I had the best Used Car Manager when I first started selling cars. Mike Jobson was his name and his way of stating the cold truths of the car business have stuck with me for three decades. When a fresh up was on the lot, but nobody had gotten to them, Mike would yell “this ain’t a bus stop!” In fact, there was a bus stop in front of the store, but his point was nobody walks onto a car dealership who isn’t in the market for a car.

He also said “80% of people buy something different.” The first time I heard that was in 1999 and today, we have the data to prove him right!

86.8% of customers trade their car for a different model.

Last year, a lowly 85% of them did that. Amazing how much more loyal they were back then!

Could this account for why dealerships only brought back 11% of their total 2024 sales from people who bought that car from them? Possibly. There could be some hard feelings from 2021 to 2023 that previously loyal customers need help getting over. That’s a subject for another day.

The big takeaway today, is that the consumer hasn’t changed. But they do want to change their car. Instead of talking to them about newer version of what they’re driving now, start by asking them what cars are catching their eyes these days. And rethink those equity mining solutions that always show the customer their same car… over and over and over again.