LAS VEGAS – Georgia was the big winner at NIADA’s 2025 Convention & Expo at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas.
Georgia’s Jack Carter won the 2025 National Quality Dealer of the Year and Amy Bennett, executive director of the Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association, was named the AEC Executive Director of the Year.
The announcements were made on June 24 during a special awards luncheon at the convention.
Carter, owner of Turn and Burn Motors in Conyers, Ga., topped nine other State Quality Dealers from across the country to capture the highest honor.
NIADA TV host Cory Mosley announced the winner. And Black Book served as the sponsor for the National Quality Dealer of the Year.
Mosley said Carter’s “journey began with a love for cars and a vision to create a dealership that served more than just profit margins; it served the community.”
Carter started his dealership in 2013, focusing on in-house financing to help customers get vehicles they needed.
The business was built on “dedication, creative marketing and a focus on customer relationships,” Mosley said.
It grew into a “trusted buy-here, pay-here dealership.”
Carter, who also serves on the NIADA Board of Directors, seemed genuinely surprised in winning the award.
“Not prepared for that,” he said. “I think I had a leg up in coming from such a strong state. I’m really grateful for that. This has got to be one of
the most humbling things that ever happened to me.”
Carter honored his fellow nominees and also gave credit to Bennett for her work on behalf of dealers in his state.
Carter praised his wife, Kate, as “an amazing woman that supports me.”
He also gave credit to his brother, Ben, who started the dealership together with Jack.
“Every day we’re hustling together,” Carter said. “I might be the face of Turn & Burn, but my brother, Ben, has been there every moment, every day. We work really hard together, so thank you, bro.”
Carter said he’s proud as to how the NIADA has “u-turned” from when it was struggling a few years ago. He credits NIADA CEO Jeff Martin for helping to turn it around.
“I feel like being a part of the association has really catapulted my career,” Carter said. “People ask all
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NIADA Convention
7/21/2025
Speaker Challenges Dealers to Manage Staff Better
By Jeffrey Bellant
LAS VEGAS – Managing people is the hardest task someone can do in a dealership.
That was the opening challenge from South Carolina dealer Luke Godwin to independents at a session during the 2025 NIADA Convention & Expo here.
Godwin then shared his management strategies on how to get motivated teams, which starts with building a great culture.
“You have a culture whether you like it or not,” Godwin said. “It was built by you or by your employees.”
He added that sometimes the business owner thinks the culture is one thing, when it’s really another. The goal is to figure out what the culture is and how to get it to where you want it to be.
Having a strong mission statement is important and leaders know that the dealership’s values come from
the dealer’s values. “So, whatever values you want in your company should be exemplified by you,” Godwin said.
How does the dealer set this standard?
“It all starts with leadership,” Godwin said. “Leadership starts with you, and comes all the way down, through your managers to their employees.”
He said dealers should want leaders who are fire starters.
“What I mean by that is you don’t want people who just lay back,” Godwin said. “You want people who are excited about being there and encourage people.”
A detailer who comes to the manager or boss and says he could do a better job with a certain type of tool is the attitude you want, he said.
You also have to recognize progress. If a salesperson comes in and starts selling five cars a month, then goes to 10 cars a month and later
12 cars a month within the first six months, you have to recognize that progress.
“You also have to coach through mistakes,” Godwin said.
“Doing some of these things creates a culture where people enjoy coming to work,” he said. When a team is motivated, it will lead to the leadership’s long-term success.
One attendee said a good culture is everyone rowing together in the same direction, an idea that Godwin embraced.
Godwin said he talked to one dealer who felt he had a good culture because he was a friend to his employees.
“That works for a little bit,” he said. “But he’s had a ton of turnover and the reason for that turnover is that you have to switch it out from being a friend to being a boss.”
Godwin had the same conflict when he had a group of techs with the same relationship.
“My wife said, ‘What you have yourself is a fraternity, not a service department,’” Godwin said.
Another suggestion is looking at Facebook or Google scores and seeing what customers are saying.
Building a good culture should involve direct motivation, but often dealers use indirect motivation, which is often fear. One piece of advice Godwin stressed is to eliminate commission-based pay plans.
“I will beat this into your head,” he said. “The old idea of commissionbased only pay plans is a thing of the past. It just create problems.”
Pressure is another tool of indirect motivation, which can happen in the collection department or reconditioning department.
“If you put unrealistic goals out there and they don’t hit them, then you have a problem,” Godwin said. “Or if you put realistic goals out there and they hit them consistently,
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Used Car News
Continued from page 1
all the time, ‘What’s the best thing I could do?’ and ‘Join the state association’ is always the first thing out of my mouth.”
He said he never thought he would know so many dealers and make so many friends across the country through the NIADA.
“It’s just an amazing group of people,” Carter said.
Earlier in the program, Bennett accepted the Executive Director of the Year honor, chosen from four nominees.
“I wanted to thank the AEC (Association Executives Council),” Bennett said. “I really want to thank the state of Georgia. We have a great state, a great association. But behind every AEC (award winner) that’s successful, there’s a successful board behind that. So, thank you again.”
The other Executive of the Year nominees included Alabama’s Randy Jones, Virginia’s Alvin Melendez and Tennessee’s Karen Brown.
Last year’s Executive Director of
the Year, Paula Frendel, of NY/NJ IADA, talked about the role of state executives before she announced this year’s winner.
“I remember how humbled I felt to receive the distinguished (award) from my peers,” Frendel said.
“This award is not just about one person’s success. It’s about recognizing the executive director who represents the best of what we do, whose passion and purpose brings lasting value to our members and whose leadership strengthens our associations.”
NIADA also awarded a scholarship during the awards luncheon.
The $10,000 NIADA Northwood University Scholarship presented by Cox Automotive goes to “a Northwood University student who has exemplified excellence in the classroom and exemplary character in pursuit of a career in the automotive industry,” said Indiana Quality Dealer Dan Francis.
The award was announced and presented by Elgie Bright, Chairman of Northwood University’s Automotive Marketing/Management
Department and Jason Jager of Cox Automotive.
Talking to a packed hall of independent dealers, Bright explained what Northwood University is all about.
“At Northwood University, my students aspire to be you,” Bright said. They want to get into this great industry whether it be an independent dealer or someone on the technology side. They draw inspiration from these entrepreneurs who have capital at risk.
“So thank you for what you do to inspire the rock stars of tomorrow. Every one of you is an inspiration.”
Bright praised Jager and Cox Automotive who bring thought leaders and subject matter experts to Northwood’s campus each year.
Jager said the road ahead for the industry “will be shaped by those with the courage to challenge convention and the vision to lead with purpose.”
Jager said Cox Automotive’s collaboration with Northwood University and NIADA is more than a partnership.
“It’s a shared commitment to cultivating talent, empowering students and building a future where creativity and leadership drive progress,” Jager said.
“It’s through this collaboration that we discover and support individuals who are already making a difference in our industry and today it’s my honor to recognize one such exceptional individual.”
This year’s winner is Adam Moule, a Northwood sophomore majoring in automotive marketing and management and a dedicated athlete playing in North University’s hockey team.
He interned at the Lafontaine Automotive Group and played a key role in helping to put on Northwood University’s International Auto Show.
One of the ways scholarships are funded are through NIADA’s annual Charity Car auction held during the convention.
Independent dealer Rick Wagner of Texas Carco in Livingston, Texas, made the final $25,500 bid to top all challengers in the lively charity auction at the 2025 NIADA Convention & Expo here on June 25.
The 2015 BMW 335i X Drive with 68,500 miles was donated by Manheim and the auction proceeds will go to the NIADA Foundation which provides disaster relief for dealers and scholarships for future industry leaders.
Wagner said he bought the car as a way to give back to the industry.
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7/21/2025
NIADA Education Director Gives Used Market Update
By Jeffrey Bellant
LAS
VEGAS – NIADA’s Brent
Carmichael, director of education, kicked off the association’s 2025 Convention & Expo here by putting a spotlight on the state of the used car industry for both retail and buyhere, pay-here dealers.
“Volume on the retail side is up about 16% as far as number of units sold over this time last year (through April),” Carmichael said. “Part of that is the tariff pull-forward – we think. May’s data is just in and for some of the dealers’ that I was looking at, May was not stellar. It wasn’t bad. It’s still going to keep our yearto-date up by at least double digits.
“So maybe we are still seeing a little bit of cooling off with that.”
Carmichael said he always likes to look at “gross per vehicle,” which is up 2% overall, which is a “whopping $42,” to $1,921 from $1,879, based on
average dealers.
The bigger dealer success is on the back end, Carmichael said, otherwise, dealers would have seen gross overall go down.
“The opportunities are there,” he said. “We talk about how nice cars turn but cheap cars earn. Looking at that model is where we can typically get a little more back end money. It’s not on the real nice, expensive cars. It’s typically a mid-level car where the retail dealers can do a little bit better on the back end.”
Carmichael’s numbers show F&I gross profit per vehicle retailed was up over 17% or $225 per car. That figure was $1,525 through April, up from $1,300 this time last year.
Days-supply was at 48 days through April, which is only down one day from this same time last year.
“That’s pretty much stayed static,” Carmichael said.
There wasn’t as much to talk about on the BHPH side.
“The BHPH side is not as positive, though I’m not necessarily looking at this as a negative either,” he said.
The volume on the BHPH side was up 0.2%, which is like a “half a vehicle,” according to Carmichael.
“We talked about this a little bit in the past,” he said. “I think this is more self-imposed. I don’t think this is necessarily the market. I think the BHPH dealers have intentionally (said), ‘Hey, I’m going to put a little more quality on the books. I’m going to be a little bit more selective on what we’re doing.
“I know a lot of dealers now are underwriting virtually, where that wasn’t done in the past. They’re waiting until they get full stips before they work the deal and not saying, ‘yes, this is an approved deal.’
“So I think a lot of this plays into (the numbers).”
Carmichael said he’s also seen some smaller dealers decide to hang it up, which also plays into the numbers.
He took a look at reconditioning costs, because it tends to be a big concern for BHPH dealers.
The data shows through April that average reconditioning costs are up almost 9% from this time last year.
“It’s up to $1,440,” Carmichael said. “It’s only up $42 from last year, but that’s still a pretty strong amount.
He said this is due to a couple of factors.
“Cost of parts is up,” Carmichael said. “There’s also been some adjustment in shops as far as labor rates are concerned.
“We know that a hot topic in every 20 group that I’ve been to over the last two years is technician pay, recruiting technicians, etc.
Continued on next page
Vehicles priced to sell
“So, we know there’s been adjustments on internal labor rates charged to offset the costs of technicians that are there.”
Carmichael said that’s why he always keeps his eye on reconditioning costs to see how dealers are offsetting costs on this.
One good sign involves the figure for average charge offs.
“A good sign is that they’ve gone down a little bit,” Carmichael said. “We know we’ve gotten pretty good on collections. So hopefully, with this, underwriting will continue to improve.”
Carmichael was joined by Mark Strand, senior director of economic insights for Cox Automotive, who looked at Q2 2025 Dealer Sentiment.
The big change was sentiment involving tariffs on imported vehicles and parts. In Q1, dealer sentiment
sat at an abysmal 6%, but it has jumped to 31% at the end of Q2.
“There was a lot of panic and doom saying about tariffs (in Q1),” Strand said.
Dealer sentiment for independents in the post-pandemic period is always a little bit lower than franchise dealers, which is generally due to concerns about limited inventory, Strand said. Dealer Sentiment in terms of economy is up to 52% in Q2 compared to 46% in Q1. Sentiment over market conditions is also up slightly art 42% over Q1 which was 39%.
One key takeaway from the presentation is that uncertainty is the only certainty, especially with the lack of clarity on tariffs and geopolitical unrest. Another factor is affordability issues, with elevated interest rates and tight inventory.
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Manage
7/21/2025
– Continued from page 3
so you up their goal a little but, then you’re creating pressure.”
If an employee’s paycheck relies on that, it could create burnout, he said. It doesn’t mean you can’t create goals to tie into pay plans, but you have to be smart about it.
Money motivates short term, but recognition and growth motivate long term, according to Godwin.
“What we want to build is direct motivation among our staff,” Godwin said. “This comes from play, purpose and potential.”
For example, children would rather play than go to school and some men would rather golf than go to
Playing in the dealership might be encouraging an employee who likes to solve problems figure out how to get someone with marginal credit into the right car.
“Play” to a buyer might be finding 10 right cars to buy today for the dealership and giving him that abil-
The idea of ‘purpose” is expressed a lot in the non-profit world, like rescuing dogs and finding them homes, for example.
A buy-here, pay-here dealer has purpose in providing a service to customers who are unbankable, typically, and unable to go to a store to get a car, Godwin said
“A car is so important to these people,” he said. “It gets their kids to practice or to school. It gets them to work. Without there being a way for their car to be financed, they may be without a house.”
Godwin added purpose is big in the collections department.
“A good collector will keep their accounts good and a bad collector will repo every car,” he said. “That’s purpose.”
The idea of potential is knowing that every employee wants to move up, improve themselves and advance.
Growth in skills for a service tech or a collector is one example of potential. A salesperson who might be encouraged to someday start their own dealership is another example.
“If there are no growth opportunities, they’re going to start looking for another job,” Godwin said.
Helping them to grow their skills, their careers and their incomes is vital to a great culture.
Godwin adds that you have to hire for culture.
“Ethics is the first thing you look for when you hire,” he said.
The other attribute is adaptability. Some people are able to follow a plan or process, but being adaptable is someone who can handle unexpected problems, whether it involves customers or inventory.
Look for a potential hire who has held jobs handling different skills from customer service to finance or management.
Godwin suggests hiring a culture watcher, to track culture like you’d track sales or just be the culture watcher yourself.
Problems arise where you have competition that just isn’t structured well. Dealers might have sales people who argue whether they deserve a full deal or a half-deal with another sales person.
“You have to shut that down right away,” he said.
Finding lessons from good books is one way to help business owners lead their teams, he said.
“There’s a bunch of good management books out there,” Godwin said. “‘Drive’ by Daniel Pink is one I’ve referenced many times and is one that you want to read. ‘Prime to Perform’ is one you’ll always want to read.”
Motivated teams are the key to success in an auto dealership, leading to lower turnover, a better reputation and more fun in running your store, Godwin said.
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Wholesale Markets
7/21/2025
CONNECTICUT
Tanner Litkowski, general manager, Central Auto Auction, Hamden, Conn.
“We’re now an ACV company. We’re now fully owned by ACV. We got purchased back in August 2024.
“I’ve been GM in an official capacity since last August, but I’ve been doing the job since about March of last year. We run three lanes. We do have four lanes, but realistically we run three.
“Our busy weeks we might peak up to 300 units. We have a combination of fleet/ lease/repo, donation cars, GSA contract holders and dealer trades. So, we have a pretty good collection of pre-owned.
“I’m pretty proud of (our conversion rates). We typically hover around 72%. We’ve even hit into the low 80s this year. It’s pretty
strong here.
“We draw about 120 bidders in-lane and online, with up to 160 bidders on our busiest weeks. That’s probably 60% in-lane.
“Our average price across the block ranges from $5,000 to $10,000. Our fleet/lease can get a $30,000 to $40,000 unit while repos and donations will be in the $10,000 and under. I would say our sweet spot would be $7,000 to $10,000.
“For dealers, it’s been tough like everybody else.
I know the market has dropped a bit with auction volumes down across the country.
“But dealers are still taking swings at it, still offering bids. If they’re not buying cars, then they can’t sell them.
“I’m pretty heavy on fleet,lease,commercial. We’re 25% to 30% dealer
cars, with the rest being fleet/lease/repo/donations.
We’re pretty blessed with some big-name consignors.
“It does seem fleet/lease/ reps are down a bit everywhere, (according) to other GMs across the country.
“Since we’re ACV, we’re putting a lot of vehicles through ACV Digital. Our no-sales are going on there. ACV has been fantastic. The fact that we can list no-sales and that we can potentially marshal vehicles here to get on ACV helps.”
NEBRASKA
Ryan Durst, vice present, Lincoln Auto Auction, Lincoln, Neb.
“Sales have been consistent. We’ve been a little light on inventory the last two or three weeks. We’re still selling close to 80% every week.
“I think June was off in the retail world a lot. So, I think
we’ve seen a trickle-down effect. They’re selling fewer cars so we’re getting fewer trade and less inventory overall.
“Our volume is normally 250 to 300. But we’ve been at 225 to 250ish. It’s not off a huge number, but you can just tell that it’s off across the board for the big guys and the little guys.
“Our average price in the lane is $6,400. Which is a little bit higher than earlier in the year. We’re selling more fleet vehicles. Also, GSA prices are higher, so that’s contributing to the higher number. GSA averages over $10,000 to $12,000 a copy. Also, we’re selling more fleet vehicles, which are obviously a higher priced vehicle.
“Our volumes are 90% dealer consignment and 0% fleet/lease.
“We’re getting 200 to 220 bidders in the lanes and an-
Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant
other 50 to 80 online. With our GSA sales we’ll have 80+ online and 250 in-lane.
“GSA sales are once a month. We’ve been running 60 to 80, which is higher than spring because this is the higher volume market during the summer. Then it will tail off into the fall into winter. These will be mostly passenger vehicles, sedans, vans, trucks.
“Independent dealers – 9 out of 10, I’d say – are struggling. Then you have that one guy who’s always doing good, no matter what, and he might be lying.
“I just think June was a struggle for dealers. July has gotten off a little better,
“It’s more of a 50/50 split with franchise guys. I think some are doing OK and some are just struggling.
“But overall, we’re up over 100 units sold over this time last year.”
Retail Markets
7/21/2025
ARKANSAS
Lamar Murphy, owner, Magnolia Motor Co., Magnolia, Ark,
“We’ve been in business 36 years. We’re located in the southwest corner of the state.
“We stock between 50 and 60 (units). I try to sell 40, which is two a day. That’s our goal. We don’t always meet that goal, but that’s the goal.
“Our average price is between $28,000 and $30,000. These are late model, good miles.
“Recently, I sold a 2025 Toyota Tundra. It had 800 miles on it. I sold it for $65,000.
“I buy most of my vehicles through Manheim auctions. That’s’ the majority of our stuff, whether it be Nashville, Tenn., or Dallas, Texas. We use those two sources primarily. We buy on-
line only. Who would have thought?
“We do our due diligence on the front end to make sure we don’t get a problem vehicle. Also, Manheim auctions have a good arbitration process
“We run filters so that the only thing we see is a 4.2 condition report or above.
“We don’t buy European, for the most part. In our small market, we don’t have enough service people to fix (European) cars.
“We buy Japan, South Korea, and the U.S. cars.
“We do light service on vehicles. We have an in-house tire store where we’ll sell tires. We do oil changes, brake jobs – just light service work. If there’s anything major, we’ll farm it out.
“Even with the (nicer cars we buy), they go through a mandatory 139-point recondition process. If it needs
windshield wipers, we put them on. We change the oil on everything. We get it ready so the customer doesn’t have to spend any money. Our reconditioning spending is $800 to $900 on average. Even on the detail side, it’s not just washing. We do what we call, ‘Put it back in the wrapper.’”
LOUISIANA
Daysha Deshae, account manager, Carpro Auto Sales, Baton Rouge, La.
“We’ve been in business since 2012. We are a buyhere, pay-here dealership.
“We keep about 100 vehicles for sale. We sell about an average of 30 (cars) per month.
“I would say our average down payment is about $2,000. Our average term length is about one year. Our average retail price is around $6,000. The average mileage
is maybe 180,000.
“We’ll carry anything from a 2005 up to a 2016.
“We don’t look at a particular brand or model. We’ll get different cars. We’ll buy them based on several things – the cost, the mileage and how much we project to get out of them on the sale.
“We get our vehicles from auctions. We’ll use auctions all over the country. We use Openlane so we’ll search for vehicles through different auctions on Openlane. We mostly buy online.
“I think business has been good this year. Because where we’re from, it seems like we’re selling more than a lot of dealers there. So, I feel like our strategy, in what we’ve been doing to get our cars out, has helped us in selling more.
“We really focus on the community of people who have less-than, so we’re able
Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant
to get them stuff that they can afford. They’re not looking for the newest car. They’re just looking for something to just get around.
“It’s better working with those types of customers because they’re more prone to keep up with their car because they actually need it versus someone who is getting a second car or something (extra).
“When our customers fall behind, it’s usually a thing where they fall off their job or it’s some type of repair issue. So with a repair issue what we’ll do is give them some type of extension on their payment.
“That gives the customer a kind of relief because they see that we’re trying to help them. They’ll be content with that. As long as you’re not greedy and can help people out, everything works out in the end.”
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Tony Moorby Disconnected Jottings From
The Wimbledon tennis tournaments are on the telly as I write. It’s odd really, as hardly anyone in our family watches tennis until Wimbledon is on – OK, the USTA Finals may get the occasional look-in if there are charismatic finalists.
I noticed that the courts already look like goat pastures as dry weather has taken its toll on the grass, especially on the baseline. It’s quite amazing how the weather seems to cooperate during mid-June and early July just in time for the games. This year there has been what qualifies as a heat wave in the UK and most of Europe. It wouldn’t be excruciating but there is typically no air conditioning, and a balmy 78F can feel like a humid oven; it’s very debilitating. This year it’s occasionally hit the nineties with no respite.
The weather patterns here in the U.S. have been strange this year; I can’t remember having so many thunderstorms day after day, rolling in around the end of the afternoon and lasting into early nighttime for a movielike display and soundtrack. In some cases, it’s more like a horror movie.
Weather tracking has become something of an art, as far as the man in the street is concerned; long-range outlooks help planning, all the way down to telling you that there’s a tornado coming down your street. It’s nice for dealers to know when to protect those cars. Clever stuff – until it isn’t.
Everything has its limits but we need to constantly apply new technologies to add to the old or even strip out the old and start over. Perhaps by paying more attention to potential sce-
By Myles Mellor
narios we can avoid disasters or catastrophes. These events are never the result of a single event – rather a combination of a number of smaller events contributing to an end result. That’s why we see a bunch of shoulder shrugging from officials representing agencies from the police to FEMA – finger-pointing made easy!
Meanwhile the companies’ chiefs developing various forms of AI have their heads chasing dollars in the billions. I’m no authority in matters related to technology but sometimes asking, “Why not…? from a background of ignorance can spark ideas in those that know better.
It occurs to me that AI, with all its predictive capabilities, could be combined with weather data, landscape data, and alert mechanisms. Looking con-
stantly at changing conditions, yes, even extreme conditions, should not be out of our reach these days. Couldn’t a machine look at the potential effects of a storm fifty miles away from a river basin that’s not capable of handling a 20” in 2-hour rain event? I honestly believe I’m not being too simplistic. It could update every millisecond.
But then, we need to develop alert systems that recognize different ways to access every Tom, Dick or Harry no matter where they are or what they’re doing in a newly predictable path of water, wind or other danger.
The horrendous, recent losses of life in Texas should be a clarion call for the government to get their act together under the auspices of a single agency to push for change and moreover to be held responsible for their
actions. Why not redesign what FEMA is and does (acknowledging that wasteful inventory or practices could be addressed) and bring about a useful and immediate adjunct to states’ capacities in times of danger to stop the results of events like we’ve just seen in Texas and Tennessee.
