Tray Doster, CFE

𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲—𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. In this article, Don Hall, longtime President and CEO of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association (VADA), 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬. His insights cut through industry noise and highlight opportunities many dealers still overlook: · 𝐅𝐢𝐱𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬. A healthy dealership should aim for 100%+ absorption, where service and parts profits alone cover overhead. The national average in August 2025 was 63.9%, though some dealers exceed 105%. · 𝐓𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲. 75% of customers buy tires from the first person who recommends them, yet only 8% of tires are sold at franchise dealerships. · 𝐎𝐮𝐭-𝐨𝐟-𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐩. With 86% of vehicles out of warranty, most paid service work happens outside dealerships. Warranty work is often the first post-sale touchpoint—a critical chance to build trust and loyalty. · 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫. A salesperson selling 10 units/month interacts with ~50 customers. A single service adviser engages with 10x more in the same period. · 𝐋𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬. Poor call handling costs dealerships an estimated $1M annually. Even small details—like slow Wi-Fi in waiting areas—can drive customers away. Hall also reminds us that 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐬. 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐬, 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐬, and 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠-𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬 shape brand perception and determine long-term profitability. For dealer principals and general managers without a fixed ops background, 𝐇𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠—𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝟐𝟎 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬, or 𝐍𝐀𝐃𝐀 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬. The fundamentals haven’t changed: those 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝. “𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬,” he says. Check out the full article. #FixedOps #DealershipStrategy #AutomotiveRetail #CustomerExperience #NADA #AutoIndustry #Leadership #DealerProfitability #ServiceDepartment #DonHall https://vist.ly/4h7nq

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[NEWS] General Manager Raul Gomila had a problem most dealers would kill for: Too much service business. City Kia of Greater Orlando had grown from 2,000 to over 5,400 cars a year, but service was still running out of just 19 bays. And three-week wait times for basic maintenance weren’t going to cut it. “We had the volume,” Gomila said on Daily Dealer Live. “But the capacity just wasn’t there.” So he built a second facility (30 more bays, 44,000 square feet) and restructured the entire operation. Quick service stayed at the main store. But everything else moved off-site. As a result, recon times dropped to 72 hours flat, wholesale parts sales surged, and the shop now handles up to 220 ROs on peak days. Read today’s top automotive stories, presented by OPENLANE US: https://lnkd.in/eWWKZ-_u (Data source: Raul Gomlila via Daily Dealer Live)

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“We can now pull reports in minutes—not hours.” Vermeer Southeast Sales & Svc, Inc.'s journey with IntelliDealer shows the impact of better data access and smarter tools. #EfficiencyMatters

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Blue Bird Corporation and Central States Bus Sales, Inc. expand their presence with a brand-new dealership in Alabama — boosting support, service, and parts for school districts in the region. 🚌 LEARN MORE! ➡️ https://loom.ly/xfufdD0 #schoolbusfleet #schoolbusnews #studenttransportation #schoolbuses #BlueBird

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Speed always matters!!！ Speed is everything in the used car market. it’s not just important, it’s the advantage. The faster you respond, price, recondition and list a vehicle, the higher your chances of selling it before competitors even get in the game. Used cars are highly time sensitive assets, every day sitting on the lot costs money and increases depreciation. Top performers usually win because they: **Respond to leads within minutes not hours **Price aggressively based on real-time market data **Get cars frontline-ready ASAP (no delays in recon) **Follow up quickly before the customer shops elsewhere If you’re not fast, someone else is!!

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Another strong example of how the dealership buy-sell market continues to evolve. RBM of Atlanta has been an iconic name in Georgia automotive retail for decades, yet this transaction represents the group’s first acquisition — a meaningful milestone in its growth trajectory. More broadly, we continue to see the buyer landscape deepen and diversify. In today’s environment, well-capitalized, high-quality operators are willing to move decisively when the right assets become available — meaning it is not always the same buyers driving outcomes. On the heels of assisting Asbury Automotive Group with the sale of six luxury dealerships in St. Louis, we sincerely thank the Asbury team — including David Hult, Dan Clara and Amanda Parrilli — for their continued trust in supporting their portfolio management efforts. Congratulations to Asbury and the RBM team on a well-executed transaction.

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The Galeana Automotive Group has sold three of its dealerships, two of them in Fort Myers, as part of deal that saw it exit the Florida and South Carolina markets. https://lnkd.in/eUbkYre3

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