Where did all the good cars go?

Where did all the good cars go?

“The best cars don’t hit the lane; they’re in someone’s driveway.”

Ever notice how the cars you really want—low miles, high demand, fat margins—never seem to hit the auction block anymore? A rental 300 base with 30,000 miles in rental-gray sits 100+ days, clogging your lot. The only way you can differentiate yourself is on price.

Meanwhile, those pristine, standout, oddballs with zero-day-supply are out there somewhere. These units DEMAND the gross you’re looking for. The question is—where do you find them?

Spoiler: It’s not at the auction. That much is clear.

It’s pretty obvious by now that the private party market is where the best inventory is. However, anyone who has ever bought a car off Craigslist knows that it's just not feasible at scale.

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The Rental Return Trap‍

A 2023 Cox Automotive study found that base-model used vehicles—like the infamous rental Chrysler 300s—average 167 days on the lot in competitive markets, with gross margins shrinking to a razor-thin 4%. Why? Over 60% of auction inventory comes from fleet returns, flooding the market with identical, low-desirability units. “You’re stuck differentiating on price alone,” notes industry analyst Karl Brauer. “It’s a race to the bottom.” Meanwhile, unique vehicles sourced from private sellers turn 3x faster—often in under 60 days—commanding a whopping 24% higher gross, per VETTX.

Private Sellers: The Numbers are the Numbers

We get it, you’re probably fed up with the private seller speech—like it’s the magic fix for everything. Too damn competitive, you say. Sellers think their cars are worth all the money. Takes way too much time to do right. Fair points. But just stack that against the auction the rental return racket. If you have a good tool that helps automate and streamline the acquisition process, these vehicles literally gross $1,300 higher than the national average alternative.

Here’s the kicker: 36.9% of used car sales now happen between private parties, according to a 2024 CBT News report. That’s millions of vehicles—many low-mileage, well-maintained, and unavailable at auctions—waiting for savvy dealers. Take it from a veteran who’s moved $100 million in inventory since 1989: “The best cars don’t hit the lane; they’re in someone’s driveway.” Jason Joel Fromer VP at Mall of Georgia CDJR. 

1. Leverage Automation: Hit the streets—digitally. Tools like VETTX aggregate listings from Craigslist to CarGurus, saving you hours. “I found a pristine ’18 Tacoma on Facebook in 48 hours,” says one Midwest dealer. “Auction? Never would’ve seen it.” “Buy what’s scarce, not what’s cheap,” advises Dale Pollak, Co-founder of vAuto. Cross-reference with your sales history—last summer’s hot movers predict this year’s winners.

2. Double Down: Here’s a pro move: assign a buyer to focus solely on private acquisitions. Data shows dealerships with a focused acquisition specialist source 2-3x private units monthly—dramatically increasing retail sales, per VETTX. Follow up fast—81% of buyers shop multiple offers online, says Cox. Beat the “other guy” with your best price upfront. Result? A pipeline of “ready to sell” leads that cut your acquisition cost.

3. Touch Everything: Take every listing price with a grain of salt. Bryan Bough, UCD at Dennis Dillon Kia and Mazda says sellers drop their ask by $2k on average after the first chat. Unlike, sales the goal shouldn't be to get them into the store, the goal here is to send out as many offers as humanly possible. And without a tool that does 80% of the manual tedious vetting labor, it’s almost impossible to do this effectively at scale. 

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