You could describe used vehicle operations at Mohawk Honda as a “tight ship.”
The department’s sales and profit success comes from a data-driven approach to decision-making and the “all-in” use of vAuto solutions to help each team member make the right decisions in the right moment. It all starts with vehicle acquisition.
“We use vAuto and our stocking strategy to make sure we’re aware of what types of vehicles we need to fit our inventory profile,” says Mike O’Toole, used vehicle director at Mohawk. “It’s very important that we have quality vehicles that improve our turn so we can provide more vehicles for sale every month for our customers and our business.”
The stocking strategy extends to vehicle purchases, especially when buyers are working auctions for inventory. “It’s just so competitive—everyone wants the same cars,” says Tom Lavallee, an in-lane buyer for the dealership. “vAuto does a very good job of letting you know which ones are the hot sellers and which aren’t. I focus on vehicles with lower market day supply, and those are the ones I go after.”
The stocking strategy also extends to the service drive, where Mohawk acquires nearly 40 vehicles a month from the 120-plus customers who bring their vehicles in for maintenance and repair every day. The store’s service lane acquisition success comes from the integration of vAuto and UVEye, an AI-enabled vehicle damage detection scan, to produce offers for every qualified service customers and, through an integration with vAuto and Cox Automotive’s VinSolutions CRM, to drive follow-up.
Jen DeCiero, Mohawk’s BDC manager, says the follow-up is critical since many customers need time to decide if they will sell or purchase a vehicle. Those deals take an average of 12 days to complete, which means every BDC connection counts.
“All of these different platforms that we're able to utilize to not only give our customers the best service, but also have a wonderful user experience behind the scenes that enables our managers, our salespeople, and our BD reps alike to really work the most efficiently and get the most out of every hour that they're here at Mohawk Honda,” DeCiero says.
Once Mohawk acquires a vehicle, the integration with vAuto and iRecon help O’Toole and his team get cars through service quickly and maximize the ROI potential for each vehicle.
“iRecon is very important in making sure our entire team is accountable for getting that vehicle to the front line as soon as possible,” says O’Toole. Used vehicle managers, service dispatchers, and technicians all collaborate within the iRecon platform, ensuring vehicles move quickly from acquisition to sale.”
Like many dealers, Mohawk has also begun using vAuto’s ProfitTime GPS solution to manage all aspects of used vehicle operations, and bring AI-enabled insights to ensure each vehicle’s pricing reflects the best balance between opportunity and risk to drive maximize gross profit.
Used vehicle manager TJ Dusenbury explains: “ProfitTime gives me a roadmap. Maybe it’s okay to let a car hang out for 30 days because that’s my gold car and I’ll be more profitable on it. The gold, platinum, silver, and bronze rankings in ProfitTime GPS help us make smarter, more profitable decisions.”
