How were you introduced to vAuto?
Chris Murray: We actually signed up with one of vAuto’s competitors and we ran with them for almost a year and a half. We just felt it wasn’t giving us the information that we were looking for and so we made the decision to migrate over to vAuto. We first signed up in November 2013. We don’t mandate anything in our group but we strongly encouraged it and now I would think pretty much all our stores are on vAuto.
Who utilizes the tool the most in your dealership?
Chris Murray: The main user would be our General Managers who oversee the used cars, they would be the power user, daily or hourly.
How do you run your business differently since using vAuto?
Chris Emery: The main way vAuto streamlines things is the speed of gathering information, we can look at everything in the marketplace so that’s how the tool has made a difference to the business.
Also, the ability to track effectively and in one location so we can track all the stuff that matters to us, how many appraisals are we winning? How many appraisals are we seeing? When you have that data in front of you, looking at it day in and day out it allows you to stay on top of it and kind of drive those numbers up. Because you’re driving those numbers up you’re selling more cars and selling faster.
What is the biggest advantage you’ve experienced since using vAuto?
Chris Murray: It gives Chris [Emery] or any of the other sales managers here information to make a smart decision and also gives us some tools to be able to show the customer why things are the way they are. Before it was all gut-feel, this is what I think and this is what I feel. We’re here, we’re able to have actual data to show customers that our price is right or this is why we’re paying you “x” for your car, nothing more, and nothing less.
How would you describe the ease of use with vAuto?
Chris Emery: I think it’s pretty simple for a sales manager to get in and kind of understand what’s going on.
Chris Murray: It’s simple to learn and use, but, to learn how to use everything that it offers? Its massive, it has so many tools. As far as figuring out how to use the system? Most dealers should be able to figure it out.
Where do you see the most benefit?
Chris Emery: The appraising is what we use the most, followed by pricing, staying on top and making sure all our inventory is in line with where it should be. Then to a lesser extent stocking and then merchandising and wholesaling, in that order.
Would you recommend using vAuto?
Chris Emery: I think in this day in age if you’re not using [vAuto] then you’re not really serious about managing your used car lot.
However, I wouldn’t recommend it for our competitors, [laughs].
Chris Murray: I think it helps us make better decisions. I think with vAuto, you need to have it, that’s why I strongly encouraged it to all the dealers in our group.
What are 3 main benefits that vAuto has brought to your dealership?
Chris Emery: Speed of decision making, accuracy of decision making, ability to manage large used car inventory.
Chris Murray: Accountability over how the General Manager manages the inventory, intelligent conversations over our used strategy, speed and accuracy of the data, management tool.