10 Feb Dialing In Used Car Turns
The automated software tools associated with Dial A and Dial C are data rich and have been responsible for a majority of dealers to forgo their own “gut feel” on which cars to acquire by converting to a sophisticated inventory management solution from either vAuto, AAX or FirstLook. Unfortunately, there remains a systemic problem in many dealerships at Dial B. If you are connecting A to C and still use a manual spreadsheet at Dial B, you are seriously handicapping your overall business and leaving somewhere around two full inventory turns buried in your recon process. This is a huge loss to your bottom line.
Fortunately, reconditioning no longer needs to be the weakest link. A work flow management software solution is now available with mobile and text for on-the-go UCMs. It’s in real time, Web-based and easy for all workers to use. Given such transparency and accountability, incentivizing your team will be a fair and rewarding process. Dealers across the country are upgrading to this workflow solution with dramatic results. Work, for their entire team, just got a whole lot easier with much less frustration.
With the addition of a work flow system, your recon team will now have a level playing field, alongside acquisition and sales, in order to make the most accurate business decisions. With all three dashboards equally aligned, your time to line will have a seamless connection. Recon is too fast paced and too key to depend on such a static tool like a manual spreadsheet
As competition accelerates, it is critical to address the control of time to line and the average cost of recon. Typical target recon costs for each category are:
- Certified $1,300
- Non Certified $600
- Bargain “as is” or under $200
Market forces will dictate what you can afford to invest in, but it is safe to say that, with the entire industry concentrating on turns, the availability of all three categories above will increase accordingly. In turn, this demand will increase competition reducing the amount you can afford to invest in each car. Having across-the-board software management tools for each of your used car businesses — acquisition, recon and sales — provides the foundation for sound, on-the-spot decision-making. is will ensure the level of control needed to maintain profitability.
Finally, measuring and managing recon with a real-time workflow system is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to sell more cars. If you are skeptical about this statement, feel free to contact me to see live demos. Bottom line: It’s all about your bottom line. You can see for yourself.
Dennis McGinn is the founder and CEO of Rapid Recon. He can be contacted at 866.268.3582, or by e-mail at dmcginn@autosuccessonline.com.
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