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From 80-100. My store's journey to 100 units a month

I'm on a mission to steal a Silverado High Country w/Super Cruise. We all know this spec is a diamond in the rough (low production counts) and 99.007% of dealers wouldn't know how to sell it, it's invisible on classified sites, so it has no value to the UCM when they buy/trade one.

I really got my blood flowing trying to find one. I went so far as to ask 2 Chevy UCMs what package the SuperCruise and none knew.

After a few days shopping, my "steal this invisible truck" concept was validated. The $2200 super cruise feature is invisible everywhere you look and is totally unfindable on Gurus.



My "Ah Ha" moment!
Cars.com has text search and these are rare rides (3-5 in the US). I land on a low mile unit and...
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I look at the pics and its... it's a pedestrian bule UGH! I try to like it... I go clicking into the pics, NOPE. FAIL.
I love the Lakeshore Blue! Maybe it's one of those colors you need to see in person.
 
BOOM, This is why those that invest in high end photo work get more ups.

Soo many photos booths are... a mess.
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Those deep blues struggle in all photos, that is Northsky Blue Metallic
Brutal. That basically looks black. And that's a YOOG dealer. No doubts photos are a stuggle. I can't make fun. We have our own difficulties.
 
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11.15- Currently sitting with 30 out however a very surprising finance penetration of 63% at $1750 a copy vs our average 51% rate. Seems like folks are finally realizing that an 8% interest rate isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Also, our average sale price is staying pretty steady however we received some high-end Denali Ultimate 2500s that helped the cause.

The consensus has been made for the store to start taking pictures of new inventory and using the CGI for the incoming units. Also, for Used inventory, I'm going to use AI for descriptions as we already are using it for Facebook posts.

Inventory-wise, After spending a small fortune on EV chargers, GM had a Chevy Bolt sale last week, We haven't decided if we are going to use them as Service loaners and take the $4000 Tax rebate for ourselves or try and sell them! I purchased 4, two around $10,500 however have a buyback title and $1500 of damage, and two that are perfect for $15ish.

We also were a dealer that accepted the Buick buyout, So we purchased a few "brass hat" Buick company vehicles with little to no miles and going to see how they do! Also working on creating an in-house "Buick Certified" program with our warranty company to match what we had, 12-month,12000 mile bumper to bumper, and 100000-mile powertrain warranty with two free oil changes.
 
How does your merchandising/photos look? How does your competition look?
If you are comfortable giving a zip code and a few models in your inventory. We can browse and let you know which ones pop out immediately.


What I mean by this.


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Are the follow-up photos consistent in quality?


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Competition

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Photos have been a challenge for us in regards to when we do them and implementing a firm process. I'm all for picturing on day one no matter how dirty they are to get the leads coming in. With that said, it seems there is nothing worse than when a guest comes in asking for a car and it's gone at a body shop or not finished. We take our photo's primarilly in the same spot unless it's something that we have inside.

One thing I have not fuly decided on yet is VAuto's banners, I just can't get behind them, but I like to use them to signify Certified Pre owned!
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"I'm all for picturing on day one no matter how dirty they are to get the leads coming"
EEK! Use a stock photo or any kind of image. GPT4

"I have a car dealership. I need an image that communicates that a car has just arrived for sale, but, it's being reconditioned. We do 160 Point Inspection, Oil Service, Interior and Exterior Detailing and what ever is needed to make it showroom ready. Create an image that communicates this narrative in a manner similar to the attached"

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I like those slides Joe posted. You can also use vAuto's banners with a message.
The certified pre-owned banner is not too intrusive. To me it looks fine.
If you stand back a little bit and zoom in, the vehicle will look less distorted. Wide shots also tend to show more of the background. I try to avoid background noise.

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Changing the subject to Facebook/Instagram, I post a vehicle every day, however, has anyone noticed that if you have a link to your website, taking people away from META views/engagement is little to nothing??? going to put the link in the comments and tag our sales people in a comment.