Written by: Gene Daughtry

In BHPH, like any other automobile dealer, you’ll start the sales process out with a meet and greet. From there you should go in a different direction from other retail outlets. If you have been on a franchise dealer sales floor I am sure you or your sales staffs have joked about wanting a screening machine that they could walk a customer through for an instant credit reading. Since that doesn’t exist, your sales process is probably similar to: 1. “up” your…

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You keep hearing that dealers are making good profits in Buy Here Pay Here. You have decided that you would like to pursue the business. What is your next step? After all you may have been in the car business for years. You understand buying and selling cars. You know how to run a compliant Finance Department and a profitable shop. Isn’t BHPH or LHPH just other ways of financing cars?

The answer is not as simple as it might seem. A BHPH or LHPH operation takes…

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Even if your party did not win the White House a few weeks ago, you are still relieved, I would guess, that the election is finally over. Whether you are pleased or disappointed with the results, it is time to move on. After all, in about 30 days our country will be stepping right up to the edge of the fiscal cliff, ready to fall off into an economic nightmare in 2013. And that will surely happen, economists tell us, unless these politicians--many of whom we just (re)elected–-can reach…

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At the conclusion of the NCMi webinar on “Finding the Missing Pieces to Improve Service and Parts Gross Profit,” one of the attendees questioned our recommendation as to the necessity for sub-accounting for automotive dealerships. Robin Cunningham, the NCM Institute faculty member who presented the webinar, suggested that our next Up To Speedarticle attempt to clarify this recommendation. So, here we go!

A meaningful sub-accounting process is a primary ingredient of…

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When I was teaching the Sonic Dealer Academy from 2001 through 2008, my co-instructor, Steve Hallock, became famous for asking each class why they thought we spend so much time talking about the service department. He would explain that it’s because, at a 75% gross profit margin on labor sales, the service department offers, by far, the greatest incentive to increase sales. "So why bother?" Steve would ask. "Because it’s only75…

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By now, many of you have verified your dealership’s profitability for 2011.  As most dealers, general managers and controllers understand, until we perform a final year-end reconciliation of each asset and liability account, the YTD profitability displayed on our income statement remains an unproven number.  For some of you, this verification process will result in an upward adjustment to your 2011 profitability. However, experience tells me that most dealers…

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The legislative alert below explains the urgency for us to make two phone calls to our US Senators. This bill if passed without Brownback Amendment will have a chilling effect to our future business. So, I urge each of you to take two minutes and pick up the phone to call each of two senators.





Legislative Alert Issued By NADA



The U.S. Senate is likely to vote on financial reform legislation as early as next week. The Senate bill would create a new Bureau of Consumer… Continue