#29 Secrets to selling exotic cars, Rise of rich crypto buyers, Profits in the exotic business, Selling a company for millions | Jason Putnam, Co-Founder, Tactical Fleet

In this episode, I'm speaking with Jason Putnam, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Tactical Fleet. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Jason's background 05:35 - Attracting exotic clients 11:45 - Selling to Sonic Automotive 14:15 - Unit Economics 25:00 - Scaling, customer profiles, internet money 35:52 - The best "deals" in exotic right now 38:15 - Macro forecast, wr...

#28 Marketing with college athletes, Future of online car sales, Brewing auto lending issues, Creativity in an unsexy business | Rick Ricart, President of Ricart Automotive

This episode is brought to you by: ⁠⁠KEYper Systems⁠⁠ - Key Management Simplified. Fullpath - Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform. In this episode, I'm speaking with Rick Ricart, President of Ricart Automotive. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here 00:00 - Intro 02:40 - The Ricart Family & Rick’s background 08:08 - Sponsorship deals in the era of NIL (Name, ...

#27 State of auto lending, Best and worst car deals, UAW strike, #1 issue for car shoppers, Winners & losers in the EV space | Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive

This episode is brought to you by: ⁠KEYper Systems⁠ - Key Management Simplified. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here Today, I'm speaking with Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive. 00:00 - Intro 02:00 - DJ Smokey Smoke returns 05:55 - The general state of the market 15:25 - Interest rates and how they affect the industry 18:03 - Supply & demand, inventory issues, price improv...

#26 Secret sauce of used car wholesaling, Biggest threat to used car auctions, Viability of zero-fee auction, Elon Musk and A.I. | Robert Hollenshead, Founder of RH Auto Sales and Accu-Trade

This episode is brought to you by: ⁠KEYper Systems⁠ - Key Management Simplified. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here In this episode, I'm speaking with Robert Hollenshead, Founder of R. Hollenshead Auto Sales and Accu-Trade. 00:00 - Intro 02:21 - Bob's background 08:27 - Lack of transparency back in the day 13:11 - Creating things the industry needed 35:24 - Accu-Trade, Galves, Manheim i...

#25 Raising $47M to simplify car shipping, How RunBuggy makes money, Solving the "cold start" problem, Growing repos in the car market | Kevin Malik, CEO of RunBuggy

This episode is brought to you by: KEYper Systems - Key Management Simplified. In this episode, I'm speaking with Kevin Malik, CEO of RunBuggy. 00:00 - Intro 01:54 - Kevin’s background 04:36 - Getting involved with RunBuggy 12:54 - Building the MVP and getting funded 18:04 - The hauling business 21:28 - How RunBuggy makes money 32:57 - Challenges with scale 36:02 - Zooming out 43:17 - Wrapping up Follow Kevin & check out RunBuggy: Kevin's LinkedIn RunBuggy's website Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠...

#24 Acquiring 60+ dealerships within 7 years, Raising kids into generational wealth, Paying $200M+ for a Toyota store & Brett’s blunt message to Ford CEO Jim Farley | Brett Morgan, CEO, Morgan Auto Group

This episode is brought to you by: KEYper Systems - Key Management Simplified. ⁠⁠Fullpath⁠⁠ – Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Platform. In this episode, I'm speaking with Brett Morgan, CEO of Morgan Auto Group. 00:00 - Intro 02:48 - Brett’s background 08:20 - Succession & raising kids in generational wealth 13:51 - The journey to becoming CEO 29:53 - What Brett looks for in an acquisition 50:50 - Toyota and EVs 1:02:00 - Has dealership profitability peaked? 1:07:39 - B...

#23 Vegas meeting w/ Michael Rubin, Economics of mobile car care, Trick to hiring 600 technicians, Leveraging AI, Why EV maintenance is so profitable | Scot Wingo, Founder & CEO of Spiffy

In this episode, I’m speaking with Scot Wingo, Founder & CEO of Spiffy. 01:09 - Scot’s background 04:50 - The hardest business meeting ever 07:05 - Being a serial entrepreneur 15:41 - Trick to hiring technicians 20:08 - Leveraging custom software to drive process efficiency 25:30 - How Spiffy makes money 32:38 - Consumer behaviors around auto repair 35:00 - Where the industry is headed 46:24 - Wrapping up Follow Scot & Spiffy: @scotwingo on X Spiffy's website Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠ for mo...

#22 Gatekeepers of Automotive media, Carvana avoiding bankruptcy, Integrating AI into your car, Making EV batteries obsolete, CDG’s announcement for 2024 | Cliff Banks, Founder, The Banks Report

In this episode, I'm speaking with Cliff Banks, Founder of The Banks Report. 00:00 - Intro 01:38 - Cliff’s background 08:30 - The Fate of Carvana 16:40 - What’s next for the used car dealer? 34:10 - Are new car prices sustainable? 39:36 - Talking public auto stocks 44:25 - How automotive media is changing 56:30 - Wrapping up Follow Cliff: ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠The Banks Report⁠ Please take a moment to visit this episode's sponsor: ⁠⁠Fullpath⁠⁠ – Discover Automotive's Leading Customer Data and Experience Pl...

#21 Secrets of buying and selling dealerships, Best and worst auto franchises, Lessons from $5.5B of dealership buy-sell transactions, Have dealership profits peaked? | Alan Haig, President & Founder, Haig Partners

In this episode, I'm speaking with Alan Haig, President & Founder of Haig Partners, LLC. 00:00 - Intro 01:51 - Alan's background 10:07 - The journey to founding Haig Partners 20:21 - The state of dealership M&A 50:11 - Best & worst brands for consumer experience 59:36 - Will this hot market continue throughout the decade? 1:03:54 - The independent dealer market of the future 1:20:57 - Wrapping up Follow Alan: LinkedIn Haig Partners Please take a moment to visit this episode's sponsor: ⁠Fullpath⁠...

#20 Selling a company for millions, Why most car sales are private party, Online car marketplace economics, Dealership hazing stories | Brad Parker, Founder & CEO of PrivateAuto

In this episode, I'm speaking with Brad Parker, Founder & CEO of ⁠PrivateAuto⁠. 00:00 Intro 01:05 Brad's background 04:55 What inspired Brad to build a P2P marketplace 16:25 Inside PrivateAuto's business 32:05 Why most transactions are still private party 43:10 Wrapping up Follow Brad: ⁠Twitter⁠ ⁠PrivateAuto⁠ Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠@GuyDealership⁠⁠⁠! Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Send us a note ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. This podcast is for i...

#19 How Ghost is different than Tesla, Bringing true self-driving to every car, Raising $230M for auto tech | John Hayes, Co-Founder & CEO of Ghost Autonomy

In this episode, I'm speaking with John Hayes, co-founder and CEO of Ghost Autonomy. 00:00 - Intro 01:12 - John's background 05:19 - What is Ghost? 09:34 - The Levels of Autonomy 23:13 - Ghost's business model 29:13 - OEM adoption & benefits 39:33 - The future of AVs & commuting 44:11 - Wrapping up Follow John: Twitter LinkedIn Ghost Autonomy Check out ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow me on Twitter ⁠@GuyDealership⁠! Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Join the sponsor waitlist ...

#18 What's next for auto lending, When will car prices drop, How the FED really works, Receiving a call from Warren Buffett | Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO & Chief Strategist of QI Research

In this episode, I'm speaking with Danielle DiMartino Booth, CEO & Chief Strategist of QI Research. 00:00 Intro 01:20 Danielle's background 08:00 Understanding the Federal Reserve 13:20 Dealing with labor shortages 17:10 How QI Research conducts research and analysis 19:25 What's next for inflation? 29:10 The state of auto lending 36:20 Will car prices come down? 42:25 What's next for interest rates 49:20 Best & worst signals in the market right now 53:00 Wrapping up Follow Danielle: Twitter QI ...

#17 Shocking revelation about car dealer profits, Exploiting seasonality in the business, When CDG bought 100 cars with a credit card | Joel Bassam, President of Eastern Motors

In this episode, I'm speaking with Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - Joel's background 05:15 - Easterns business model 13:06 - Weathering the current market 20:19 - Unit economics & Sourcing 30:37 - CDG's gov't auction story 36:21 - Revenues & Margins 42:28 - Marketing strategy 54:12 - Growth & Expansion 59:23 - Wrapping up Follow Joel: @jbassam2 on Twitter. Joel's LinkedIn. Easterns.com. Please take a moment to visit this episode's sponsor: ⁠Fullpath⁠ – ...

#16 How much money auto repair shops make, Pros and cons of franchising, How to avoid big repair bills, Will robots start changing tires? | Brian Beers, President of Prenlyn Automotive Group

In this episode, I'm speaking with Brian Beers, President of Prenlyn Automotive Group and Host of Business with Beers. 01:18 - Brian's background 06:48 - Franchise Pros & Cons 11:07 - How Brian sources shops 18:48 - Handling staffing for a group of shops 20:43 - Overhead, Returns, and Tax Sheltering 24:08 - Best and Worst Deals 27:48 - Margins & Marketing 32:13 - Best way for consumers to maximize dollars spent 35:48 - Dealing with inflation 39:43 - Auto Repair / EV predictions 47:18 - What's ne...

#15 Making money as an automotive influencer, Cars to avoid, Empowering families and consumers, Fixing the perception of dealerships | Kelly Stumpe, The Car Mom

In this episode, I'm speaking with Kelly Stumpe, founder and CEO of The Car Mom. 00:00 - Intro 01:22 - Kelly's background 05:52 - Starting and growing The Car Mom 14:42 - Learning to monetize a media brand 19:07 - Which channel has been the most profitable 27:07 - Kelly's best car-buying tip 30:27 - Kelly's important trade-in tip 34:00 - Fixing the perception of dealerships for the future 35:52 - Wrapping up Follow Kelly: Instagram @the_car_mom YouTube Channel The Car Mom website Check out ⁠⁠⁠th...

#14 Family entrepreneurship, Building and exiting two startups, Simplifying car search for consumers, Innovating with AI | Pat Ryan, Founder & CEO of CoPilot

In this episode, I'm speaking with Pat Ryan, Founder and CEO of CoPilot. 00:00 - Intro 01:13 - Pat's background 10:33 - Family entrepreneurship 14:22 - Building & selling two companies 20:26 - Founding CoPilot 25:47 - How CoPilot makes money 31:05 - Breaking into a competitive market 39:41 - Who is CoPilot for? 48:13 - Trends that Pat's observing 54:00 - Evolving with AI 57:09 - Wrapping up Follow Pat: Pat’s Twitter & LinkedIn. CoPilot’s website. Check out ⁠⁠⁠the website⁠⁠⁠ for more and follow m...

#13 Subscribing vs Owning, How Autonomy makes money, Future of mobility, Handling a $20M swing in value, EV predictions | Scott Painter, Founder & CEO of Autonomy

In this episode, I'm speaking with Scott Painter, Founder and CEO of Autonomy. 00:00 - Intro 02:03 - Elon's "thought exercise" for Scott 07:47 - Scott's entrepreneurial journey 15:12 - The Softbank Saga 23:06 - Inspiration & The Innovator's Dilemma 30:25 - Building Autonomy 39:46 - The economics of a subscription-based model 50:40 - Autonomy's ideal customer 57:22 - What does Scott drive? 01:00:53 - Wrapping up Follow Scott: Scott's Twitter & LinkedIn. Autonomy's website. Please take a moment to...

#12 Art of appraising cars, How much money auto wholesalers make, Cars to avoid, Building a 140K-person online car community | Chad Cunningham, Exotic Car Buyer

In this episode, I'm speaking with Chad Cunningham, aka WholesaleChad, an exotic car buyer with GiveMeTheVIN. 00:00 - Intro 01:49 - Chad's background 05:48 - How wholesaling works 13:31 - Achieving consistent profitability 17:17 - The "vibe" factor at auctions 23:47 - Becoming a top-performing wholesaler 29:14 - How Chad appraises cars 35:30 - Which cars to stay away from 40:38 - Navigating trade-in offers & used car prices 45:45 - Wholesale Car Club 56:45 - CDG face reveal? 59:52 - Wrapping up ...

#11 Acquiring the domain Cars.com, Signing up first 100 dealers, Pulse on the car market, EVs, DTC, Disrupting vehicle trade-ins | Alex Vetter, CEO of Cars.com

In this episode, I’m speaking with Alex Vetter, co-founder and CEO of Cars.com. 00;00 - Intro 01:25 - Acquiring *the* domain 02:44 - 25th year anniversary 05:13 - Company background 09:08 - Keeping up with the pace of tech 12:03 - Tailwinds & headwinds 13:24 - Where are we headed as an industry 18:38 - EV search share 21:38 - Direct-to-Consumer 26:07 - Wholesale and Retail 36:31 - Leaning into AI 40:13 - The Future of Cars.com Find Alex on Twitter @tavetter. Check out ⁠the website⁠ for more and ...

#10 Dealer's secret weapon, How ChatGPT will change the car business, what dealers know about you, CDG's crazy car buying idea | Aharon Horwitz, Co-Founder & CEO of Fullpath

In this episode, I'm speaking with Aharon Horwitz, co-founder and CEO of Fullpath. (00:00) Intro (01:23) Fullpath's story (03:45) What Fullpath does for dealers & consumers (06:20) Leveraging 1st-party data (13:56) Business metrics (16:56) Best/worst marketing strategies (22:20) How AI can help dealers & consumers (33:34) CDG's vision for AI-powered car-buying (41:54) Wrapping up Learn more about Fullpath. Check out the website for more and follow me on Twitter @GuyDealership! Interested in adve...

#9 Why we still have vehicle shortages, new and used car price predictions, when we’ll get back to normal & that time CDG bought 50 Chevys at auction | Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist, Cox Automotive

In this episode, I'm speaking with Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive. (00:00) Intro (00:51) Our unique market environment (04:12) Jonathan's background (08:45) The Great Digitization (11:46) That time CDG bought 50 Chevys at auction (13:40) Are we in a K-shaped recovery? (18:45) Domestic vs International supply constraints (26:00) When do we get back to 2019 price levels? (33:45) Forecasting new vs used car prices (38:19) Advising a new car buyer (41:42) Jonathan's take on EVs (4...

#8 How much money dealers make, Secret to acquiring 15 car dealerships, Most profitable customers, Tricks to get the best car deal | Jake Lebowitz, Raceway Auto Group

In this episode, I'm speaking with Jake Lebowitz of Raceway Auto Group in New Jersey. We talk about how much he makes as a dealer, his secret method for acquiring 15 car dealerships, the most profitable customers, why he won't touch Ford dealerships, and tricks to get the best car deal. (00:00) Intro (01:08) Raceway Auto Group (02:40) M&A activity (06:47) Sourcing strategies (13:32) Jake's best deal (17:13) Delegating operations (21:45) Best and worst customers (25:09) Jake's thoughts on used ca...

#7 EV lifespan secrets, Tesla prices impact on car dealerships, Investment opportunities in the EV space, Bear case for EV adoption | Scott Case, Co-Founder & CEO of Recurrent

In this episode, I'm speaking with Scott Case, co-founder and CEO of Recurrent. (00:00) Intro (00:56) EV battery reports? Recurrent's story (02:37) What happens when your EV's warranty expires (06:15) The truth behind EV battery range (08:52) Scott's take on EV % of market share by 2030 (11:20) How changing Tesla prices are impacting dealerships (16:06) The Recurrent Flywheel (20:45) When does an EV lose most of its value? (24:01) Investment opportunities in the EV space (31:48) Operational chan...

#6 Carvana’s secret sauce, what’s next for auto lenders, pros/cons of credit unions | Chris Coleman, Co-Founder of WithClutch

In this episode, I'm speaking with Chris Coleman, co-founder and Head of Product at WithClutch. (01:10) Chris' background (03:21) Carlypso origin story (07:11) Carvana acquires Carlypso (13:11) Transitioning post-acquisition (18:27) What is Carvana's edge? (24:56) Pros & Cons of working with credit unions (34:42) Founding and growing WithClutch (44:37) Does Carvana survive? (46:37) Conclusion This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment ...

#5 Future of car-buying, will small dealers go extinct, investment opportunities in EV space | Steve Greenfield, Founder of Automotive Ventures

In this episode, I'm speaking with Steve Greenfield, Founder/CEO of ⁠Automotive Ventures⁠ and author of the book "⁠The Future of Automotive Retail⁠." (0:00) Intro (1:33) What will car-buying look like in 5-10 years? (11:22) Are smaller dealerships at risk of extinction? (14:12) Will auto-makers go direct-to-consumer? (24:22) Investment opportunities in the EV space (33:45) Trends that Automotive Ventures is focused on (51:35) What has Steve changed his mind about in the last 5 years? This podcas...

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