The used car market has experienced more ups and downs than any other automotive segment in recent years as consumer demands shift in response to pricing and new car availability. With inventory on the rise and the first used electric vehicles going on sale, dealers will need to pay close attention in the coming months to stay on top of emerging trends in preowned retail.
On this episode of Inside Automotive, hosts Jim Fitzpatrick and Shyann Malone are joined by Danny Zaslavsky, managing partner of Country Hill Motors and co-founder of VINCUE. Zaslavsky has successfully led the Country Hill Motors dealership through a constantly evolving automotive landscape, giving him a bird’s eye view of the industry that few others can beat. With VINCUE, he has also helped dealers drive efficiency and maximize profits at their storefronts. Now, he joins the show to share his insights into the used car market and what retailers should expect to see in the coming months.
Key Takeaways
1. To successfully navigate the used car market, dealers should consider the average selling price of each vehicle they acquire and aim to identify the accompanying lot with the greatest chance of scoring a sale.
2. Dealers have gotten better at multichannel sourcing in recent years and now use a variety of methods to acquire used vehicles.
3. Dealers should start paying closer attention to how they appraise preowned vehicles and spend more time reviewing the used car market insights they base their appraisal decisions on.
4. Vehicle prices in the $15,000 to $22,000 range have started to increase as the used car market adjusts to demand.
5. Dealers should aim for a quick turnaround on used electric vehicles since prices for Teslas and other expensive battery-powered models can decline as much as $3,000 every 30 days.
"Those dealers that are being proactive in understanding that the starting road isn't necessarily buying the car or the appraisals, the starting line is the buying plan, those that are being curious about what insights they're looking at to understand how to have more involved acquisitions methods are going to do better." — Danny Zaslavsky
