According to Black Book® data, the average price of a used vehicle for model years 2012-2016 depreciated in value by -2.6% during January, slightly lower than the -2.9% shown the previous month. Cars overall dropped -3.0% and trucks decreased -2.3% in value during January. All vehicles are averaging a 12-month depreciation of -14.5%.

Luxury Cars showed the highest depreciation in January at -3.6%. Vehicles in the Luxury Car segment include the Mercedes Benz E-Class, BMW 5 Series,…

If you haven’t noticed, a revolution is happening in our society. More and more businesses are going paperless. Airlines issue boarding passes via, email, text message or through a mobile app. Sporting and entertainment tickets are increasingly delivered via email or through a mobile app. Most credit card companies and banks send electronic statements and incentivize…

Higher-Than-Average Number of Lease Shoppers Continued To Search for Luxury Leases Into January and Past the Holiday Promotions

Swapalease.com, the nation’s largest car lease marketplace, reports car lease credit applicants registered a 57.8% approval rate in January to begin 2018, down from 62.0% in December. January’s rate was higher than the 50% rate from a year ago in January 2017.

Some of…

The transport and logistics industry means more than just receiving, loading and shipping boxes via ground, rail, air and sea. Imagine that a natural disaster could occur at any given moment. A tsunami impedes the ships from leaving the port or a dangerous and powerful storm forces the authorities to close the highways, shut down the airports and the bridges. Apart from causing panic and terror among citizens, these types of unfortunate events result in a real crisis for the transport and…

This week, Jeff covers the most asked question from service advisors: "How do I get the up-sell before my customer's car gets in the shop?" Well it's easy! The Buy-A-Suit Technique is the absolute best technique to let your customer know that they're in the right place, at the right time, with the person who is best to get the job done. Make sure you've got a pen and paper handy for this one! Copyright 2018 Wm. Jeff Cowan…

This week, Jeff covers the most asked question from service advisors: "How do I get the up-sell before my customer's car gets in the shop?" Well it's easy! The Buy-A-Suit Technique is the absolute best technique to let your customer know that they're in the right place, at the right time, with the person who is best to get the job done. Make sure you've got a pen and paper handy for this one! Copyright 2018 Wm. Jeff Cowan…

With interest rates expected to continually increase in 2018, despite the recent stock market sell-off, and used car prices continuing to fall this year, mostly due to rising supply, car shoppers often ask how rising interest rates and falling residuals may impact their payments.



Swapalease.com conducted an analysis of both scenarios taking into account a typical vehicle with an MSRP of $35,000. Here are the assumptions:



Term: 36 month lease

Residual: 49%

Interest…

Manufacturers hold dealerships accountable for customer satisfaction and the overall experience in both sales and…

Women report that a dealership’s website is the #1 digital resource they use when shopping for a car. Yet, 76% of women rate their dealer’s site at 3 stars out of 5. They’re looking for car dealer’s digital assets to deliver much more.

Currently, dealers’ websites are almost exclusively product focused. So what can you do to build trust, be welcoming, and make a better impression on your #1 market segment and increase conversions?…

Welcome to this week's edition of Black Book Market Insights, with in-depth analysis of used car and truck valuation trends and insights straight from the auction lanes. Click here to download the full…

This week, Jeff discusses the key to training---> READ! The most common question is sales is simply how to be the best. He covers how to get fired up about training, the steps to becoming a great reader, and how to be the best at what you do! Copyright 2018 Wm. Jeff Cowan

Click here to watch!

Also available on iTunes, GooglePlay, and Stitcher. Don't forget to RATE and subscribe!…

Jumpstart Automotive Media, a leading media, insights, and marketing solutions company, today released its annual Super Bowl report, which reveals the auto brands that drove the greatest traffic increases across its portfolio of publishers. This year, the Kia Stinger saw the greatest lift in shopper interest as a result of its “Feel Something Again” spot featuring Steven Tyler.

Super Bowl LII, which registered…

We’re failing. Consumers have moved on yet we’re still trying to do the things that we’ve always done. Fast and efficient communication with consumers is vital to maintaining and growing your dealership revenue. However, many dealerships keep hanging on to the old methods they have grown comfortable with: phone calls and emails. While these both are useful and should…

As countless messages fill the world, consumers increasingly turn to family, friends, peers and, even strangers, to make buying decisions. Whether those decisions are as broad as who to do business with or are centered around which item to buy to help solve their problem, word-of-mouth and online reviews have become a key part of that decision-making process. Too many bad…