Stop Majoring in the Minors: Maximize Used Car Success Before Year-End

As Q4 rolls on, the LotTalk crew—Chris Keene, John Anderson, and Renaldo Leonard—are sounding the alarm for used car dealers: stop overcomplicating what’s simple. Episode 17 of LotTalk, powered by Lotpop, is a straight-talking, occasionally feather-ruffling conversation about why many dealerships are still losing gross and volume—not because of the market, but because of themselves.

The message? Simplicity sells. Over complication kills profits.

The End-of-Year Wake-Up Call

“We’re through the first month of Q4 and staring down the end of 2025,” Keene begins. “It’s time to get right before 2026.”

John Anderson wastes no time getting practical: “If you’ve got inventory sitting 31 to 60 days—or older—you’ve got 30 days to fix it.” Data from Lotpop shows shopper counts starting to rise again by mid-to-late November, meaning dealers who clean up their aged units now will be ready when buyer activity spikes.

But here’s the trap: when those aged cars sit, dealers slash prices to move them, only to realize that those discounted units are exactly what buyers grab when traffic returns. “You end up screaming, ‘We can’t make any money!’” Anderson laughs. “Well, there’s a reason for that.”

Simplicity Is Not Stupidity

This episode hammers home the idea that dealers often sabotage themselves by chasing complexity. “People get scared by simplicity,” Keene says. “They want things to be complex because that makes them feel smart.”

Leonard drives it home: “Every problem we face—inventory, leads, staffing—has a simple solution. The only reason we make it hard is because we think it has to be.”

That mindset leads to paralysis. Instead of training salespeople to ask simple, effective questions—“What do you want? What can you work with? When do you want to get it done?”—many stores default to vague slogans like “Just get them in.” The result? Missed opportunities, inconsistent follow-up, and customers who never come back.

Ego: Edging Greatness Out

A recurring theme in this episode is the role of ego in operational breakdowns. Anderson recalls dealers who “dig their feet in” despite data proving their process isn’t working. “They’re failing to see what’s right in front of them,” he says. “They think success in the past guarantees success today.”

Keene calls this “skewing the facts instead of working the facts.” The market doesn’t care about excuses—supply chain delays, short-staffed shops, or sick techs. “Mother Market doesn’t give a damn that it took 18 days to recon that car,” he says. “She’ll steamroll your ass.”

The takeaway: stay humble, look at the data honestly, and adapt before the market leaves you behind.

The 30-Day Rule—and Why It Still Matters

The trio makes one truth crystal clear: the best time to sell a car is in the first 30 days. Anderson asks, “If everyone agrees we make the most money in the first 30 days, why isn’t everything we do built around that goal?”

Too often, he says, managers treat “day 14” as “day one,” resetting the clock to justify delays. But that math doesn’t work. “If you get a car at day 14, you’ve got 16 days left to sell it. Period,” Leonard adds. Keene echoes, “Day 14 is your new day 30.”

Dealers who fail to adapt lose margin twice—first to holding costs, then to inevitable price cuts. “You’re lowering your price while holding costs are rising,” Anderson explains. “That’s simple math.”

Why Aged Inventory Hurts Your Relevance

Here’s something many overlook: the internet punishes aged cars. Third-party sites like CarGurus, AutoTrader, and Cars.com don’t prioritize the cheapest listings—they show the most relevant. And older cars lose relevance fast. “If you’ve got aged inventory, your visibility drops,” Keene warns. “It’s not being served to consumers like it was when it was fresh.”

Leonard sees this constantly in LotWalk data. “Dealers default to changing price because it’s the path of least resistance. But they ignore things like poor photos, bad descriptions, or 90-degree heat showing on the infotainment screen when it’s 40 outside.” Fixing those details can be as powerful as a price cut.

His quick fix: “Add better photos, tweak your descriptions, and change your image count. You’ll see the same effect as dropping the price $75—without losing gross.”

Walking the Lot—Physically and Virtually

As the episode wraps, Keene reminds dealers to get back to basics. Every store reviews its reports, walks its lot, and coaches its team. But few do the same for their digital dealership.

“If you’re walking your physical lot every morning, start walking your virtual lot too,” he says. “Look at your online inventory like you would your front line. Who’s getting attention? Who’s stale? Which cars are your digital holes?”

He’s right: most customer “ups” now happen online, not on the blacktop. And yet, most managers spend all day coaching in the showroom while their virtual lot goes unmonitored.

“The rule is simple,” Keene concludes. “Keep score. Walk your inventory. Walk your showroom. Then go walk your virtual lot. That’s how you sell more cars, faster.”

Actionable Takeaways

1. Clean Up Aged Inventory Now - November shopper activity is coming. Don’t let your lowest-margin units define your Q4.
2. Simplify Your Processes - Complex doesn’t mean better. Get back to asking simple, intentional questions.
3. Mind the Ego -Don’t justify bad results. The data doesn’t lie—work with it, not around it.
4. Prioritize the First 30 Days -Day 14 is your new day 30. Every process should revolve around speed to market and sale.
5. Optimize Before You Discount -Photos, descriptions, and merchandising move metal faster than a lazy price cut.
6. Walk Your Virtual Lot Daily -Review online listings the same way you walk your front line. Your best ups are now digital.

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