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In the past few weeks, I’ve come to understand what I’d call a “new car masquerade” in used vehicle departments across the country. Perhaps the circumstances are familiar at your store: The new car department remains under-stocked on inventory, and you’ve got some would-be new car customers who can’t get the new car they want […]

The post Beware the Pitfalls of a “New Car Masquerade” in Used Vehicles appeared first on Dale Pollak.

As the used vehicle market returns to more normal conditions, I feel compelled to reiterate a perspective on retail price sensitivity that seems to have been lost over the course of the past two years. My perspective is shaped from conversations with dealers who worry that the high gross profits they achieved last year are […]

The post A Primer on Used Vehicle Price Sensitivity appeared first on Dale Pollak.

A couple months ago, an associate asked if I’d heard or seen any chatter among dealers about an apparently crowd-sourced site (www.markups.org) that listed new vehicle markups and the dealers who made them. I didn’t think much of the site at the time. A few days after my associate mentioned the site, I saw some […]

The post More Eyes on Dealers’ New Vehicle Mark-Ups appeared first on Dale Pollak.

I thought I’d put out a quick post to highlight that, after production and supply chain delays, my latest book, Whole Truth: A Fresh Money-Making Method to Wholesale, the Most Misunderstood Side of Your Business, is now officially available on Amazon and other retail outlets. The book aims to help every dealer recognize how their […]

The post It’s a “Whole Truth” Tuesday! appeared first on Dale Pollak.

If you follow the news and related commentary on social media, you may well be thinking that the United States is heading toward a recession, if we’re not already in the initial stages of one. I’ve heard similar sentiments in my conversations with dealers and, over the Fourth of July weekend, with an extended group […]

The post A Rosier View of A Recession, Plus a Moment of Used Vehicle Opportunity appeared first on Dale Pollak.

As we close in on the halfway point of 2022, I think most dealers would agree with the following statement: While used vehicle sales and profits remain solid, they are nothing like they were at this time last year. The sentiment flows from two realities that are taking shape broadly across the industry and in […]

The post A Mid-Year Gut-Check on Used Vehicle Market Conditions appeared first on Dale Pollak.

I received a humbling and significant honor from NIADA (the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association) yesterday at the group’s convention in Las Vegas. They presented me with a Ring of Honor, an award they give to select leaders who advance the growth and professionalism of the automotive industry. It was touching to receive the award. […]

The post A Memorable Honor from NIADA appeared first on Dale Pollak.

If you scrolled the clock back 15 or 20 years, you’d find very few dealers who managed their used vehicle inventory in what we now call “buckets.” Rather, dealers managed used vehicles in blocks—cars that were less than 60 or 90 days old and those that weren’t. Over time, the bucket-based approach to inventory management […]

The post A Call for “Bucket”-Minded Inventory Acquisition appeared first on Dale Pollak.

Most dealers would agree that acquiring inventory over the course of the past two years has grown more complex and difficult. We now understand that, if you want to maintain, if not grow, your share of money-making used vehicle sales, you can’t rely on trade-ins as much as you did in the past. Similarly, while […]

The post Where Dealers Get Their Most Profitable Inventory appeared first on Dale Pollak.

I’ve been busy the past week, helping my wife, Nancy, pack our belongings into boxes as we officially relocate to Austin, Texas. I did an informal poll of family and friends and arrived at a near-universal conclusion—no one really likes moving. True, there’s the anticipation and excitement of setting down roots in a new place. […]

The post Rediscovering the Past and the Profound While Packing appeared first on Dale Pollak.