http://www.dalepollak.com Used Car Market - A Guide for Success Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:59:08 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/02/04/dont-online-auction-proxy-bids-work-dealers/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/02/04/dont-online-auction-proxy-bids-work-dealers/#comments Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:59:08 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2577   I’ve been asking that question lately as I hear two recurring complaints from dealers about their ability to buy vehicles via online auction proxy bids: 1. The success rate with proxy bidding is too low. Dealers say they may acquire one out of every 10 vehicles they try to obtain with proxy bids—a 10 [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/02/04/dont-online-auction-proxy-bids-work-dealers/feed/ 2 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/26/managers-screw-dealership/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/26/managers-screw-dealership/#comments Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:59:34 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2568 I received the below email from a dealer questioning his managers’ practices in their used vehicle department.  My answer follows. Hi Dale, I love ideas of the vAuto velocity management concepts as applied to used vehicle management.  I have several questions for you regarding it. Thank you for taking time to read it. We are [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/26/managers-screw-dealership/feed/ 6 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/22/looktobook/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/22/looktobook/#comments Sun, 22 Jan 2012 22:49:37 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2563 I received the following email regarding look-to-book. My response is below. Could you tell me what the look to book % should be? Thanks Pam   Pam, There are many variables that can affect look-to-book. Some of these include the strength of your new car franchise, whether you require customers to make a firm commitment [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/22/looktobook/feed/ 1 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/17/unknowns-car-retailing/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/17/unknowns-car-retailing/#comments Tue, 17 Jan 2012 18:32:45 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2545 I recently read a column in the New York Times that discussed the “known unknowns” of our current time. The writer, author Geoffrey Wheatcroft, defines the term as “things that were not at all inevitable, and were easily knowable, or indeed known, but which people chose to ‘unknow.’” He then describes how “known unknowns” were [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/17/unknowns-car-retailing/feed/ 6 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/13/early-results-provision-system-powerful/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/13/early-results-provision-system-powerful/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:39:24 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2538 Marc Ray of Grogan’s Town Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Ohio sent me an email this morning telling me that his AutoTrader Demand Index for December 2011 was 210.  The demand index is a measurement that shows how well a dealer’s inventory is aligned to what shoppers in their market are searching for on AutoTrader, relative [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/13/early-results-provision-system-powerful/feed/ 0 http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/10/pay-plan-build-transparency-hold-gross/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/10/pay-plan-build-transparency-hold-gross/#comments Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:48:55 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2528 I’m seeing a new breed of pay plans emerge at dealerships that seek to balance transparency with customers and the store’s need to make a profit on every deal. Here’s an example from a dealership that has achieved double-digit growth in its used vehicle sales since adopting velocity principles, market-based pricing and a transparency-minded sales [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2012/01/10/pay-plan-build-transparency-hold-gross/feed/ 3 http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/22/dont-dealerowned-vehicles-depreciate/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/22/dont-dealerowned-vehicles-depreciate/#comments Tue, 22 Nov 2011 14:44:53 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2489 It’s not uncommon for dealers to quietly, sometimes firmly, let customers know the vehicle they believe is worth $X is really worth $Y. “It’s depreciation,” a sales manager might say when offering the customer less for a trade-in than he/she had hoped to get. Curiously, dealers aren’t quite as honest with themselves about the depreciation [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/22/dont-dealerowned-vehicles-depreciate/feed/ 4 http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/16/inefficiencies-create-tough-ownership-challenges/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/16/inefficiencies-create-tough-ownership-challenges/#comments Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:20:35 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2472 This week’s Automotive News brings word that dealers are throwing in the towel rather than investing more in facility upgrades required/requested by the factories. Dealership brokers estimate 40 percent of all buy/sell deals today arise from dealers facing needed facility improvements. On one hand, it saddens me to see our industry come to a point [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/16/inefficiencies-create-tough-ownership-challenges/feed/ 0 http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/love-provision/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/love-provision/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:04:06 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2442 Please make a contribution to the estate of Russ Wallace   Sheri Bilow Wallace Estate c/o Chase Bank Trust Department 250 East Front Street Traverse City, MI 49684   ]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/love-provision/feed/ 2 http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/provisionthe-future-vehicle-inventory-management-arrived/ http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/provisionthe-future-vehicle-inventory-management-arrived/#comments Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:40:21 +0000 dpollak http://www.dalepollak.com/?p=2436 Today—11-11-11—is huge for me, vAuto and the automotive retailing industry. This day marks the official release of Provision from vAuto. This new inventory management engine is the fulfillment of a vision I’ve had for a number of years—one that kept pushing me to find a better way to blend technology and market intelligence to make [...]]]> http://www.dalepollak.com/2011/11/11/provisionthe-future-vehicle-inventory-management-arrived/feed/ 0