“Today’s average holding cost is $50 per day per vehicle—up to $80 for luxury units.” (Wards Auto, June 2024)

That’s the cost of a bad buy.
And it’s happening at dealerships every day — because the wrong people are buying the wrong cars.

Every dealer eventually faces this question:
Who should be allowed to buy?
It sounds like a small operational detail. But it’s not.
If the wrong person is buying, the right car never hits your lot. And when the right car never hits your lot, your best sales team can’t save you — because a car nobody wants is just metal burning money.

The Silent Profit Killer

Inventory is the heartbeat of your dealership. Yet most stores don’t have a clear process for who can buy cars.
Some let the used car manager handle it all. Others rely on whoever “finds something good.”

That inconsistency is expensive.
When everyone plays by different rules:

  • Inventory turns chaotic
  • “Deals” at auction become nightmares in service
  • Confidence across the team drops

If your buyers aren’t aligned, you’re not buying cars — you’re buying risk.

Step 1: Define Buyer Qualifications

Your top operators treat buying like a business discipline.
A qualified buyer should understand:

  • Market data and appraisal tools
  • Local trends and turn velocity
  • Gross targets and recon costs
  • What fits your brand identity

Great buyers don’t chase cheap cars — they predict what your customers will want tomorrow.

Step 2: Build an Approval System

Even elite buyers need structure.
Try this tiered approach:

  • Under $25K → Used Car Manager
  • $25K–$50K → GM sign-off
  • $50K+ → Executive review

It’s not micromanagement. It’s capital protection — and it actually speeds up decisions long-term.

Step 3: Train Your Buyers Like You Train Sales

Buying requires both data fluency and emotional intelligence.
The best dealers benchmark acquisition results, analyze auction data, and send buyers to 20 Groups or OEM summits.

Because one bad purchase can cost more than a year of weak sales training.

Step 4: Align Strategy With Brand

Every store has an identity.
If your reputation is built on clean, one-owner trade-ins — don’t stock rough, high-mileage units just because they’re cheap.
Every bad fit chips away at your brand.

Step 5: Measure and Adjust

Track metrics like turn time, recon-to-retail ratio, and aged inventory.
Data doesn’t replace instinct — it sharpens it.

The Bottom Line

Every car on your lot tells a story about your discipline, standards, and focus.
If you can’t clearly answer “Who’s buying our cars?” — that’s your next opportunity.

Not more leads.
Not more marketing.
Just better buying.