Eddie Lafferty, general manager of Manheim Seattle, is the incoming president of the National Auto Auction Association. He will be installed this month at the 2025 NAAA World Remarketing Convention in Kansas City, Mo.
Used Car News: Tell us about your background and how you got into the auction business.
Eddie Lafferty: I’m an old car guy, but growing up, my parents owned dry cleaners. Long story short, when my father passed away, my mother didn’t want to keep the businesses. I was in college at UDub (University of Washington) and she asked me to quit school to help sell the businesses. We thought it was going to take six months to sell the businesses, but they sold very quickly.
By that time, I couldn’t go back to school right away, so I didn’t have anything to do. My friend’s grandfather owned a Porsche-Audi-Volkswagen store. And he asked me if I could babysit his precious store. He said, ‘Just be nice to customers, we haven’t sold any cars in 16 months. Don’t worry about it. Just be nice to people coming in for service.’ Well, in a couple of months, I had sold him out of all of his cars.
So, I got the car salesman bug. I progressed to working in his Audi store and his Volkswagen stores for a while. He sold his stores to a larger group in 1988 or 1989. I worked for that owner for a short amount of time. Then I left and started working for another group, then went to a Honda-Acura group and worked for them for 16 years. After a change in management strategy there, I was
let go. I was going to apply for a couple of jobs and this job came up for fleetlease manager for Manheim Seattle and a GM Certified instructor. I got interviews for both, but it was Julie Picard who hired me (Manheim Seattle).
I’m incredibly grateful for everything she did for me. We became great friends and business partners. She introduced me to so many people, got me involved in the NAAA very early on in my career. That’s how I got involved in committees.
Progressively, from taking over fleet-lease, I took over some factory accounts, GSA and then some transportation things. They now call that like a commercial manager. Then I progressed to AGM (assistant general manager) to 2013, I think. Then in 2015, I was promoted to general manager at Manheim Nevada.
UCN: What was it like going from just selling cars retail to a fleet-manager at an auto auction?
Lafferty: What’s really funny, when I interviewed with Julie Picard, she said, ‘You’ve always been in the car business, but we do things a little differently here. Let me show you what we do.’ So, Manheim Seattle has six different lots, and the body shop was farthest away. She took me there first and there were lots of cars in our inven-
tory lot there. Then she drove me to the body shop to tell me what they do there. Then the detail shop, etc. She asked, ‘what do you think?’ I said, ‘It looks just like a dealership, it’s just a lot more cars.’
I think the one thing that’s different is the pace. Everything is done with a higher rate of urgency. But a lot of the dealers who are consignors are dealers I grew up with in the industry. I’ve known them a long time so it feels like family and friends I’m doing business with. I grew up about 40 minutes from Seattle. For me, the transition was really easy. It felt natural and normal. For me, having that retail perspective helped amplify the understanding of customer service and why things were always so urgent for dealers. The benefits were not having to work weekends or close down a store at 8 p.m. Those were the huge benefits, being closer to my family and being around as the
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CONGRATULATIONS, EDDIE LAFFERTY
NAAA President-Elect
As you step into your role as President of NAAA, we celebrate your leadership that has helped drive our industry forward. Your commitment to innovation, collaboration and excellence sets a powerful example for us all to follow.
We look forward to the continued progress that your vision will inspire across our industry.
NAAA News
9/15/2025
President – Continued from page 1
kids were getting older.
UCN: How did you get to the point where you became GM at Manheim Seattle?
Lafferty: Julie eventually got promoted to a market vice president role and Ray Priest took over for Julie Picard. When the AGM position that reported to him moved on, I applied to that and earned that position. Ray was then running both Seattle and Portland, so I gained a lot of experience in kind of running the whole show, which is really great and one reason why I was able to move up quickly into a GM role. I was in Nevada from 2015 to 2019. We moved into a great neighborhood and made some terrific friends. I also had a really terrific team down there that we were able to develop. We grew really quickly. We benefitted from some of the traumas like the diesel vehicle recall for Volkswagen, so we had a lot of vehicles we had to manage for that.
We brought in a lot of excess commercial volume that was overflooding the Riverside and Southern California markets, so they started transferring some of the cars to Nevada. We grew really quickly and well.
In 2019, they asked me to come back to Seattle as GM. It felt like a return home, closer to family.
UCN: Tell us a little about how you began serving in the NAAA.
Lafferty: I started serving really quickly. Julie was integral in getting me involved into the association. I like to be informed about what’s going on. I like to help influence the decisions that are being made. I started out in the Education & Training committee and then the Membership Committee.
The networking opportunities I made with that just helped me so much in resolving issues with clients and building my network of people.
I learned so much through other people and the conventions. I had resources that I could reach out to after that who were so valuable. I wanted to continue and get other people involved. That’s why I stayed active in the association as long as I have.
UCN: Did you ever picture yourself in this position as NAAA President?
Lafferty: I really didn’t. It’s such an honor and so humbling to even be considered or nominated for it. When they called me and said I’d
been nominated, I said, ‘Me?’
Then to have been elected, I’m just so overwhelmed. I joke with new President-elect Tommy Rogers (who will become the president for 2026-2027) when you get in these positions and you start to hear these nice things that people say about you, gosh, do I put these on a resume or on my epitaph? The best part of this whole process is being able to travel with (incoming Chairman) Craig Amelung and Tommy, just people who are truly passionate about the industry and wanting to make (members) feel supported. I’ve learned so much traveling with these guys.
Also, I’ve gotten the chance to take off the brand hat and just work as an ambassador for the industry, getting to visit independent auctions. Just going into another auction, watching how passionate they are and watching their interactions with the customers.
It’s also exciting to watch how they’ve adapted to the changes and I get tips and tricks, best practices I can take back to my team and implement them. I get to see fun ways to make sure we’re serving our customers well or marketing correctly. It’s just been a huge opportunity and I’m so grateful.
UCN: Tell us about some of the
industry folks that you’ve met and learned from along the way.
Lafferty: I have been so incredibly blessed throughout the industry. It started when I was in retail, with the owners who trusted me with various roles within their dealerships. I was able to take some of that knowledge and kind of apply what I learned –my strategies, vision – to what I did in the auction business. But Julie Picard was probably the most prominent mentor I ever had. She introduced me to so many people. It was amazing.
Ray Priest is the one who taught me the operations side of the business, like looking at data, reporting and the tools that you use. That was fantastic. I owe him a lot. He’s a terrific friend and we still speak frequently.
We love to practical-joke each other. There are countless others, like Scott Hurst was the one who hired me for GM in Las Vegas. He used to be market vice president in Southern California. He was a terrific mentor, as well. But it’s impossible to name all of the people I’m grateful for.
UCN: Talk about the goals you have for your presidency, though it does seem to be a relay race as one president passes off to the next.
Lafferty: I think that’s really a great analogy.
I think it really is a relay race. I think it began even before 20232024. NAAA President Eric Autenrieth and Craig have done such a great job fundamentally helping to strengthen the association, whether it’s working on bylaws or reinforcing the need for the chapters to be more engaged and involved for us to drive content back to the larger events that we need.
It’s making sure we help the association adapt to the changes in the industry, whether it’s EVs, education and training, defending cyber security – those things are still important.
But really, it’s about strengthening the association, trying to drive some of the participation deeper into the auctions – instead of just the GMs looking at education and training –trying to get to those other auction employees who are using it day to day with their customers.
That’s a big initiative for me, trying to drive that participation down deeper into the auctions.
We really need everyone’s voice. Everyone does matter in this. We need participation so that we make sure that everyone is being heard. Without input from everybody, then we’re not serving everybody.
News Briefs
Feds Bust Alleged Auto Theft Ring
DETROIT - An indictment was unsealed today charging eight Southeast Michigan men with running a sophisticated car theft and international smuggling operation, announced U.S. Attorney Jerome Gorgon Jr. The charges stem from an investigation initiated by the Dearborn Police Department and involving U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stentz, ICE Homeland Security Investigations Detroit; Marty C. Raybon, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division; and Chief Issa Shahin, Dearborn Police Department.
Charged were Haydar Al Haydari, 41, of Garden City; Karar Alnakash,
43, of Detroit; Abbas Al Othman, 42; of Dearborn Heights; Mohammed Al Hilo, 36, of Detroit; Moustapha Al Fetlawi, 46, of Dearborn Heights; Terrill Davis, 33, of Detroit; David Roshinsky Williams, 32, of Harper Woods; and Mohammed Al Abboodi, 35, of Detroit. All defendants face one count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles, and each also faces one or more counts of transportation of a stolen vehicle.
According to the 12-count indictment, beginning in July 2023 and continuing through August 2025, the defendants conspired with each other and others to receive stolen vehicles at one of four commercial/ industrial lots.
Conspirators would then pack two or more vehicles at the lots into shipping containers and cause the containers’ transportation to port cities via freight or rail. From the port cities, if law enforcement had not already interdicted the containers, the containers with cars would ship overseas.
If convicted on the charge of conspiracy, the defendants each face a
maximum penalty of no more than five years in prison and a fine of not more than $250,000. If convicted on the charge of transportation of stolen motor vehicles, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
“Stolen cars have no place in interstate commerce and foreign trade,” said Gorgon. “I very much appreciate the diligent work of our many law-enforcement partners in recovering countless vehicles and putting an end to this criminal scheme. Our work to secure justice for the conspirators and their victims continues.”
“Our efforts have led to the recovery of over 350 stolen vehicles and behind every one of those stolen cars is a victim,” said Stentz. “This case hits even closer to home in a state like Michigan, where auto theft doesn’t just hurt our wallets, but our culture.
“Our HSI special agents and law enforcement partners will continue to do the work necessary to take down these operations that harm everyday Americans.”
“This indictment underscores the importance of law enforcement collaboration to ensure those who exploit our borders through unlawful commercial vehicle smuggling operations are brought to justice,” said Coleman.
“The FBI in Michigan is proud to work alongside our local, state, and federal partners in disrupting both domestic and international trafficking networks. We remain committed to protecting our community and safeguarding the integrity of our infrastructure.”
“This case demonstrates the strength of partnerships between local and federal law enforcement,” said Police Chief Shahin. “I want to thank our partners in the Southeast Michigan Auto Crimes Consortium (SMACC), whose collaboration was instrumental in this case. I also want to acknowledge the critical funding and support provided by Auto Theft Prevention Authority (ATPA), which makes this type of proactive investigation possible.”
“In light of efforts by transnational criminal organizations to victimize the American people and our businesses through illicit vehicle trade, we aim to counter their methods with every available resource at our disposal,” said Raybon.
“We will continue to work alongside our regional law enforcement partners to ensure we put the brakes on vehicle smuggling through the Motor City and beyond.”
ers, the NAAA’s incoming presidentelect, made a few stops in Michigan this summer with incoming President Eddie Lafferty as they continued their nationwide visits of dozens of auctions leading up to the NAAA’s World Remarketing Convention in Kansas City, Mo.
During the week of Rogers’ visit here to America’s Auto Auction West Michigan, Cox Automotive delivered the industry-shaking news that it had acquired the Bel Air and Tallahassee Auto Auctions, from BSC America.
The auctions were rebranded Manheim Maryland and Manheim Tallahassee.
Rogers, previously a part of Bel Air, is now officially the General Manager for the Manheim Maryland Specialty Sale. He was just ab-
sorbing that news as he spoke about his preparation as NAAA presidentelect this year, before he becomes the top dog at next year’s convention.
“I’ve never been a part of a merger or acquisition,” Rogers said that day.
“I’ve always been a part of the independent space, so this is kind of a new frontier for me. I’m looking forward to what’s going to be a great opportunity for me.”
Rogers is no greenhorn to the auction business. He’s been in the business nearly 30 years.
Prior to joining BSC America, Rogers worked at Carolina Auto Auction in Anderson, South Carolina serving as general manager.
“I was 20 years with Henry and Patty Stanley who actually taught me the auction business,” he said, “and committees and conventions.
Rogers, a graduate of Clemson University, originally planned to go
into banking, but the more he looked into it, he decided it wasn’t for him. He had already been in the grocery business, but his wife was not thrilled with 100-hour weeks. It was his wife who found an ad for a job in the dealer registration department of “this little auction company”Carolina Auto Auction, in Anderson, S.C., and he was hired in 1996.
“What I liked about the independent realm was working for a family owned business,” he said.
Later, through Pierre Pons, he learned about a new position in specialty sales with BSC America in Maryland with the Nichols family.
So after working with two iconic names in the independent business, Rogers joins the biggest chain in the industry. And he takes over as NAAA president-elect this month.
“It’s just to be a voice for the NAAA and do what I can do for auctions,” Rogers said.
Dealer Trends
9/15/2025
Auto Dealers Maintain ‘Steady Outlook’ Amid Uncertainty
ATLANTA – Despite persistent economic uncertainty and waning consumer confidence, U.S. auto dealers maintained a steady outlook in Q3 2025, according to the latest Cox Automotive Dealer Sentiment Index (CADSI). While profitability dipped and customer traffic slowed from the spring surge, the overall sentiment remained stable, with dealers signaling cautious optimism as they navigate a complex market landscape.
The Q3 2025 CADSI, based on a national survey of 891 franchised and independent dealers conducted from July 22 to Aug. 4, shows the current market index at 43, up one point from Q2. Although still below the 50 threshold – indicating more dealers view the market as weak rather than strong – the score reflects consistent sentiment over the past two years. In Q3, franchised dealer sentiment fell by 3 points to
53, while independent dealers increased from 37 to 39.
“With sales momentum mostly holding, dealers are not throwing in the towel on sentiment,” noted Jonathan Smoke, Chief Economist at Cox Automotive. “New-vehicle sales have come down from the surge in the spring but have remained relatively strong and better than the past few years. While the labor market has softened, unemployment remains historically low, and, for the most part, tariffs have only been a glancing blow to consumer wallets so far. While 2025 has been a roller coaster for many, the market is still generally on track.”
Key Findings from Q3 2025 CADSI
• Market Outlook Holds Steady: The market outlook index for the coming three months rose slightly to 46, significantly higher than year-ago levels but down from the Q1 peak of 58, a two-year high.
Franchised dealers posted a score of 55, while independent dealers remained flat.
• Customer Traffic Slows Sharply: After a surge in Q2, customer traffic declined significantly in Q3. The index dropped from 37 to 33, with franchised dealers falling from 50 to 43, a statistically significant decrease. For independent dealers, the overall traffic score remains weak, shifting directionally from 32 to 30 this quarter.
• Profitability Weakens as Costs Remain Elevated: Dealer profitability declined slightly in Q3, with the overall profit index falling from 39 to 38. Independent dealers continued to report weaker profitability (34) compared to franchised dealers (49). Meanwhile, the cost index held at 70 – still the highest score in the survey – indicating widespread concern over rising operating expenses.
• Inventory Rebounds Amid
Slower Sales: New-vehicle inventory rose sharply from 50 to 57, reversing declines seen in Q1 and Q2. This increase coincided with a dip in the new-vehicle sales environment index, which fell from 62 to 58.
• Price Pressure Intensifies: Dealers reported increased pressure to lower prices, with the price pressure index climbing from 57 to 61. This marks the first increase in a year and reflects growing inventory and slower sales. Independent dealers reported more pressure (61) than franchised dealers (58).
• Electric Vehicle (EV) Market Outlook Hits Record Low: Despite strong EV sales in July, dealer expectations for future EV sales dropped to 30, the lowest score on record. This decline reflects concerns over the expiration of government-backed tax credits at the end of September.
Auto Finance News
9/15/2025
Auto Finance Interest Deduction May Increase Sales
Frank H. Bishop, Jr.
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed H.R. 1, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, into law. Section 70203 of the OBBBA creates a new tax deduction for interest paid by consumers in connection with motor vehicle financing. Proponents of the auto finance tax deduction, such as Senator Bernie Moreno, who previously sponsored a similar proposal—the United States Automobile Consumer Assistance and Relief Act (USA CAR Act)—believe that the tax deduction will incentivize the sale and financing of vehicles made in the U.S.
In a press release issued in connection with the introduction of the USA CAR Act, Sen. Moreno wrote that, “For decades, the American auto sector has been devastated by bad trade deals and bad leaders, who shipped American manufacturing jobs overseas while flooding our market with cheap foreign cars. Thanks to President Trump, we are finally ensuring every car sold in America is made in America and that working Americans can actually afford to buy a car in the first place. I’m proud to lead the way in the Senate.” Critics of the measure point out that the $57 billion price tag for the auto interest deduction, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, is an exorbitant trade-off for the potential boost in domestic automobile production.
Qualifying Interest: The OBBBA establishes a new deduction for “qualified passenger vehicle loan interest” for tax years 2025 to 2028. The OBBBA defines that term to mean “any interest which is paid or accrued during the taxable year on indebtedness incurred by the taxpayer after December 31, 2024, for the purchase of, and that is secured by a first lien on, an applicable passenger vehicle for personal use.” Implicit in this definition is that the deduction is limited to the sale and financing of new vehicles and only for transactions entered into on or after January 1, 2025. Notably, the OBBBA does not expressly incorporate “finance charges”—a key feature distinguishing retail installment sales from direct loans—into the definition of “qualified passen-
ger vehicle loan interest.” Given the context, it is almost certain that the OBBBA intends to pick up indirect financing transactions in this provision, but unfortunately it is not expressed (for purposes of this article, we will continue to refer to “interest” inclusively).
The OBBBA also applies the deduction to a “refinancing,” which includes “indebtedness that results from refinancing any indebtedness described [above], and that is secured by a first lien on the applicable passenger vehicle with respect to which the refinanced indebtedness was incurred, but only to the extent the amount of such resulting indebtedness does not exceed the amount of such refinanced indebtedness.” Accordingly, the deduction will apply to loans that refinance retail installment sale contracts that were entered into after January 1, 2025.
Qualifying Vehicles: The OBBBA defines “applicable passenger vehicle” to mean any vehicle that meets the following criteria:
• the original use commences with the taxpayer (in other words, only new vehicles);
• is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways (all-terrain vehicles, marine vessels, trailers, and campers do not qualify);
• is a car, minivan, van, sport utility vehicle, pickup truck, or motorcycle;
• is treated as a motor vehicle for purposes of title II of the Clean Air Act (presumably to exclude certain types of modified vehicles);
• has a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds (meaning “light” trucks and vehicles); and
• the final assembly occurred in the U.S.
“Final assembly” means “the process by which a manufacturer produces a vehicle at, or through the use of, a plant, factory, or other place of business from which the vehicle is delivered to a dealer with all component parts necessary for the mechanical operation of the vehicle included with the vehicle, whether or not the component parts are permanently installed in or on the vehicle.”
In order to demonstrate that the vehicle qualifies for the deduction,
the taxpayer is required to include the vehicle identification number on his or her tax return. On July 14, 2025, the Internal Revenue Service issued a Fact Sheet that provides: “The location of final assembly will be listed on the vehicle information label attached to each vehicle on a dealer’s premises. Alternatively, taxpayers may rely on the vehicle’s plant of manufacture as reported in the vehicle identification number (VIN) to determine whether a vehicle has undergone final assembly in the United States. The VIN Decoder website for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration provides plant of manufacture information. Taxpayers can follow the instructions on that website to determine if the vehicle’s plant of manufacture was located in the United States.”
In addition, all recipients of qualified interest (meaning dealers, sales finance companies, and lenders, including refinance lenders) must file informational returns with the IRS and furnish statements to taxpayers showing the total amount of interest received during the tax year.
Express Exemptions. Certain types of transactions are expressly exempt from the deduction:
• loans to finance fleet sales;
• commercial-purpose transactions;
• lease financings;
• loans to finance the purchase of a vehicle with a sal-vage title; and
• loans to finance the purchase of a vehicle intended to be used for scrap or parts.
Financial Limitations: In order to limit the fiscal cost of the deduction and to tailor the benefit to less wealthy taxpayers, the drafters of the deduction imposed the following key limitations on the benefit:
• The amount of interest taken as a deduction for any taxable year may not exceed $10,000; and
• The amount allowable as a deduction is reduced by $200 for each $1,000 (or portion thereof) by which the modified adjusted gross income of the taxpayer for the taxable year exceeds $100,000 ($200,000 for joint returns). Therefore, the deduction begins to phase out for taxpayers with an income
above $100,000 ($200,000 for joint returns) and is not available at all for those with an income above $150,000 ($250,000 for joint returns).
However, the deduction is a socalled “above the line” deduction, which applies to taxpayers who take the standard deduction and do not itemize their deductions on their tax returns.
In this respect, the vehicle loan interest deduction is different from the mortgage loan interest deduction, which only applies to taxpayers who itemize deductions. In addition, the vehicle loan interest deduction is applied before the calculation of a taxpayer’s adjusted gross income, meaning that there is an additional state income tax benefit in states that employ a taxpayer’s federal adjusted gross income as the starting point for determining state income tax liability.
Potential Benefits: Kelley Blue Book data shows an average sale price for new vehicles of $48,907 in June of this year. According to an American Financial Services Association blog post from July 2025, a qualifying individual who finances such a vehicle with a 10% down payment over 72 months at 6.5% interest would be eligible for a tax deduction of about $3,000 in the first year of ownership and roughly $1,800 annually on average over the life of the loan.
AFSA also notes that the provision allows for interest on multiple auto loans to be deducted, provided the total deduction remains under the $10,000 limit.
Cox Automotive estimates that U.S. automobile dealers sold 15.9 million new light vehicles last year, a little over half of which were assembled in the U.S. Cox also estimates that around 60% of retail sales are financed.
Its analysis concludes that, after excluding fleet and commercial vehicles and customers above the income cutoff, an estimated 3.5 million new vehicle finance transactions could be eligible for the tax break this year, if purchasing patterns remain the same.
*Frank H. Bishop, Jr., is a partner in the Maine office of Hudson Cook, LLP.
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Auction News
9/15/2025
Independent Auction Turns Around Digital Sales
By Jeffrey Bellant
A small independent auto auction just southeast of Columbus, Ohio is making noise in the digital space.
Value Auto Auction in Crooksville, the sister sale of Akron Auto Auction, was acquired barely four years ago by owner Chad Bailey, a past NAAA president.
Just a year ago, Dan Pletcher was named national sales manager of the digital platform and has been busy ever since.
“Dan and his team have come out of obscurity to have been a top five auction nationally now on a regular basis,” Bailey said. “In fact, they were selling digitally over 100 cars a week and have expanded their team to 5 states now.
Pletcher said he was with CARRAC out of the former Richmond Auto Auction during COVID, be-fore he came to Crooksville. Pletcher was brought to Value AA last year to
boost its digital presence. While the auction now consigns about 400 vehicles and sells 60%, its online sales were nonexistent a year ago, he said.
But Pletcher believed this was a great opportunity because of the impressive office staff on board.
“If you don’t have a strong back office, you really don’t have anything,” Pletcher said.
It wasn’t about reinventing the wheel, it was about improving upon the tools the auction had, putting processes in place to attract dealers.
“It’s about getting back to the basics – old fashioned customer service,” Pletcher said.
Some members of the team he brags about are General Manager Carrie Thomas and Melanie Nolan. Nolan is responsible for account managers in regard to titles and payments.
“Fabulous people and accountability to the highest level,” Pletcher said, “One of my main accounts is in
Florida and when they send the titles, I know they’re going to be paid in 48 hours. You don’t get a phone tree or 100 different voice mails. You actually get to speak to somebody.”
Pletcher praised the auction team for growing from 14 accounts to 138 accounts nationally in less than a year’s time.
He’s grateful for the level of trust Bailey has shown in his team.
For digital sales, the auction uses Liquid Motors, along with the platforms of OVE, SmartAuction and Auction Edge. But Pletcher stresses it’s not the tools that make it successful; it’s the accountability and attitude that was already a part of the auction.
“The sales pitch is this: It’s a 4th generation family auction, with payments on time and (the idea that) you call us and we’ll pick up the line,” Pletcher said. “It’s not a secret sauce. It’s being held accountable and giving the customer service
to these dealers that they’ve been thirsting for.”
Pletcher now has two full-time people in the office, along with himself and several account managers in the field covering the states Florida, New Jersey, two in Ohio, one in Indiana and one for Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The results are pretty clear, Pletcher said. In October 2024, the auction sold 22 units digitally.
“(This year), we’re going to be right around the 250 to 300 mark,” Pletcher said.
“In the springtime, we were between 400 to 600 units from a department that was 15 to 25 the previous year.
“In the last nine months, we’ve been in the top 10 of the national rankings for independent auctions on OVE and then in the top 5 on SmartAuction for nine months in a row.”
Auto Finance News
Independents’ Share of Used Car Financing Dips in Q2
By Jeffrey Bellant
Independent dealers saw their share of used purchases decrease in Q2, according to Experian’s State of Automotive Finance released recently. Their market share dropped nearly 2% to just over 45% compared to 54% for franchise dealers.
Buy-here, pay-here/other loans had the lion’s share of used purchases at independents at nearly 35%, while finance companies had nearly 29% of the purchases. Credit unions made up nearly 21% and banks had just under 15%.
Among all used purchased, from franchise and independents, banks topped lenders with 28%, just eclipsing credit unions at 27%.
“The shift in lender market share highlights an increasingly competitive landscape for automotive financing,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s head of automotive fi-
nancial insights. “With banks showing a renewed focus in automotive combined with new OEM relationships, we’re seeing a completely different environment.
“In an ever-evolving industry, leveraging the most current data can help automotive professionals identify emerging patterns and adapt to changing dynamics.”
Average interest rates for used purchases fell to 11.5% from over 12%, although average monthly payments rose to $529 and average used vehicle amounts financed crept up to nearly $27,000.
Average used loan terms remained relatively flat at just over 67 months.
The Experian report showed year over year, used loan amounts rose for the first time in three years, up nearly 2%.
Quarter over quarter, however, the average loan amount rose $514 in Q2.
For independent dealers, nearly 38% of monthly loan payments were under $400, and another 20% we under $500.
Almost 8% of average used month-
ly loans were over $800, with nearly 3% over $1,000.
Deep subprime borrowers saw used loan monthly payments hit
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Auto Finance News
Finance – Continued from page 12
$542 and Subprime borrowers saw the highest average used monthly payments at $547.
The average total used loan by risk ranged from $20,464 for deep subprime borrowers to nearly $29,000 for super prime borrowers.
Used values increased year over year to $26,334, while loan to values (LTV) decreased to 117.37% from 123.81% of ACR (average clean retail) last year.
Average used loan rates decreased across all credit levels, from deep subprime rates at 21.58% to average rates for super prime at 7.15%
Experian’s Q2 report showed nearly 70% of used terms are over 61 months.
This quarter’s State of Automotive Finance also took a special look at refinancing trends.
It showed overall refinance volume increased 11% from Q1 and 29% from the Q2 in 2020.
When refinancing occurs, it is usually among prime borrowers who make up over 51% of auto refinance customers.
The biggest share of lenders in the refinance space were credit unions, with 68% of market share.
The report showed that those who refinanced their auto loans in Q2 saved over 2% in their refinanced loan rate.
“Although affordability continues to be a topic of conversation in the automotive industry, with interest rates trending downward, we’re seeing more borrowers taking the opportunity to lower their monthly payments,” Zabritski said.
“Banks and credit unions remain key players in the auto refinancing space, offering a range of options that may help borrowers secure better terms.”
Although the average refinanced term is 65 months, it effectively is
over 90 months, considering the original term.
For the overall auto finance market, the total auto loan balance has slowed, though still growing at over $1.5 billion.
Thirty-day delinquencies rose to 2.27% in Q2 2025, from 2.24% in Q2 2024, while 60-day delinquencies increased from 0.78% to 0.83% over the same time frame.
In terms of credit scores, the Super Prime credit tier grew to 23% of the share of used buyers.
Other credit risk tiers dropped shares, including prime buyers, who made up 35% of used loans.
Banks narrowly extended their lead in market share for used vehicle financing, coming in at 28.59% this quarter, up from 26.80% last year.
Credit unions saw a slight uptick from 27.59% to 27.63% and captives declined from 7.83% to 6.40%.
“The shift in lender market share highlights an increasingly competitive market.”
Loan amounts and payments are on the rise for both new and used vehicles. Despite value increases,LTVs are down for both new & used loans.
The average loan amount for a new vehicle increased $1,017 to $41,983 in Q2 2025, and the average loan amount for a used vehicle increased $481 to $26,795 over the same period.
The average monthly payment for a new vehicle increased from $735 to $749 year-over-year, while the average monthly payment for a used vehicle went from $527 to $529.
New leasing declined to 23.62% this quarter, from 26.12% last year.
The electric vehicle share of new vehicle purchases declined from 8.76% last year to 8.34% this quarter.
Retail Markets
9/15/2025
ALABAMA
Paul Claborn, owner, WholeSaleCars.com, Albertville, Ala.
“The most important thing to consider when buying a used car is number one, the mileage; number two, the vehicle history report. How many owners has it had? How many times has it been serviced, and are there service records? Does the vehicle have a warranty?
“Sometimes customers want a car that’s red and has 100,000 miles, and they skip over another one that has half the miles because they liked the red car better. People need to consider that instant gratification isn’t a good thing when they want a reliable car that will last a long time.
“Once a year we have a customer appreciation event where one customer is randomly chosen to get their ve-
hicle paid off up to $10,000. It’s a no-brainer to me.
“We’re trying to streamline the process and get most of it done online now. We require 10 references, which the customer has to fill out their names, phone numbers and their addresses. At other places they need to secure insurance typically, but we already offer collateral protection insurance.
“We offer offsite deliveries so they never have to come to the dealership. Customers fill out an online application, a short five-liner. Once they’re approved, we show them three to five cars that they’re approved for. And we do an express checkout, which is more than a five-line credit application. Now they really got to get in depth and give us their job time, their job references and employment records. We pull their credit and
then determine how much money down they will need. They never have to come to the store. Later they can bring it in or contact us and say, ‘I don’t really like this car.’ We’ll pick it up with no problems, give them their money back, or they can swap it out for another car.”
MICHIGAN
Wade Vinson, owner, Vinson Motors, Chesterfield Township, Mich.
“I’ve been in business for 13 years. I started out real small on a dirt lot with 5-10 cars. Then we were leasing a building, and I don’t like to be in that position in case something happens. This building we’re in now, we told the owner if he was ever ready to sell to call us. And he did, he came right to us and we moved in last June.
“Being named the state’s Quality Dealer for 2025
means a lot to me. We’ve put a lot of hard work into it (he will compete for the national honor next year in Denver). We try to run the best business we can.
“COVID had us selling more cars out of state, which we had done a little before. And we’re still shipping cars right to people’s door, but usually that’s more specialty stuff. We do everything over the phone and send them photos of the car. After we were shut down for COVID we came back and sold out our entire inventory, every single car in a month to two-month period. No one was negotiating prices; they were all paying the asking price.
“We sell a lot of trucks and SUVs. We get a few vans here and there. We sell diesel trucks, that’s kind of our niche.
“Reconditioning costs vary
Compiled by Ed Fitzgerald
quite a bit. Cars from private sellers seem to need less recon. If I had to put a number on it, I’d say we spend $1,000 to $1,200.
“But some that we get from an auction we might have to put a trans in, and the auction only pays for some of it. I don’t buy anything as-is. We outsource all our work.
“We used to do more high-mileage vehicles, over 100,000 miles. Now we’ve been trying to get more from years 2018 and up and under 100,000. The banks like that.
“Our average down payment is probably $2,000, it varies.
“It helps not to over-extend yourself with the floor planning, not just for dealers starting out but for anyone.
“The last car we sold was a 2018 Chrysler Pacifica. It had 70,000 miles on it and we sold it for $15,800.
Manheim Pennsylvania October 3, 17, 31 800-822-2886
Manheim Pittsburgh October 8
724-452-5555
Manheim Seattle October 15 206-762-1600
Manheim Southern California October 2, 16, 30 909-822-2261
Manheim Palm Beach October 22
561-790-1200
Manheim Pennsylvania October 2, 16, 30
800-822-2886
Manheim Riverside October 9, 23
951-689-6000
Inc. (Aston Martin) or its affiliates and are licensed to JPMorgan
Bank, N.A. (Chase). Auto finance accounts are owned by Chase.
Neither JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. nor any of its affiliates are affiliated with ADESA, Inc. or Manheim, Inc.
Wholesale Markets
9/15/2025
MINNESOTA
Shaun Schaefer, vice president, Mid-State Auto Auction, New York Mills, Minn.
“I’ve been with the auction for 21 years. The auction has been in business 42 years.
“We’ve been running about 400 to 500 cars a week. We’re up a little bit from this time last year. I think we were in the 400-450 range last year.
“We’re sitting about 55% for (conversion rates).
“In August, we had our big anniversary sale and we were at 68% with 1,000 cars.
“I would say we’re looking at an average price (across the block) in the $8,000 to $10,000 range.
“We’re pulling in 150 buyers in the lanes and online we’re about at the 120 mark.
“You know, I would say the dealers are little up and down, too. They have their
good days and bad days, A day where they won’t sell one and a day where they’ll sell five. It’s been steady.
“No one’s really complaining, but no one’s jumping up and down saying it’s great.
Kind of regular car sales.
“I would say we’re probably 85% to 90% dealer consignment. Then we’ve got our fleet and repos. Business accounts have grown a lot over the past three or four years, for sure.
“Once a month we have a GSA sale. We run 60 to 70 a month. One sale we ran 120.
“Repos have been up a little bit, but we’ve actually grown that, too. For us, it’s hard to tell if the repo (market) is higher or if it’s just because we’ve been growing that business more and more.
“Overall, it’s been good this year. But we’ve got to put in the work to do it. Our
sales reps are all beating the pavement and I think that’s what keeps our business growing.”
MONTANA
Jake Gertsch, sales manager, Auto Auction of Montana, Billings, Mt.
“We’ve owned the auction for 23 or 24 years. We have four lanes.
“Volumes typically taper off at the end of summer, so they are down a bit. Then fall hits and the fleets start rolling some more iron in. We’ve been running between 400 and 450.
“There are a lot of factors. Of course, the tariffs are affecting the Canadian inventory, I would say, 20% to 30% easily. Typically, we’d sell between 40% and 50% from Canada.
“Just like when inventory is down, the sales percentages go up, which is good. We’ve
been selling pretty close to 70% which is also good. But that’s what happens when supply goes down and demand is up. So, we like the percentages, but we’d just like more cars to sell.
“The average price across the block looks about $26,000. Trucks and SUVs have to make up 80% or better of what we sell. You drive around Montana, you see more duallies than you do Teslas.
The prices of (vehicles) are a lot higher than what we’re used to. We’re selling a lot of $60,000, $70,000 and $80,000 vehicles.
“We also sell quite a few repos, I’d say we average 40 to 60 a week. It’s been pretty steady.
“I’m sure we get 100 or so dealers in the lanes every week. We usually have between 200 and 300 dealerships represented. We usu-
Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant
ally have a couple of hundred online and we’re selling, you know, 40% or better online.
“New car prices have crept up and are so expensive. So a lot of new-car dealers have been focused on used and trying to find vehicles in that $35,000-and-under range because that’s what people can afford. You know that truck with 80,000 or 90,000 miles, they used to not keep it, now they retail it. Now there’s a wide range of customers that need that price bracket.
“We do GSA sales once a month, right now we’re selling 50 or 60 a month. We also run some online only auctions through GSA.
“Our anniversary sale is October 15. I’m sure we’ll have 600 cars or better. Of course, we’ll have prizes and giveaways and sellers will also have their own promotions.”
9/18/2024
2020
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Tony Moorby Disconnected Jottings From
Since when did jeans become a jean? Or pants become a pant? Tried on a short lately? Will a trouser have one leg or two?
We know that language evolves over time to reflect societal changes and observe newly developed processes or inventions but who decided that there was betterment in making something singular rather than plural?
Let’s see! Where did I put my glass? I can’t see without my glass. That would be a spectacle without my spectacle!
Can you imagine rethinking all those things we’re used to? Looking for an underpant in the drawer you use for your pajama? It would drive you nut!
I first noticed this linguistic laxity at the tailor’s shop (or is that ‘tailors’ shop’? “That’s a nice trou-
ser, Mr. Moorby,” he said, stepping back to admire his work.
I didn’t say anything of course, I just passed it off as an aberration or was he tongue-tied around his tooth?
English, of all languages, has the ability to change and meld under all kinds of circumstances and pressures. Indeed, tomes have been written on the subject, and people continue to recount the changes.
Today’s access to myriads of data are available on your computer but I still luxuriate in the occasional quiet time of reading.
I’m not sure that those examples above will end up in everyday conversation but they all stem from being the subject of ‘pairs’.
Nevertheless, for me, the singular jars as wrong and I would like to take a scissor
By Myles Mellor
to the signs that proclaim their new trendiness.
However, Webster’s Dictionary observes that English is a ‘living’ language and they will relate and record new usage as it occurs in ready, everyday circulation and even some that are not – those in specialized industries or pursuits.
Gaming and social media on our phones or computers have spawned all kinds of expressions such as ‘ghosting’ or ‘newsjacking’, ‘hashtag’ and ‘likes’.
Contractions to just letters like ‘IMHO’, ‘PMs’ and DMs direct texting ‘Convos’.
Maybe we’ll end up with a dictionary that decodes nothing but initials.
The French are a little more diligent in protecting the purity of their language through the auspices of ‘L’Academie Français’ which opines on that
which is or is not correct.
‘Le weekend ‘ and ‘le hamburger’ notwithstanding. The Germans just add new words onto old ones, no matter how long or tonguetwisting they become! Linguistic Lego bricks!
I must say that, for one who loves the luxury of the English language, the shortcuts leave me at something of a loss.
It seems a bit robotic but perhaps that’s the point; it’ll lay neatly alongside AI.
Many schools these days don’t insist on teaching cursive writing or penmanship, rather ‘keyboarding’ takes over the necessity for communication.
I suppose, being older and therefore, a little old fashioned, I tend to cling to ideas and ideals that seem clumsy or even awkward but I maintain that a good grasp of the English language,
with all its disciplines, is often respected and therefore worth pursuing.
A youngster recently quizzed; “Why learn the basics of English or mathematics when a machine will do it for you – more quickly and accurately?”
