Questions dealers ask

Send the sold-vehicle export from your dealer system with at least 6 things for every car: Year, Make, Model, Odometer (miles), Age (days on lot) and Total profit.

Most dealers lose money on a steady share of their buys, and the losses cluster in certain kinds of cars, mileages and days on lot.

Count every sold car whose profit, after all recorded costs, was below zero.

Group your sold cars by model and add up what each group lost.

The ones that lost you money as a group, not just once.

Often because some cars are left out of the profit you look at, or costs like recon aren't in it.

Add up the losses on every car that lost money.

Sometimes the car is fine and the buy price is the problem.

A model can average out fine while one engine or trim loses money.

Trucks vary a lot by engine, drivetrain, year and mileage.

Compare average profit and how many cars lost money in each mileage range.

Check profit by model-year range.

Sort your sold cars by profit, lowest first.

One car isn't a pattern; several cars in the same group losing money might be.

Look at how much money a group lost, separately from how sure you can be about it.

Compare them as separate groups — trade-ins come in under different rules than auction buys.

The kinds of cars that have made you more than your typical car and didn't sit long.

The answer is different for every lot, which is why it should come from your own sales.

Look for groups with many sales and strong results, not one lucky car.

Start from what has worked for you.

It depends on your own results with each.

Split your results by trim, engine and drivetrain.

Group the model by year range.

Compare profit and days on lot across mileage ranges.

Often a close cousin in the same family does better.

It depends on how many cars the result is based on and how consistent they were.

More is better, and recent sales should count more than old ones.

A short list you can read at a glance.

The ones that have worked on your own buy-here-pay-here lot.

Compare profit and days on lot for each make and model you've sold.

Look at what sells fastest, what makes the most and what costs the least to get ready for the lot.

Where your own results say you've done well.

Compare your own results from each — but remember sources sell different kinds of cars, so a lower average doesn't prove a source is worse for the same car.

Check your own results by vendor.

Group your cars by how you got them.

Compare profit and loss rate per vendor from your own history.

Know which kinds of cars sell fast for you, then hunt for those.

The kinds that have worked for you.

Look at how your retailed trade-ins have done.

Be specific: model, year range and mileage range.

The groups that have lost you money.

"ARB" is often short for arbitration, but your system may use it for something else.

There's no single number for every dealer; the useful number is the point where your own cars start losing money on average.

Before it reaches the age where your cars usually start losing money.

Compare average profit for cars sold at different ages.

Part of it is time, and part is that slow cars were often the wrong buy to begin with.

Look at expected days on lot per model.

Buy more of what sells fast and makes money, and less of what sits.

Compare against your own lot, not an industry average.

Check average days on lot per group.

It can be.

Know which groups are slow and lose money.

Add up what your cars lost when they sold after 60 or 90 days.

They can.

Compare each kind of car against your own other cars.

Look at recorded added cost by group.

Some models, years and mileages simply need more work.

Only if it isn't counted.

Check profit after recon, not just front gross.

The groups with the lowest recorded added cost.

It depends on your system and how it's set up.

Often because some costs aren't in the report, or a few cars were entered wrong.

Add them up per car if your system records them.

Usually, but check your own numbers.

Enough below what that kind of car brings to leave your usual profit.

Look for groups that lose money on average.

Go in with a list.

Use the middle of your results, so a few big wins or losses don't skew it.

Enough to cover every cost: purchase, fees, transport and recon.

Check that group's whole history first.

CarGet doesn't set a max bid for one car.

Slow groups that lose a little on average.

Look at three things: when your cars start losing money, your biggest losers, and your most proven winners.

Market guides tell you what cars sell for in general.

CarGet shows cars, profit and loss rate by buyer — but it's not a scorecard for people.

Print or text it.

Give them your own results in writing.

Often it's how deals were entered.

Share one set of results.

Yes.

Give them your Stop Buying list along with the Auction List before they go.

Probably.

Buy more of what has made you money and less of what has lost it.

Know which groups are above and below your average.

The one that's right for your lot.

Grow what's proven first.

Add up profit after every recorded cost and check it against your own system.

Send us the export, and CarGet explains it in plain English: what made money, what lost it, and why.

Export your sold vehicles as a CSV or Excel file.

Your losers, your slow cars and your winners.

Compare this month's results with last month's.

CarGet rates the kinds of cars you've sold — Buy These, Be Careful or Stop Buying — from your own sales, with the evidence behind each one.

CarGet is profit analysis software for independent used-car dealers.

The best ones for you are the ones that have made you money.

CarGet is built for small, independent, non-franchise stores and reads the sold report you already have.

CarGet makes a one-page Auction List: what worked for you, what's only worth it at a better price, and what needs a hard look.

Send CarGet your sold report.

The ones that have lost that dealer money.

Start with what has sold fast on your own lot.

CarGet shows your highest estimated average and your most proven picks, from your own sales.