At Vehicle Acquisition Network (VAN), we help dealers proactively acquire vehicles directly from private sellers. These aren’t just any units—they’re often the exact vehicles that dealers want but rarely find through traditional channels like auctions or trades.
Our work gives us a front-row seat to dealership operations across the country. And lately, one pattern has become too clear to ignore: there’s a growing misalignment between dealership leadership and the used car managers responsible for buying inventory.
The compensation disconnect
Let me paint the picture.
Leadership teams are embracing new acquisition strategies. They understand that to stay competitive and profitable, they must acquire the right cars—even if that means paying up for them. They know the real profit lives in the backend (finance reserve, GAP, warranties) and fixed ops (internal repairs, service retention).
But they’ve tasked used car managers—who are often compensated solely on front-end gross—with executing these strategies.
That creates friction.
Used car managers, understandably, are trying to buy low to protect their commission. Leadership, meanwhile, wants to compete with CarMax and online retailers by making strong, upfront offers to private sellers. The result is hesitation, lost deals, and underperformance in one of the most critical areas of today’s retail landscape: acquisition.
The new math of used car profitability
Dealers today consistently report earning $2,000+ per vehicle in backend products alone. Add fixed ops margin, trade-in opportunities, and the long-term value of gaining a new customer, and it’s clear that acquisition should be about total profitability—not just front-end gross.
This is where the misalignment becomes costly. We’ve seen too many used car managers stuck in outdated pay plans, incentivized to pass on units that would have brought in thousands more in downstream revenue.
A real-world reinforcement
Just last week, I bumped into the owner of a Nissan store in Chicago as I was leaving the gym. He told me his store is doing exceptionally well—and he credits much of that success to his involvement in the dealership’s buy center.
He shared how they’re acquiring unique inventory they never would’ve found otherwise. It’s allowing them to stand out in their market, build relationships with new customers, and fuel the entire sales and service funnel. And because leadership is directly involved, the compensation strategy is aligned with the dealership’s goals.
That’s what alignment looks like.
What needs to change
This isn’t about increasing compensation—it’s about restructuring it to align with modern acquisition strategies. Here are three levers that leading dealers are pulling:
- Tie comp to total deal gross, not just the front end.
- Incentivize acquisition volume and velocity, especially from consumer channels.
- Reward inventory performance, including how fast units retail and their contribution to fixed ops and finance.
When used car managers are aligned with ownership goals, they stop looking for “cheap” cars and start acquiring valuable ones.
Driving toward alignment
At VAN, we support dealerships that are committed to this evolution. We help build acquisition funnels, train teams, and provide the tech to source private-party vehicles at scale. But none of it works if the people tasked with buying aren’t empowered—or motivated—to do what’s best for the store.
If your acquisition strategy isn’t delivering, look at the root cause. Chances are, it’s not a process problem—it’s a compensation problem.
The used car manager is the dealership’s buyer. Make sure they’re aligned with the way your store actually makes money.
