3 Ways To Expand Your Used Car Inventory in 2021

There's no doubt that dealerships need to maintain a well-stocked used car inventory, and that need is growing stronger by the day! Consumer demand continues to lean towards the pre-owned market, and the effects of the pandemic have doubled down on the trend. Amidst a highly competitive industry and decreased availability of other acquisition methods like used car auctions, the solution to sustaining and increasing sales for any dealership during this time will rely heavily on diversifying and expanding inventory via other sources. Here are 3 ways to expand the used car inventory for your dealership in 2021:

1. Explore Social Media to Increase Your Used Car Inventory

Dealerships are aware of how important it is to expand their reach to a wide market. While savvy dealers already know that social media is a great way to increase awareness and outreach to potential buyers, these types of sites can also be an effective tool to find for-sale-by-owner vehicles to acquire for their dealership's inventory. For many private-party sellers, posting on a platform like Facebook Marketplace is the go-to for getting the word out when they're putting their car up for sale. As a dealership, searching for listings on a site like this can be a great method of seeking out used vehicles in the local community and easily getting in touch with the owner to discuss details and negotiate the purchase.

2. Widen Your Search with Listing Sites

Depending on your location, it may be possible to still see used cars for sale in your local paper's classifieds or even to spot for-sale-by-owner signs on a parked car or two around town. While these sales can certainly be worth looking into if and when you come across them, the likelihood of finding an adequate amount of vehicles to supplement your lot's inventory this way is pretty low. To truly reap all the benefits from scouring sales listings, it's a good idea to go digital and access the numerous online listings that can be found on sites like Craigslist, OfferUp, or CarGurus. Sites like these can really come in handy, because you can search through thousands of vehicles for sale, either within your immediate locality, or you can expand your search with a wider radius. Because these online outlets boast a much larger selection than the classifieds in your local paper could ever offer, there's a higher chance that you'll actually find some used cars worth purchasing for your dealership's inventory.

3. Leverage a Platform like VETTX to Scale Your Efforts

With helpful online tools like Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist at your fingertips, you're able to expand your search for leads, but that territory also comes with a lot of work involved. Let's face it — the process of searching through individual listings, finding the ones that you want to pursue further, contacting each of the owners, making arrangements for inspections, and negotiating with the sellers to finally get those vehicles on your lot — it all compounds into an incredibly lengthy process, especially if you need to do this at scale. Fortunately, there's a better and more realistic way to tap into the viable for-sale-by-owner market. When you choose to leverage a private-party acquisition platform like VETTX, you can super-charge your acquisition process to diversify and stock your used car inventory at scale, as well as increase your sales and maximize your profit margins. VETTX will also save you a ton of time by giving your dealership access to only quality, pre-vetted private seller listings, helping you narrow down your search to identify the best deals in the market, and streamlining the efficiency of your acquisition efforts from start to finish.

Keep Your Used Car Inventory Stocked!

Used vehicle acquisition has undoubtedly become more complicated for dealerships since the beginning of the pandemic, but we make it possible to access a steady stream of used car inventory so that you can keep sales moving. Contact VETTX today to schedule your demo to learn how our platform can help you keep a steady stream of quality used vehicles on your lot.