addiction and have been known to do almost anything to fuel the habit, including increasing their floor plan limits when the drug pushers (your new car franchise) offer them special deals to take more of the drug in order to support this addictive habit.

My concern is that some of you have done a good job with your drug rehab by getting off this “New Car Addiction,” but the temptation will be so great to fall off the wagon and begin once again getting high on new cars. I know there are still traces of this drug in your system even though mentally and logically you are trying hard not to go back to your old ways. Your central nervous system still has a craving for the hard stuff that gives you the ego high that is experienced with new car sales.

Some of you have made it to the halfway house and are just about drug free. You are poised and ready to make the most money you have ever made, but it’s going to be so hard to hang in there once you start sniffing that new car leather again. If you want to stay drug free then continue your focus on used cars. Used cars will definitely make you stronger when it comes to running those new car drug dealers out the door and down the street.

At the bottom of this article you will find a link to an article shared with me by my good friend John Malishenko, Director of Operations for the Germain Group headquartered in Columbus, OH. To summarize the article, it says that, for many reasons, there is a surge coming in new car sales. Although I’m a used car nut, I tend to believe that very thing. One has to conclude that not only is there some pent up demand out there, but as soon as the domestics figure out what their situation is and the fallout from some of the third tier import franchises takes place, the franchises left standing and/or the government are going to do something to spur new car sales.

I may have this all wrong, but my experience over the years with employees who fail a drug test is that very few of them can ever be rehabilitated. A few do, most don’t. It’s a day to day thing. So, if you have had the “New Car Drug” habit, it’s going to be a day to day thing for you. The temptation will be there to fall back into that addictive “New Car Drug” mode. You’ve come a long way, you’ve seen the light and the light is used cars. Don’t stumble back into the dark world of addictive “New Car Drug” abuse. That’s all I’m gonna say. Tommy Gibbs

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