Again, thank you. Frankly I haven’t heard this request before, so I’m really curious as to whether other Velocity dealers would find it a value. Alternatively, how do other dealers (if at all) manage price and payment points? Rocky, how would you propose to track/manage vehicle inventory based on payments? Presumably there would have to be assumptions made about down payment, term and rate, is that correct?

Dale

Thanks for answering my question, and I agree that price and payment are important considerations. I was wondering why your tool and others do not seem to generate reports that identify these price and payment points and trends.

Rocky

Thanks so much for your question. You are right, price point and ultimately payments are significant stocking considerations. Discussing appropriate vehicle price points is something that vAuto Performance Managers routinely do when conducting meetings with our clients.

It is difficult, however to speak of any given price point as a target for the broad industry. Obviously the appropriate price point and consequential payments will vary according to the market and dealership brand profile. I think the only universal statement of truth regarding price points is that lower is better. Such vehicles tend to turn faster and present less depreciation.

Please let me know if I’ve addressed your concern.

Dale

Why do you not factor in price or payment ranges when assessing your stocking strategy.

Our whole management team has read your books… and are seeing the difficulties of changing years and years of habits. We have been moving in the right direction and have seen an increase in volume over the past year. After meeting with Paul today… my Used Car Manager, Gerry and I sent this email out to our dealership Management team… We see that it is easier to change 100 things 1% rather that trying to change one thing 100%..so we are looking to fine tune… any thoughts would be appreciated!

Here's the email

“Had a great Go To Meeting with Paul Hudnall with V-auto…

We have a lot of things going for us….

Our turn is over 22… We currently have 85 cars in inventory… our average investment is under 13700 and we are in good shape as far as water goes…

We currently are on track to sell 67 used Cars this month-

It’s now time to take it to the next level…

Here is Gerry and my thoughts on a few things…

We need to throw out the challenge… how do we get at least 1 picture and a price online in 24 hrs on a trade and a P car (for the record… we are good at getting prices online in about 2 days) pictures are taking as many 2 weeks… (and yes.. we understand that the current volume is a bit new to us as a store as well)

Our current process is –

On P cars … Stacey is putting the cars in ADP, the desk is pricing them in Vauto and ADP, and eDealerServices is here twice a week to take pictures of the inventory. Service rotates the cars through the teams, and Prep cleans them as they are assigned… (we need to develop a priority system here)

Trades- do not go as smooth… generally they are not entered into ADP until after the deal has been billed, however, they are in Vauto usually right away (as we can place them in there from the desk) Once the desk feels the deal has cleared.. we do place it in for service… however… without the deal being billed.. it does not come across on the list for eDealer to take a pic of.

The first 7 days is really where we have the potential to make a profit on the car… and admittedly, as it is… we know that because it is taking so much time to get the cars cleaned, serviced, and pictures, we are really pricing the cars in the second bucket.. trying to drive traffic on line and to the lot on price… but in reality, unless we have a picture to go with it.. we are getting 0% conversion… even with a fantastic price….

Any ideas on how we can develop a consistent process to get at least ONE picture and a price online?

Next question-

We have to preface this question that the guys (and gals) have been doing a GREAT job and we have really made strides especially given the recent increase in volume.

How do we get a car Cleaned and Serviced in 72 hours?

I know we have to balance a lot…. Time off… parts availability… the pure flow of inventory (if our goal is to sell 100 used cars a month…we need to trade/buy service, and detail 100 cars a month) not to mention the little things that plague us… lost keys… cars not here… sold and need the rush job… ( I am sure that list goes on)

Currently we have 78 in stock.. 26 are missing pictures… so digitally we really only have 50 cars to convert from… (Dustin- we have always said the more we have online the more we will sell online)… Home net says we have 85 in inventory and 23 are missing pictures… (again.. we know that we recently bought a lot, however; we really want that inventory flow to be the norm and not the exception.

Our average car sells in 24 days… only about two weeks after we have a digital car, cleaned, priced, and on the web… we could really cut this down a few days… increasing our turn… increasing the volume of sales, increasing the serviced and cleaned cars, etc….

We are interested in everyones thoughts… maybe we can brainstorm a bit at the managers meeting?

We can even get some emails flowing!
Remember-
Buy cars- Trade Cars- Fix Cars- Clean Cars-”

Thanks for your note. Please see my response on the Android to Sam Jarive below.

Thanks.
Dale

Congratulations on your performance improvement, and thanks for your note. Right now we're working diligently on the Android application and I think it's likely to be out in about 60 days. I completely understand your need, and I want you to know that it is among our highest priorities. Thanks for your request and please continue to let us know what you need.

Dale

What we really want is the Android app. We all have Verizon and really like the Droid's better than the iPhone. Do you have a timeline of when we will have that option?

Thanks,

Sam Jarvie
General Manager
Ken Garff Hyundai

I definitely remember meeting you at the NADA convention in Orlando. Congratulations on your velocity success. I spend a great deal of time telling dealers that the velocity method of management works anywhere and everywhere. Your experience demonstrates that it even works down-under. Nice work and keep the updates coming. Hope to see you in San Francisco.
Dale