CarDealershipGuy — the internet's viral car dealer and market commentator — shares unbiased and transparent insights into the car market. Join 100,000+ weekly listeners who tune in to hear from auto industry leaders, innovators and CarDealershipGuy himself. For more free car market insights, visit dealershipguy.com and follow CarDealershipGuy on X (@GuyDealership) — Or check out cdgpodcast.com to catch every other episode of the CDG Podcast. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here
The CarDealershipGuy Podcast is a must-listen for anyone interested in the car industry. Hosted by an anonymous car dealership professional, this podcast provides unique industry insights and features interviews with top players in the field. The show covers a wide range of relevant topics that you won't find anywhere else, making it a valuable resource for insiders and enthusiasts alike. The anonymity of the host adds an intriguing element to the podcast, leaving listeners curious about his background and expertise.
One of the best aspects of The CarDealershipGuy Podcast is its outstanding discussion and analysis of different aspects of the car business. Each episode shines a light on interesting topics that are rarely covered elsewhere, allowing listeners to gain a deeper understanding of the industry. The host's pedigree of guests is also impressive, bringing in experts who provide valuable insights into specific areas of the car business. Whether it's discussing autonomous vehicles or exploring new market trends, this podcast consistently delivers informative and engaging content.
While there are many positives to this podcast, one potential drawback is its narrow focus on the car industry. If you're not particularly interested in cars or don't work in the automotive sector, some episodes may not resonate as strongly with you. However, even for those who aren't industry insiders, there are still plenty of fascinating insights to be gained from listening.
In conclusion, The CarDealershipGuy Podcast is an excellent source of industry knowledge and entertainment for anyone interested in the car business. With its insider perspective and intriguing anonymity, this podcast offers unique perspectives and expert interviews that are both informative and enjoyable to listen to. Whether you're an industry insider seeking valuable insights or simply curious about how the automotive world operates behind-the-scenes, this podcast is well worth a listen.
Today's show features: - Richard Meneely, Fixed Operations Director at Norm Reeves Honda Superstore North Richland Hills - Bill Egan, Vice President of Product at automotiveMastermind - Matthew Whittenberger, Fixed Ops Director at Diehl Automotive This episode is brought to you by: Zurich North America – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/3TycCDc automotiveMastermind – Mobility Global Sales Solutions is the industry's most comprehensive sales intelligence, one trusted platform that turns market signals into actionable insight so you can confidently outperform competitors and drive lifetime value. We power your sales growth, allowing you to target the right audience with the best offer, leverage the most accurate ownership insights, and measure your performance. Learn more about Mobility Global at https://www.mobilityglobal.com/en-us/sales-solutions Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today Guest Host Matt Haiken is joined by Bill Solko, Dealer Principal at Automotive Avenues. In 2009, Bill's accountant told him he had lost $1.2 million, and a few weeks later he drove past an empty dealership and decided to go retail. Last month Automotive Avenues sold 1,025 used cars across two New Jersey stores, and it outsells Carvana in the New York market while making around $800 a car, compared with the $3,800 Bill says the big box players target. Bill breaks down his "wholesale to the public" model, why he retails aging cars instead of dumping them at auction, and why he throws predatory lenders out of his office. He also reveals, publicly for the first time, the private equity acquisition that timed out after a year in contract. Topics: 02:45 Dropped Out Of High School In 10th Grade. 09:45 Wholesaling Was Commodities Trading. 13:25 Accountant Said He Lost $1.2 Million. 17:25 Auction Owner Said Buy, We'll Figure It Out. 26:40 Selling 1,000 Cars With $800 Margins. 34:30 Manufacturers Create Artificial Demand. 50:35 Rejects Predatory Lender Programs. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Turn Automotive – Retail more vehicles. Buy cars right from customers' driveways. Their in-store appraisal tools help sales staff overcome trade objections and free managers to focus on desking deals. Their guaranteed offers help dealers know their exit before they own the trade, especially vehicles that don't fit their retail stocking plan. Off-Site Appraisal lets dealers appraise and buy vehicles directly from customers at home. Plus, every transaction includes their industry-leading warranty. Schedule your demo today @ here. 2. LotAgent – Stop stacking software. Agents are the way out. One problem, One Agent, only $99. Try it free now @ here. 3. CDG Circles - Your peer network without the travel. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Cooper Wilburn, Sales Manager at Al Serra Autoplaza - Dan Gaughan, General Manager at AutoHub - Aaron Smith, Platform Director at Fred Beans Automotive Group This episode is brought to you by: Zurich North America – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/3TycCDc AutoHub – AutoHub is the smarter, all-in-one vehicle acquisition platform that empowers dealers to acquire more cars directly from their own customers on the showroom floor, online, and in the service drive. By automating appraisals, standardizing vehicle checklists, enabling customized pricing, and engaging customers directly via SMS/text message, AutoHub enables dealers to increase look-to-book, reduce reliance on costly auctions, and lower acquisition costs. Backed by data-driven market intelligence, the AutoHub Acquisition Engine (AAE) delivers a full acquisition ecosystem that drives consistency, predictability, and profitability at scale. Learn More: https://www.autohub.io/vehicle-acquisition-engine/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Rick Vrablik, General Manager at Nielsen Automotive Group, and Babak Mofrad, President at AutoVision to discuss how an 11-store group that shares every used car across every rooftop sourced, appraised, and priced its way to a 400-unit record month just five months after switching appraisal tools. Rick admits he fought the shared-inventory model at first, then explains why it forces managers to put the right money on every trade. He walks through the phone plug-in check that exposed nine hidden problems on a trade-in he walked away from, and Babak explains why market day supply, the number dealers have trusted for 15 years, can push you into a bad decision on good data. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by AutoVision. Topics: 00:45 Sitting Cars Are The Most Expensive. 02:50 Dealer Principle Forced Shared Inventory. 03:45 Sharing Inventory Forces Better Appraisals. 05:15 Best Cars Come From Trades. 07:10 Holding Cars Too Long Is The Sin. 07:35 Don't Trust The Computer Alone. 09:15 AI Buys Better, Not Sells More. 11:45 Old Tool Let Managers Hide Cars. 12:55 OBD Reader Changed Appraisals. 15:30 Gut Versus Avery, Who Wins. 19:00 Built Out Of Dealer Paranoia. 20:00 High Day Supply Isn't Bad. 29:15 Market Day Supply Is Overrated. AutoVision - AutoVision is the end-to-end inventory management suite that helps dealers turn cars faster and increase profit by optimizing every step of the used vehicle lifecycle. With AutoVision, you can build customized comp sets, tailor your data to your market, streamline reconditioning, and leverage AI for seamless merchandising. Visit @ here to request a demo, and an inventory specialist will be in touch. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Jeremy Mayoral, General Manager at Arlington Acura (Rohrman Auto Group) - David Thomas, Director of Content Marketing at CDK Global - Kareem Raposo, General Manager at Kia of Port Charlotte (Morgan Auto Group) This episode is brought to you by: Zurich North America – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/3TycCDc CDK Global – Dealership challenges are constantly evolving—your technology should too. The CDK Dealership Xperience Platform unifies your operations with AI driven tools built to grow with you. Learn more here: https://carguymedia.com/4z06keG Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Ed Roberts, COO at Bozard Ford Lincoln - Greg Heinz, Managing Partner at Corwin Toyota Boulder This episode is brought to you by: Haig Partners – When it comes to selling your life's work, trust the only advisors who have built a reputation for maximizing value for family-owned dealerships. The team at Haig Partners has achieved record-setting values across multiple franchises and has represented more owners in the sale of their Toyota dealerships than any other firm. If you are considering a sale, divestiture or looking to grow, begin a confidential conversation at http://haigpartners.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Eric Rea and Dennis Steele's first pitch to a car dealership ended with the general manager writing a check for the entire year on the spot, and they say that moment is what convinced them dealerships, not the tire shops they started with, would build their company. They walk through how a 700-location collision repair network let Podium's voice agent take over 61% of its after-hours phone calls, and how that agent is now on pace to help book $1 billion in repairs this year with a customer satisfaction score higher than the network's own human call center, a result that surprised even their most skeptical engineers. Eric Rea and Dennis Steele are the co-founders of Podium, the AI platform now used by 4,000 auto dealerships for reviews, texting, and voice-based customer service. Topics: 00:55 AI Replaces The Entire Dealership Stack. 03:30 Don't Learn To Code, Learn Agents. 09:00 Door-To-Door Tactics Sold Dealerships. 15:05 Jerry Launched In 2023 And Never Left. 22:45 Voice AI Completed 87% Of Bookings. 31:20 Operator Found Lapsed Customers In 10 Minutes. 38:15 Default State Of Any Company Is Stillness. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Experian Automotive - Experian AutoCheck helps dealers meet them earlier in the buying journey as the only vehicle history report across top consumer shopping sites. Visit @ here for more info. 2. Proton Dealership IT - Around-the-clock protection starts with around-the-clock support. Visit @ here for more information. 3. Podium - the AI platform trusted by one in three dealerships. If your AI isn't driving real outcomes, it's time to take a closer look @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Adam Crowell, Chief Legal & Strategy Officer at KPA - Tustin Ulrich, General Manager at Roper Kia - Scott Traylor, Vice President of Sales at Mia - Sefi Adasi Lucki, Owner & Controller at Lucki Mazda of Woodbridge - Mike Lucki, Dealer Principal at Lucki Mazda of Woodbridge This episode is brought to you by: Haig Partners – When it comes to selling your life's work, trust the only advisors who have built a reputation for maximizing value for family-owned dealerships. The team at Haig Partners has achieved record-setting values across multiple franchises and has represented more owners in the sale of their Toyota dealerships than any other firm. If you are considering a sale, divestiture or looking to grow, begin a confidential conversation at http://haigpartners.com/ KPA – On any given Tuesday, one dealership answers to more than a dozen regulators about five different things: the ad running right now, the disclosures at the finance desk, the data in a credit file, the technician in the bay, and the used oil out back. That's why KPA has helped automotive businesses stay safe and out of trouble since 1986. AI-enabled software that's always watching out for your dealership, training built from what actually goes wrong in a store, and 150 consultants nationwide who keep showing up to find the things software can't see. We do that for more than 15,000 clients, including 40 of the top 50 automotive groups. Ask us what an FTC pricing and advertising review would turn up in your store at https://kpa.co/cdg Mia – Your dealership is sitting on untapped revenue — service-due customers, unsold leads, inactive buyers who just need the right nudge — but does your team have the bandwidth to go after it? Mia's outbound AI runs omnichannel phone and text campaigns from one platform, pulling context from 35+ systems for natural conversations that get results 3x faster than competing solutions, no lead babysitting required. Book a demo at https://www.mia.inc/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Shawn Dennis, Marketing Director of the Ron Marhoffer Auto Group, and Patrick Janes, AVP of Inventory Solutions at vAuto to discuss why more than 90 percent of vehicle listings fail to sell themselves, and what it actually takes to merchandise a car the right way in 2026. Shawn breaks down why proper merchandising, accurate options, a clean Carfax, real angles, video and walk arounds, takes three to four hours per car and functions as a full time job on its own. Patrick shares how his team traces stalled listings back to the exact moment a shopper clicks away, and how a new AI powered health score now audits every photo and description across a dealer group before a performance manager even picks up the phone. At Shawn's five stores, that shift already lets a merchandising staff of two keep pace with roughly 1,200 vehicles a month, freeing him to spend his time on the details a machine still can't catch, like the real story behind a one owner trade in. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by vAuto. Topics: 03:46 Your recon bill has selling points buyers never see. 07:10 Why correctly priced cars still sit unsold. 08:26 Your best sales pitch may be missing online. 09:18 The hiring gap behind weak vehicle listings. 10:44 Your merchandising shouldn't collapse when an employee leaves. 13:06 How Cox Automotive plans to uncover hidden listing gaps. 15:26 Why more AI insights can mean more work. 17:04 Your strongest selling points are getting buried. 22:48 Buyers may not understand what your photos show. 28:50 Waiting for recon could cost you the first lead. Cox Automotive - As the industry's premier provider of end-to-end inventory management solutions, vAuto gives every dealer—from a single point store to the largest groups—the data, insights and tools they need to maximize returns from the new and used vehicle inventory investments. Discover why 96 out of the top 100 used vehicle retailers trust vAuto to help them achieve greater success. Visit @ here for more info. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - David Zuniga, General Sales Manager at Performance Auto Group - Tina Novoa, Director of Operations at We Help Dealers - Tom Kline, Lead Consultant & Founder at Better Vantage Point | Tuck The Octopus This episode is brought to you by: Haig Partners – When it comes to selling your life's work, trust the only advisors who have built a reputation for maximizing value for family-owned dealerships. The team at Haig Partners has achieved record-setting values across multiple franchises and has represented more owners in the sale of their Toyota dealerships than any other firm. If you are considering a sale, divestiture or looking to grow, begin a confidential conversation at http://haigpartners.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Barrett Charapp Beaty, Attorney at Charapp & Weiss - Stephen Rand, Fixed Operations Director at Mercedes-Benz of Plano - Lucas Goerlitz, Service Manager at Napleton Palatine Subaru This episode is brought to you by: Experian Automotive – Experian AutoCheck is the only vehicle history report available across top consumer shopping sites, helping dealers build shopper confidence and drive more local leads. Visit https://carguymedia.com/4iWIBaA Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Charlie Caprara is the Owner of FX Caprara, a nine-store dealer group he has built with his family over 52 years in the car business. He started selling cars out of the family's home in Watertown, bought his first store in 1990, and grew it into a multi-brand group before watching most of it sold out from under him when the new majority owners turned out to be running a massive Ponzi scheme. He speaks candidly about buying several of his stores back for no premium once the scheme collapsed, the currency exchange trick that saves him thousands on new trucks bought in Canada, and why he sent all five of his kids to start in the wash bay before letting them run a store of their own. Topics: 00:20 $1.8B Ponzi Scheme Ate The Stores. 05:35 Odometers Rolled Back On Jerome. 08:20 Hitchhikers Moved Cars Nationwide. 17:00 65 Cars A Month From Home. 41:20 Used Cars Make The Money. 48:55 Kids Started In Wash Bay. This episode is brought to you by: 1. TARGIT - TARGIT is an end-to-end business intelligence platform that gives dealers complete visibility and control over their data. Download your copy and learn more about TARGIT @ here. Headed to the 2026 Digital Dealer Conference? Come meet TARGIT at Booth #737. Visit @ here for more info. 2. LotAgent – Stop stacking software. Agents are the way out. One problem, One Agent, only $99 dollars. Try it free now here 3. CarMax Auctions - Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. Register now for free @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Jared Ricart, President & Chief Executive Officer at Ricart Automotive Group - Mike DeCecco, Director, Partner Management at Impel - Tu Le, Founder at Sino Auto Insights This episode is brought to you by: Experian Automotive – Experian AutoCheck is the only vehicle history report available across top consumer shopping sites, helping dealers build shopper confidence and drive more local leads. Visit https://carguymedia.com/4iWIBaA Impel – Impel is harnessing the power of AI to transform automotive retailing and has become one of the largest vertical AI companies in the world. The company's industry-leading Automotive AI Operating System helps more than 8,000 retailers and OEMs unify the entire customer journey — fueling faster decisions, deeper connections, and measurable impact at every step along the way. To date, Impel has delivered more than 42 billion shopper interactions, influencing over $12 billion in sales and service revenue across 51 countries. Visit https://impel.ai/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Frank Peña grew up sleeping on a relative's floor in Washington Heights after his family immigrated to the United States when he was two years old, and by the time he left the company that gave him his start, he had spent twenty years working his way from used car salesman to company president. He walks through how he took over three dealerships without losing a single employee, and argues that most owners lose their people not because of pay, but because they disappear the moment things get hard. Topics: 06:35 The Organization That Built A Dealer 08:35 The Knowledge Gap For New Dealers 16:35 Why F&I Is A Puzzle 19:15 Why Frank Kept Every Employee 20:55 Surviving A Dealership War Zone 29:30 Successful Operators Have To Be Crazy 38:20 Why Frank's Son Won't Get A Free Ride This episode is brought to you by: 1. TARGIT - TARGIT is an end-to-end business intelligence platform that gives dealers complete visibility and control over their data. Download your copy and learn more about TARGIT @ here. Headed to the 2026 Digital Dealer Conference? Come meet TARGIT at Booth #737. Visit @ here for more info. 2. OPENLANE - The world's best online dealer marketplace for used cars, bringing you exclusive inventory, simple transactions, and better outcomes. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Beth Hill, General Counsel/COO at The Shop FordDirect - Ryan McCormick, Compliance Officer at Preston Automotive Group - Glenn Lundy, President at 800% Elite Automotive Club - Kevin Strosnider, Dealer Operator / General Manager at Strosnider Chevrolet - Brooke English Guy, General Manager at Coastal Chevrolet Cadillac Nissan This episode is brought to you by: Experian Automotive – https://carguymedia.com/4iWIBaA 800% Elite Automotive Club – https://www.800percent.life/cdg Digital Dealer 2026 – Register here: https://luma.com/75lj88rv Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Dave Rogers, Fixed Operations Director at Piazza Management Company - Tully Williams, Fixed Operations Director at The Niello Company - Ed Roberts, COO at Bozard Ford Lincoln - Richard Lupo, Fixed Operations Director at Apple Tree Honda and Acura This episode is brought to you by: Presidio – Today's episode is brought to you by The Presidio Group, one of the automotive industry's leading buy-sell advisors. Visit Presidio's new Research & Reports portal for M&A insights, blue sky multiples, exclusive benchmark data with NCM Associates, dealer sentiment, and analysis of the trends shaping automotive retail at thepresidiogroup.com. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Cuyler Owens is the CEO of Widewail, a customer reputation and review intelligence company that works with thousands of dealership rooftops across the country. He built software companies before coming into automotive, and now works alongside a market advisory board of dealer principals to turn millions of customer reviews into staff coaching, training, and revenue decisions. Topics: 00:20 Incentives Ruin Survey Data. 02:30 Reviews Are A Free Focus Group. 06:50 AEO Values Recency And Volume. 08:40 ChatGPT Found A Low-Pressure Dealer. 16:05 38% Of Bad Reviews Hit F&I. 18:15 Incentivized Surveys Are Biased. 38:10 Communication Boosts Average RO. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and register today at DigitalDealer.com. Use code CDG25OFF at checkout and bring your team for a generous discount. Visit @ here for more info. 2. Widewail - Leading dealerships aren't choosing between profit and customer experience. They're learning to balance both. Read the full report here @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Josh Barron, COO at Habberstad Auto Group - Bruce Johnson, Vice President, Product Marketing & Enablement at CDK Global - Devin Kaulback, General Manager at Subaru of Niagara This episode is brought to you by: Presidio – Today's episode is brought to you by The Presidio Group, one of the automotive industry's leading buy-sell advisors. Visit Presidio's new Research & Reports portal for M&A insights, blue sky multiples, exclusive benchmark data with NCM Associates, dealer sentiment, and analysis of the trends shaping automotive retail at thepresidiogroup.com. CDK Global – CDK Global – CDK Global empowers dealers with the tools and technology they need to build deeper relationships with customers and sell and service more cars. Visit https://www.cdkglobal.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today I'm joined by Jack Carter, Co-owner at Turn & Burn Motors, Garrett Jones, President at Ella Blvd Motors, and Luke Godwin, General Manager and Owner at Godwin Motors. These three operators share the specific moves working right now: Luke Godwin took his dealership from 63 percent leveraged, in his words "up to my neck," down to 36 percent today by pausing car buying to let cash flow catch up. Garrett Jones rolled out an AI collections bot thirty days ago that lifted payment penetration by 40 percent without a single staff member touching the customer. And Jack Carter turned his cash car side lot and daily social videos into a trust-based sales engine across a metro of four million people. Topics: 02:35 $2 Million Cash Minimum Today. 07:20 Will The Car Outrun The Note. 09:55 Buy Here Pay Here Is Art. 17:40 Bad Attitude Fires Customers. 32:15 Selling Too Fast Kills You. 46:00 Reinsurance Makes You The Bank. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and register today at DigitalDealer.com. Use code CDG25OFF at checkout and bring your team for a generous discount. Visit @ here for more info. 2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - David Wyler, President and CEO at Jeff Wyler Automotive Family - Chris Hudson, General Manager at Mark Miller Subaru - Caleb L'Ecuyer, Sales Professional at Coastal Chevrolet Cadillac Nissan This episode is brought to you by: Presidio – Today's episode is brought to you by The Presidio Group, one of the automotive industry's leading buy-sell advisors. Visit Presidio's new Research & Reports portal for M&A insights, blue sky multiples, exclusive benchmark data with NCM Associates, dealer sentiment, and analysis of the trends shaping automotive retail at thepresidiogroup.com. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Jonathan Kienle's team once sent a salesperson to chase down a customer's canceled check, and he crashed the loaner car doing it, and Kienle says that single moment is exactly why he stopped trusting cash, checks, and credit cards to handle his dealership's biggest transactions. He walks through how switching the default down payment method saved his group $168,000 in fees so far this year, with $300,000 in sight by year's end, and argues that most dealers are needlessly eating card fees and fraud risk on payments that don't have to carry either. Jonathan Kienle is the Director of Operations at Walters Automotive Group and Kienle Motorsports in Riverside, California, where he oversees five stores spanning Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Audi. A third-generation dealer, he started at the family store at 14 cleaning the parts department, worked nearly every job in the building, and spent two years cold-calling at a Ford store before his father would let him back in. Joining him is Truett Dwyer, Co-Founder and CEO of Clerq, the payments company he credits with turning down payment collection from a source of risk into a documented driver of profit. Kienle speaks candidly about the moment that convinced him legacy payment methods weren't worth the risk anymore, how he trained his finance team to make the new method the default instead of the fallback, and what surprised him most once the savings started compounding. This episode of Industry Spotlight is brought to you by Clerq. Topics: 02:40 Dad Made Him Start At Ford First. 06:50 Canceled Checks Left Dealers Chasing Customers. 07:10 Credit Card Fees Destroy Margins. 08:00 Salesman Crashed Car Chasing A Check. 09:55 Clerq Is Venmo For Dealerships. 11:00 Debit Cards Have Daily Spend Limits. 12:40 Dealer Didn't Believe Solution Existed. 14:30 Clerq Guarantees Every Transaction. 16:30 Checks Expose Customer Bank Info. 18:35 $168K Saved In Credit Card Fees. 23:45 Dealers Need Fast Payouts. 28:20 Focus Drove Way More Savings. Clerq - Clerq's instant bank payment solution modernizes down payments, deposits and other large transactions - helping leading dealerships drive more sales, cut costs and reduce risk. Visit here to learn more. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Dave Rogers, Fixed Operations Director at Piazza Management Company - Pam LeJeune, VP at The Moran Group - William Demaree, Group Director of Fixed Operations at Tom Wood Group This episode is brought to you by: Carmax – CarMax Auctions. Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. From high-end to high mileage, CarMax Auctions has the inventory you need to source smarter and accelerate sales. Register now for free at carmaxauctions.com/CDG. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Zach Billings is the CEO of Wikimotive, a search marketing agency he has led for over two decades, building it into a bootstrapped, U.S.-based team of 50 professional writers serving dealers across the country. Free of outside investors, Wikimotive recently ran an all-staff exercise to rewrite its mission statement around a single measure, dealer outcomes rather than its own bottom line, and it has pruned services, including a legacy organic Facebook management product, once they stopped producing results. Topics: 01:15 ChatGPT Visibility Is The New Goal. 04:35 Content Beats Technical SEO. 07:55 AI Slop Makes Dealers Identical. 14:10 50 Writers Beat AI Repetition. 21:50 AI Search Is Only 1% Of Pie. 27:10 PMax Campaigns Waste Dealer Money. 38:30 Vendor Consistency Beats Chasing Shiny. This episode is brought to you by: 1. 800% Elite Auto Club - 800% Elite Auto is a whole-dealership solution. Get started today @ here. 2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. 3. Wikimotive - Wikimotive delivers organic and paid search solutions to hundreds of dealerships from rural rooftops to multiple top-5 national dealers. Visit @ here for more info. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Rob Ruth, President / Owner at Bob Ruth Ford - Shane Helms, Founder / CEO at TrueView Media Group - Matthew Zabawa, Chief Product Officer at WebBuy Digital Retailing - Steve Moroz, Managing Partner/GSM at EZ Nissan This episode is brought to you by: Carmax – CarMax Auctions. Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. From high-end to high mileage, CarMax Auctions has the inventory you need to source smarter and accelerate sales. Register now for free at carmaxauctions.com/CDG. TrueView Media Group – TrueView Media Group — TrueView Media Group is a CTV technology company built for automotive retail. We plan, buy, and measure streaming for individual rooftops on our own platform, continually engineering more effective ways to buy impressions and showing every store exactly where its money went: every app, every impression, every dollar — measured to the outcomes a store actually feels, like site visits, VDP views, and sales. Visit trueviewmediagroup.com/cdg First up, Rob Ruth, President and Owner of Bob Ruth Ford in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania. Rob made a bet on building his own buying center — and it's reshaping how his store grows. Why is that the move he'd double down on? He'll tell us. Then, Shane Helms, Founder and CEO of TrueView Media Group. Shane says the entire marketing ecosystem dealers depend on is broken — and get this, he claims Tier 2 has flat-out vanished at brands like Mazda, Subaru, VW, and Mercedes. What changed, and what does it mean for your store? You'll want to hear this one. Next, Matthew Zabawa, Chief Product Officer at WebBuy Digital Retailing, on where digital retailing is really headed — and what's still missing. And rounding things out, Steve Moroz, Managing Partner and GSM at EZ Nissan, bringing the dealer's-eye view on digitizing the showroom. Can you actually bring the online experience onto the sales floor without breaking it? Steve's got the battle scars and the answers. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Anthony Clavenna used to fly across the country with $30,000 in cash stuffed in a backpack just to buy trucks off strangers, and he says that scrappy, no-safety-net approach is exactly what let him outpace giants like Carvana and CarMax at buying cars off the street. He walks through the moment the business finally graduated from cash runs to wires and a private app, how a single fraud incident gets baked into the process as a new checkpoint instead of a reason to slow down, and argues that speed, not technology or capital, is the real edge in wholesale. Topics: 04:00 iPhone Was Their Fraud Prevention. 09:35 Wiring Strangers Money And Hoping. 13:45 Auctions Suck Because You Bid Against Others. 18:00 Speed Is The Only Edge That Matters. 24:00 Texting Dealers Until The App Scaled. 37:45 Going Hard Leaves No Room For Fear. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Podium - If your AI isn't driving real outcomes, it's time to take a closer look @ here. 2. Digital Dealer - Join expert-led sessions, hands-on Learning Labs, and live demos to discover ideas that can help improve sales, service, and marketing. Register today @ here and use code CDG25OFF at checkout. 3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Jason Hartman, Founder at JXCE - Scott Pharr, CEO at Pharr Motor Group - Charlie Spradlin, General Manager at Art Moehn Auto Group This episode is brought to you by: Carmax – CarMax Auctions Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. From high-end to high mileage, CarMax Auctions has the inventory you need to source smarter and accelerate sales. Register now for free at carmaxauctions.com/CDG. First up, Jason Hartman, Founder of JXCE. Jason's built a reputation for turning conventional dealer wisdom on its head — and he's bringing a take today that'll have some of you nodding and others reaching for the mute button. You'll want to hear which side you land on. Then we've got Scott Pharr, Dealer Principal at Pharr Nissan of Chesterton. Here's the kicker — Scott literally just acquired this store days ago. So what's the very first move you make when you walk into a brand-new dealership? Scott's going to tell us what happens in those crucial opening weeks. And finally, Charlie Spradlin, General Manager at Art Moehn Auto Group — Digital Dealer speaker and a member of the 800% club. Yeah, you read that right. Eight hundred percent. Charlie's going to unpack how you get numbers like that, and whether it's something any store can pull off — or lightning in a bottle. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Travis Siebert, SVP at DealerPay, and Kris Towle, Chief Accounting Officer at Niello Company to discuss why one of the auto industry's oldest processes, collecting cash and checks from parts and service customers, still costs dealerships money, time, and trust. They speak candidly about the safety risk of sending drivers out with cash, why most dealerships never question an outdated process until something goes wrong, and why live phone support, not just software, is what keeps a group this size from ever looking at another vendor. They explain: ◼ Why parts delivery drivers ended up doing accounting work they were never trained for ◼ How a single bounced check could cost a full week of chasing down payment ◼ Why missing cash on a delivery route became an uncomfortable question nobody wanted to ask ◼ Why the switch to mobile payments meant money was in the bank the very next morning ◼ Why Niello Company has never looked at another payments partner since making the switch This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by DealerPay. Topics: 02:50 Fixed Ops Causes More Accounting Headaches. 04:30 Drivers Make Terrible Accountants. 05:50 Cash In Trucks Is A Theft Problem. 06:45 Selling Nationwide Hurts Local Retention. 09:50 Dealerships Are Slow To Adopt Digital Payments. 12:15 Onsite Training Eliminates Employee Pushback. 13:10 One-Person Payment Eliminates Customer Confusion. 14:20 Digital Reporting Shows Exactly Who Took Money. 17:05 Answering The Phone Beats AI Every Time. 18:50 Showing Up Matters More Than Technology. 22:50 Accounting Touches Every Part Of The Business. 23:50 Dennis Pushes Harder Than Tully Does. DealerPay - Dealer Pay is the payment platform built exclusively for car dealerships, connecting fixed ops, variable ops, and back office with sub-10-second, card-present transactions and automated reconciliation, whether it's at the counter, the service drive, or a mobile delivery. Visit @ here to see how it works for your dealership. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Wes Lloyd, Service Director at Stuckey Auto - Spencer Nicholson, Fixed Operations Director at Stuckey Automotive - Ryan Maher, CEO at BizzyCar - Galal Hamdy, Strategic Relationship Leader at Zurich U.S. – Direct Markets This episode is brought to you by: Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn BizzyCar – BizzyCar uses AI to automate recall outreach for dealerships, transforming missed opportunities into booked appointments, higher revenue, and safer vehicles. Book a demo today at: https://info.bizzycar.com/cdg Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Laddie Stern is the Founder of Stern Auto Group, a 20-store empire he has built over 65 years in the car business. He started as a wholesaler for his uncle before buying and scaling the Skyline and Hatfield auctions into the country's largest privately held auction company, then returned to grow a new car group alongside his son Jonathan. He speaks candidly about the 2008 downturn that changed how he manages cash for good, the mistakes he made prioritizing the business over his family, and what he looks for before letting the next generation, including his own grandchildren, into the business. Topics: 03:50 Odometer Rollback Was Legal. 06:30 Auctions Beat Casinos. 09:10 $7M Property Now $50M. 13:25 Cash Is Always King. 14:35 Undercapitalization Kills Dealers. 18:00 Hand-Sells Wholesale To Prevent Theft. 20:50 Never Burn A Bridge. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Kenect - Kenect helps dealership GMs automate customer outreach by turning days of manual calling into seconds. Go to @ here to see how top rooftops are scaling retention today. 2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Tustin Ulrich, General Manager at Roper Kia - Mike Yates, General Manager at BMW of Bridgewater - Mike McVeigh, Sales Manager at Jeff D'Ambrosio Auto Group This episode is brought to you by: Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Kielan Whitner made more in his first 90 days selling cars than he made in an entire year working as a certified public accountant at a Big Four firm, and he says that gap is exactly why automotive struggles to attract the talent it needs. A fourth-generation dealer, he built his foundation on the fixed side of the business, service advisor to service manager, before stepping into the general manager role, and now leans on a network of industry mentors and organizations like NAMAD to keep leveling up. Topics: 04:20 90 Days Beat CPA Salary. 16:00 Viral Video Beats Paid Ads. 17:00 Organic Beats Car Pitches. 20:05 Used Car Inventory Is Art. 22:15 Negativity Gets Sent Home. 24:10 Eighth To First In 20 Months. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Experian Automotive - Experian's Fraud Protect solution helps dealers identify potential fraud risks earlier in the sales process by leveraging advanced data, analytics, and identity verification tools. Visit @ here for more info. 2. CarMax - Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. Register now for free @ here. 3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Nathan Shaver, Managing Partner at Shaver Auto Group - Christopher Schrementi, Managing Director at Gallagher - Chris Singleton, Managing Partner at Mike Terry Auto Group This episode is brought to you by: Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn Gallagher – Dealerships face a dynamic risk landscape—rising litigation, weather-related losses, workforce pressures and technology-driven exposures—and Gallagher delivers tailored insurance and risk management solutions built for today's dealership operations. Connect with Chris and the Gallagher team for a one-on-one conversation—visit https://www.ajg.com/industries/dealership-insurance/ and click "Get Started." Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are John Keohane, VP of Operations and Partner at Temecula Valley Buick GMC, and Liam Golightly, SVP of Customer Success at Podium to discuss how AI operator agents are giving dealership leaders a way to run their entire operation without being in every conversation themselves. John built his own AI agent, which he nicknamed Emily, to scrape telematics data, run weekly revival campaigns on stale leads, and even coach his sales team by timing how fast they respond before Emily steps in. The results are hard to ignore: Emily replaced his old bulk texting tool, helped uncover a customer-pay revenue drop in six seconds instead of weeks, and pushed his service department's customer-pay repair orders up 12 to 13 percent this year. For a single-point dealer competing against much larger groups, John says the technology has become a genuine equalizer. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Podium. Topics: 04:15 CPA Brain Overwhelmed By Reports. 06:10 Low-Hanging Tech Is Ripe. 07:25 Telematics Data Was Untouched. 09:25 Cold BDC Texts Feel Impersonal. 10:45 Operator Is AI For GMs. 13:00 Emily Texts Revival Campaigns Daily. 14:25 AI Revives Dead Leads Warmly. 16:15 Emily Surfaces Near-Miss Sales. 18:45 Salespeople Race To Beat Emily. 19:55 Employees Use AI To Beat AI. 23:30 Podium Sieves All Outreach. 33:50 AI Levels The Playing Field. Podium - the AI platform trusted by one in three dealerships. Podium helps dealers consolidate sales, service, messaging, and voice into one connected system that actually runs the work. If your AI isn't driving real outcomes, it's time to take a closer look @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Diana Lee, CEO and Founder at Constellation - Felicia Barr, Service Director at Bertera Auto Group - Bobby Perkins, Fixed Operations Director at Lexus Montgomery & Toyota of Montgomery This episode is brought to you by: Digital Dealer – Lost opportunities and slow processes are quietly draining your dealership's bottom line — Digital Dealer fixes that with real sessions, hands-on labs, and live demos covering sales, service, marketing, and AI, so you walk away with strategies you can use the second you're back on the lot. Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and bring your whole team. Register at digitaldealer.com — use code CDG25OFF for a team discount. Check it out at https://digitaldealer.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Alan Haig is the President and founder of Haig Partners, the leading merger and acquisition advisory firm for auto dealerships, where he has guided some of the industry's largest deals. He tracks buy-sell trends and franchise values across every major brand, and he's watched Infiniti collapse further than any other name in the business while Toyota and Lexus keep climbing. He speaks candidly about which franchises are worth buying today, which ones aren't, and what a wave of new competition from China could do to dealership values. Topics: 03:30 Scarcity Creates A Virtuous Cycle. 09:05 Toyota Store Is A Bond. 11:15 Ford And Chevy Are Half Price. 15:05 Honda Beats Toyota As A Buy. 23:50 Chinese EVs Threaten Values. 42:00 Clean Up Before Exit. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Kenect - Kenect helps dealership GMs automate customer outreach by turning days of manual calling into seconds. Go to @ here today. 2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. 3. Haig Partners - The Haig Report® sets the standard for dealership M&A data and trends in auto retail. Read it @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Glenn Lundy, President at 800% Elite Automotive Club - Jaymie Nielsen, Show Director at Digital Dealer - Al Salas, Founder/Chairman at Eco Auto This episode is brought to you by: Digital Dealer – Lost opportunities and slow processes are quietly draining your dealership's bottom line — Digital Dealer fixes that with real sessions, hands-on labs, and live demos covering sales, service, marketing, and AI, so you walk away with strategies you can use the second you're back on the lot. Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and bring your whole team. Register at digitaldealer.com — use code CDG25OFF for a team discount. Check it out at https://digitaldealer.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Leo Portaluppi says the accountability gap holding back growing dealer groups is one owners create themselves. He argues that titles without real equity produce managers who still think like employees, and that fixing it means giving partners a real path to owning 10, then 20 percent of the store they run. Topics: 02:10 Fixed Needs Variable, Vice Versa. 04:10 "If You Want Reliable, Don't Buy This." 08:25 Oil-Change Dad Built An Empire. 15:00 Don't Hire Bad Habits, Train Them. 17:00 App Steers Customers To Right Store. 21:00 GMs Write Rules, No Complaints. 31:45 Owner Operators Beat Managers. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and register today at DigitalDealer.com. Use code CDG25OFF at checkout and bring your team for a generous discount. Visit @ here for more info. 2. Widewail - Widewail uses AI to turn raw customer feedback into clear operational insights so you know exactly what to fix and where to focus. Go to @ here to book a demo. 3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Ashley Cavazos, President at WOCAN & Moderator/Trainer at NCM Associates - Steve Gates, President at Gates Auto Family - Cody Lusk, President/CEO at American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) - David Spisak, President/CEO at Disruptive Growth Solutions, LLC This episode is brought to you by: Digital Dealer – Lost opportunities and slow processes are quietly draining your dealership's bottom line — Digital Dealer fixes that with real sessions, hands-on labs, and live demos covering sales, service, marketing, and AI, so you walk away with strategies you can use the second you're back on the lot. Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and bring your whole team. Register at digitaldealer.com — use code CDG25OFF for a team discount. Check it out at https://digitaldealer.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - David Hennessey, VP of Fixed Operations at Harris Auto Group - Tully Williams, Fixed Operations Director at The Niello Company - Owen Montgomery, Service Advisor at Chariot Automotive Group This episode is brought to you by: 800% Elite Automotive Club – 800% Elite Auto is a whole-dealership solution. Live weekly training and 1-on-1 executive coaching align Owners, Sales, F&I, BDC, Marketing, and Culture into one well oiled machine. The result? A guaranteed 25% sales increase in 90 days. Get started today https://www.800percent.life/cdg Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Eric Cohen, CEO of Merchant Advocate, and Cole Frankman, Owner/Operator of Frankman Motors, to discuss why credit card processing fees keep climbing year after year and how dealers can uncover the hidden increases buried in their merchant statements. Eric reveals that 80 percent of dealerships he reviews are being overcharged by 20 to 25 percent, and explains why the fee never really stops rising: the sales rep who set up the account earns a cut of every transaction for as long as the dealer stays a client. Cole shares how a routine expense review turned into a two-month rabbit hole before an independent audit uncovered over six figures in annual savings, all without switching processors or changing equipment. The conversation exposes why dealers rarely read past page one of their statements, and what that costs them. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Merchant Advocate. Topics: 06:35 Fees Were Never On His Radar. 08:30 He Tried AI To Fix It. 09:15 Audits Aren't Just For Mega Dealers. 11:15 80% Of Dealers Overpay. 12:45 Processors Raise Rates Anytime. 16:35 Hidden Fees Saved Six Figures. 18:45 Dealers Pay High Fees Despite Low Risk. 21:30 Processors Keep Coming Back. 23:40 Visa Doesn't Set Rates. 26:45 Statements Are Deliberately Confusing. 28:40 Non-PCI Fees Cost $500 Monthly. 30:15 Contingency Aligns Incentives. Merchant Advocate - Merchant Advocate helps dealerships uncover and eliminate unnecessary credit card processing costs through independent, contingency-based audits. Our experts identify hidden fees, pricing errors, and optimization opportunities—all without requiring dealers to switch processors, replace equipment, or disrupt operations. Learn more at https://merchantadvocate.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Glenn Lundy, President at 800% Elite Automotive Club - Jay Law, Head of Sales at Car Dealership Guy - Jad Naamani, Director of Marketing at Seez - Chad Cunningham, CEO at DuPONT Registry Exchange and Live This episode is brought to you by: 800% Elite Automotive Club – 800% Elite Auto is a whole-dealership solution. Live weekly training and 1-on-1 executive coaching align Owners, Sales, F&I, BDC, Marketing, and Culture into one well oiled machine. The result? A guaranteed 25% sales increase in 90 days. Get started today https://www.800percent.life/cdg Seez – Seez is a leading automotive technology company redefining the modern dealership through AI, data, and transformative digital tools. Its offerings include AI-powered chat solutions, AI-driven performance marketing, as well as omnichannel retail platforms and predictive pricing models. Visit Seez.co to book a demo. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Matt Haiken is the President of Prestige Auto Group, a second-generation dealer who has run stores under the Lincoln, Volvo, and Polestar brands for more than 20 years. He built LotVision, an AI platform that gives dealers live analytics on competitors' inventory, and he watched Polestar pull its franchise from under him with almost no warning. Topics: 13:40 Carvana Runs Without Sales Managers. 21:00 Tesla's Calculator Is The Gold Standard. 24:10 Brokers Fill Dealer Blind Spots. 27:45 Broker Deals Lost $2,000 Each. 29:55 OEM Awards Are Addictive. 31:50 LotVision Spies On Competitors. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and register today at DigitalDealer.com. Use code CDG25OFF at checkout and bring your team for a generous discount. Visit @ here for more info. 2. CDK Global - CDK's Built-In Customer Data Platform, CDP, unifies customer data across your dealership and brings AI-driven insights directly into your everyday workflows. Learn more @ here. 3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Phil Pecoraro, Operating Partner at Murdock CDJR - Jason Swiech, Sr. Product Marketer, F&I at CDK Global - Jimmy Anderson, GM at Checkered Flag Porsche This episode is brought to you by: 800% Elite Automotive Club – 800% Elite Auto is a whole-dealership solution. Live weekly training and 1-on-1 executive coaching align Owners, Sales, F&I, BDC, Marketing, and Culture into one well oiled machine. The result? A guaranteed 25% sales increase in 90 days. Get started today https://www.800percent.life/cdg CDK Global – CDK Global empowers dealers with the tools and technology they need to build deeper relationships with customers and sell and service more cars. Visit https://www.cdkglobal.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Alex Lawrence, CEO and co-founder of EVauto, and Chris Roig, Director of Sales Engineering at Netchex, to discuss how the country's largest EV-only dealer group is scaling into new states without letting payroll and HR become the bottleneck. Alex reveals a payroll tax scare that nearly caught EVauto off guard and how a surprise refund from the IRS became a turning point. Now growing toward 4,000 cars a year across three states, he explains why he trusts AI to approve timecards and overtime, and how automation flags problems like a 40 percent overtime spike before they hit the books. Chris breaks down why switching payroll providers never means touching the dealer management system, and how EVauto is scaling into new markets without stacking headcount in the back office. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Netchex. Topics: 02:50 Painful Tesla Hunt Spawned An Empire. 04:45 Zero Floorplan Debt, Nine-Figure Revenue. 06:50 Cringey TikToks Sold Thousands Of Cars. 09:00 Payroll Tax Blindside Fast-Growing Dealers. 11:20 DMS Integration Separates Real Solutions. 16:40 Paperwork Scales Worse Than Rooftops. 18:00 Employee Experience Starts Before Day One. 20:35 Netchex Assumes IRS Compliance Liability. 24:00 New State Means Instant Payroll Learning Curve. 26:50 AI Agents Automate Routine Approvals. 29:50 AI Handles 80%, Humans Manage Exceptions. 31:30 Every Role Justifies Why AI Can't Do It. Netchex - Drive your dealership forward with Netchex. The only HCM platform built for how dealerships actually operate — deep DMS integrations, technology that understands your business, and a team that understands you. Visit @ here to learn more Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Bob Kuehl, Vice President of Fixed Operations at Zeigler Automotive Group - David Meltzer, Owner at David Meltzer Enterprises This episode is brought to you by: Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at podium.com Check it out at https://www.podium.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Matt Muilenburg is the Chief Product Officer at Impel, a company building the AI platform used by thousands of dealerships to run sales, service, and fixed operations. He has spent thirty years working in dealer technology, starting at the Cobalt Group in the early internet era. He has focused on the impact of artificial intelligence on dealership operations over the last several years. Topics: 09:55 The Trade-In Lead Killing Profits. 18:40 Smallest Dealers Face Biggest Existential Risk. 21:40 First $100K Goes To Fixed Ops. 25:00 50% Of Dealers Use AI Unknowingly. 27:00 Employee ChatGPT Use Is A Legal Timebomb. 37:10 BDC Role Obsolete Within 12 Months. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Join us September 22–23 in Detroit and register today at DigitalDealer.com. Use code CDG25OFF at checkout and bring your team for a generous discount. Visit @ here for more info. 2. Uber for Business - The true cost of moving your service customers is bigger than it looks. Visit @ here to get started. 3. Impel - Meet the AI Operating System built for a new era of automotive retailing. Visit @ here for more info. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Jeff Laethem, President at Ray Laethem Buick GMC - Malcolm Gage, General Manager at Park Place Motorcars Arlington - Peter McKay, Owner at Car Dealership Kid This episode is brought to you by: Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at podium.com Check it out at https://www.podium.com/ Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today I'm joined by Eddie Stivers, President of Stivers Auto Group. He breaks down why his own cost of people sits at 56% of gross against Carvana's 20%, and the plan to fix it within 36 months. Eddie also unpacks how he is using Claude to catch missed fleet sales and rethink decades of gut-feel vehicle ordering. Topics: 03:30Ford Hit Dead Last In Satisfaction. 08:05Stivers Buys Broken Toys. 10:30Repeatable Turnaround Playbook Works. 14:16Car Business Is Now Tech-Driven. 37:35AI Disrupts Dealerships In 18 Months. 37:55Carvana's Cost Crushes Dealers At 56%. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Discover what's working in sales, service, marketing, AI, and operations Join us September 22–23 in Detroit. CDG readers: save 25% — just use code CDG25OFF at checkout. Register today @ here. 2. CDG Circles – Connect with verified dealers, join topic and OEM-specific groups, and get real-world strategies —all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. 3. Plug – If your dealership is taking EV trade-ins or looking for used EV inventory, you need to check out @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Robert O'Koniewski, Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association (MADA) - Dan Mowid, Senior Division Reinsurance Executive, Direct Markets at Zurich North America - Josh Wear, Vice President of Underwriting, Direct Markets at Zurich North America - Chris Hudson, General Manager at Mark Miller Subaru This episode is brought to you by: Podium – Most AI is a black box. Podium's is yours to control — and it increases conversion by upwards of 26%. Check it out at podium.com Check it out at https://www.podium.com/ Zurich North America – Your loss ratio may be telling you more than you realize. Zurich brings the reinsurance expertise, underwriting insight and dealer-focused guidance to help you better understand what may be driving performance and where action may be needed. Visit www.zurichna.com/checkup to request a no-obligation review. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today's show features: - Jeff Pister, Executive Manager at Honda Marysville - Chris Collins, Owner at Chris Collins Inc - Nicolas Salvo Labelle, Fixed Ops Manager at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Quebec This episode is brought to you by: Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich's AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory. By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance here: https://carguymedia.com/4pEqEPz Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ CDG News ➤ https://news.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Jobs ➤ https://jobs.dealershipguy.com/ CDG Recruiting ➤ https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/ My Socials: X ➤ https://www.twitter.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ https://www.instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ https://www.tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ https://www.linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy/ Threads ➤ https://www.threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
Today I'm joined by Jimmy Douglas, Founder & CEO at Plug. He breaks down why the top used EV dealers turn inventory in 30 days instead of 59 while selling for 3% more, and shares the arbitrage move of stocking a competitor's EV so you capture a sale that was happening anyway. Topics: 00:47 Tax Credits Killed EV Residuals. 08:20 Selling A Computer On Wheels. 18:29 Live With An EV For One Month. 21:35 Stack Teslas For Massive Arbitrage. 27:25 Detroit's Global EV Future Is Bleak. 39:52 Build More Bays Than You Need. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - Discover what's working in sales, service, marketing, AI, and operations Join us September 22–23 in Detroit. CDG readers: save 25% — just use code CDG25OFF at checkout. Register today @ here. 2. CDG Circles – Connect with verified dealers, join topic and OEM-specific groups, and get real-world strategies —all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here. 3. Plug – If your dealership is taking EV trade-ins or looking for used EV inventory, you need to check out @ here. Check out Car Dealership Guy's stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership's social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com For industry vendors: Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com Car Dealership Guy Socials: X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/ TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683 Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
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