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Car Buying Tips

The Used Car Manager's Auction Bidding Playbook: 5 Myths That Cost You Thousands

Back in the 1980s, used car managers had one way to source inventory: show up at the auction at 6 a.m., walk the lot with a clipboard, and make snap decisions b...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for Used Car Photo and Video Merchandising

Did you know that used vehicles with five or more high-quality photos sell 32% faster than cars listed with just one or two shots? Yet the average independent d...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for Market-Based Used Car Pricing

Why Market-Based Pricing Isn't Optional Anymore In 1985, the average used car sat on a dealer lot for roughly 45 days before it sold. Pricing was simple: calcu...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for an Aged-Inventory Policy That Actually Works

Most dealerships have an aged-inventory policy gathering dust in a binder somewhere, and it's probably not working the way they hoped. You know the one: vehicle...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for the Trade-In Appraisal Process

You're standing on the lot on a Tuesday morning, and a customer pulls up in a 2017 Honda Pilot with 105,000 miles. The paint's still decent, interior's clean en...

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Car Buying Tips

Why Your F&I Compensation Model Is Probably Costing You $80,000+ Per Year

Why Your F&I Compensation Model Is Probably Costing You $80,000+ Per Year Seventy-three percent of dealerships report that their F&I manager compensation plans...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for the E-Contracting Rollout at a Franchise Store

You're sitting in your conference room on a Tuesday morning, and your F&I manager just slid a memo across the table about digital contracting. Your stomach dro...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for the Deal Jacket Audit Checklist

The Deal Jacket Audit Checklist Every Finance Manager Needs According to a 2023 NADA compliance study, roughly 34% of dealerships discovered documentation gaps...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for Subprime Deal Structure Without Losing the Store

It's Tuesday morning in the finance office. Your F&I manager is staring at a subprime deal that just landed on her desk: 2019 Chevy Equinox, 87,000 miles, custo...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for Training New F&I Managers on Product Knowledge

What's Worse: An F&I Manager Who Doesn't Know Your Products, or One Who Sells Them Wrong? Both. But there's a reason dealerships hemorrhage F&I talent in the f...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for GAP Insurance Penetration Rates

Why Your F&I Menu Isn't Selling GAP Insurance (And What Actually Works) Here's the question that keeps finance managers up at night: You've got GAP insurance o...

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Car Buying Tips

The Dealer's Playbook for Back-End Gross Targets by Store

Most dealers are leaving $800 to $1,200 per vehicle on the table because their F&I operation doesn't have a playbook. They treat back-end gross like it's someth...

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