Auto Auction Review Goes on Vacation and Heads to Mecum Auctions- Kissimmee
My brother and I have attended the last 4 or 5 Mecum Auctions in Kissimmee- an annual “Boys Trip”. We are both car guys (and me being in the business), I know what a “good” or professional auction looks like. More to the point, I am familiar with how a successful auction should be run. […]
The Car Dealership 12 Favorite Slang Phrases
The Car Dealership 12 Favorite Slang Phrases AAR is celebrating the holiday season by spending the last two weeks of 2024 chattering about some lighter issues- we spent much of our blog space on auction practices- not a lot of Xmas cheer there. So in the spirit of Christmas and the New Year, we present […]
The Arbitration Tool Kit- Part 3
The Arbitration Tool Kit- Part 3 The final segment of the ATK looks at the other side of the auction process- what happens when a car you purchased either fails PSI, or when is run through your shop, has significant undisclosed issues. Looking back at Parts 1 and 2, AAR provided tips on how to […]
The Arbitration Tool Kit- Part 2- Sold Unit is Arbitrated
Last week’s Part 1 of the ATK covered what to do in the event of a Green Light car fails PSI- and the seller thinks/knows it is a mistake. AAR outlined 10 steps as best practices to combat the failed PSI. Part 2 walks us through the steps when a sold unit (assume a passed […]
The Arbitration Tool Kit- Part I- Failed PSI
To all of those dealers that make a living wholesaling cars, and franchise sellers who are unloading aged inventory, Part I of the Arbitration Tool Kit is for you. This is a pretty common scenario that most wholesalers are a master of (if they’re successful, anyway). In this example, our good buddy Seller A runs 20 […]
How long should an arbitration claim take to close?
Frequent readers of AAR’s blog post will have you familiar with a good friend of mine, who is a wholesaler out of Atlanta. AAR has assisted him with several issues he has had with auction issues, mainly failed PSIs (for no reason), inconsistent CRs, and generally poor service from the auctions. One of the wins this […]
Auctions in the News- JD Powers’ Best Practices for Online Auctions- A Guide for Dealers
We all knew it when they arrived, some did it quietly, and some arrived with a digital explosion. Little did we dealers know how impactful this new, shiny object, “ONLINE AUCTIONS” would be to the everyday wholesale buyer. What? What do you mean I don’t have to go to the auction? Huh? Buy a car sight unseen from someone […]
What IS a good CR, anyway?
Here’s an age-old question…What’s the standard for a “good” or “accurate” condition report (CR) on auction vehicles? The answer? It’s rarely objective. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and all that. Sellers want the highest CR score possible, knowing a 4.7 Autograde pulls more $$ than a 2.8. Buyers, however, want 4.7 cars […]
A Real-Life Example of How AAR Works Behind the Scenes
Sometimes, results speak for themselves…without needing to take credit. Here’s a timeline of a recent case one of our dealers faced: -9/13: Dealer purchased a 46K mile Cadillac with “upper engine noise.”-9/17: Vehicle delivered.-9/19: Vehicle arbitrated due to engine lock-up.-9/26: Openlane requested the vehicle be taken to a Cadillac dealer for diagnosis—at the dealer’s expense.-10/1: […]
Should the auction do a better job representing the vehicles they sell?
Following up on my segment, “Are you happy with the quality of inventory at auctions?” Let’s dig into this critical topic… What responsibility does the auction really have when it comes to representing the seller’s vehicles? It doesn’t take much to figure out if dealers are getting what they pay for. One of our dealers […]
