The Most Expensive Car On Your Lot Isn't The One You Paid The Most For
One of the biggest mistakes I see dealers make...
And honestly, I've made it myself more times than I'd like to admit.
A car comes in.
Maybe you own it right.
Maybe you don't.
But for whatever reason, it doesn't sell.
Thirty days go by.
Then sixty.
Then ninety.
Then six months.
And somewhere along the way, you stop looking at the market and start looking at your cost.
Now the conversation changes.
"I can't sell it for that."
"I have too much money in it."
"I'll wait for the right buyer."
"I'll make it up on the next deal."
Sound familiar?
I've said every one of those things.
The problem is the market doesn't care what you own a car for.
Customers don't care.
The internet doesn't care.
And the next dealer down the street definitely doesn't care.
The market only cares about one thing:
What's the car worth today?
The Lie Dealers Tell Themselves
The most expensive car on your lot is rarely the one you paid the most money for.
It's the one that's costing you the most money every day.
I've seen dealers lose thousands trying to avoid losing hundreds.
Think about that.
A dealer will sit on a car for six months because they don't want to lose $1,000.
Meanwhile they've spent:
Floorplan expense
Advertising expense
Reconditioning expense
Time
Opportunity
And most importantly...
The chance to put that money into something that actually sells.
What started as a $1,000 problem turns into a $5,000 problem.
All because nobody wanted to take the loss.
The Best Operators Move Faster
The best dealers I've ever known aren't emotionally attached to inventory.
They don't fall in love with cars.
They don't defend bad decisions.
They don't argue with the market.
When something isn't working, they move.
Fast.
Not because they're careless.
Because they understand something most dealers never learn.
A small loss today is often the cheapest option available.
Every Car Has A Job
I think dealers should look at inventory differently.
Every car has one job.
Turn back into cash.
That's it.
Not sit on the lot.
Not make us feel smart.
Not prove we bought well.
Turn back into cash.
The moment a vehicle stops doing that job, it becomes a problem.
And the longer you wait to solve it, the more expensive that problem becomes.
The Question I Ask Myself Now
When I catch myself hanging onto a car too long, I ask a simple question.
"If somebody handed me cash for this car today, would I buy it again tomorrow?"
Most of the time, the answer tells me exactly what I need to do.
And if the answer is no...
It's probably time to cut it loose.
Because after selling more than 30,000 cars, I've learned something important:
The market is always right.
Whether we like it or not.
Jared Wheeler - Founder at Keysy.com