This evaluation form by Randy Barone of ACV is designed to help car dealers assess how well their used car department is performing. The form covers six key areas of your operation: sales numbers and goals, your sales team and training, inventory management, how you acquire vehicles, your F&I process, and your marketing efforts.
By filling out this comprehensive questionnaire, you can identify what's working well and what needs improvement in your used car business. This tool helps you benchmark your performance and find opportunities to increase your used car profits and sales volume.
If you would like to download this document, click here.
Section 1: Executive Overview (To Be Completed by Dealer or GM)
- Top Franchised Dealer (Used Sales) in Your Market: ___________________________
- Top Independent Dealer (Used Sales) in Your Market: __________________________
- Monthly New Car Sales Volume: __________
- New Vehicle Gross PRU: $__________
- Current Used Inventory Count: __________
- Units Needed to Hit Used Car Sales Goal: __________
- Brand Mix (% Domestic vs. Import): __________%
- Acquisition Mix:
- Auction: ____%
- Trade-in: ____%
- Consumer Purchases: ____%
- Service Department: ____%
- Monthly Used Car Sales Volume: __________
- Used Car Closing Ratio: __________%
- Used Vehicle Gross PRU: $__________
- Average Wholesale Profit/Loss per Unit: $__________
- Wholesale Profit Goal: $__________
- Daily Carrying Cost (Floorplan, Interest, etc.): $__________
- Used Car F&I PRU: $__________
- Finance Penetration Rate: __________%
- Service Contract Penetration (Used): __________%
- Who Has Final Authority to Kill a Deal? ____________________
- Vehicles Acquired Daily: ________ | Average number of units to acquire per day to maintain inventory levels at goal: ________
- Mandatory Turn Policy (Days): __________
- Silent Walkaround on Trades Performed? Yes / No
- Trade Closing Ratio (Look-to-Book): ________%
- Save-a-Trade Process in Place? Yes / No
- Describe Process: _____________________________________________
- Who Conducts Appraisals? ____________________
- Appraisal Process + Tools Used: _______________________________________ | Tech Used: __________
- Certified Vehicles Offered? Yes / No
- Certified Vehicle Sales & Marketing Strategy: ____________________
Section 2: Sales Team & Training
- Total Sales Staff: __________
- Sales Staff Needed (Open Positions): __________
- Sales Managers on Staff: __________
- Management Structure (Dealer > GM > GSM, etc.): ____________________________
- Recruitment Sources: ____________________________
- Ongoing Hiring Program in Place? Yes / No
- Hiring & Onboarding Process: ____________________________
- Career Path / Success Packet Provided? Yes / No
- Training Schedule (Ongoing & New Hire): ____________________________
- Training Tools & Systems Used: ____________________________
- Manager Involvement (Rotation, Role Play): ____________________________
- Defined Steps to the Sale in Use? Yes / No
- Desking Strategy (One Price, Modified 4 Square, etc.): _________________________
- Deal Structuring (Rates, Terms, Payment Ranges): ___________________________
- Save-a-Deal Meeting Held? Yes / No
- Save-a-Trade Meeting Held? Yes / No
Section 3: Inventory & Reconditioning
- Average Used Units in Stock: __________
- Used-to-New Ratio: __________
- Inventory Turn Rate: __________
- Day Supply: __________
- Average Inventory Age (Days): __________
- Average Retail Price: $__________
- Average Cost to Market: __________%
- Average Recon Cost: $__________
- Recon Process Overview: ___________________________________________
- Recon Tool Used (If Any): ____________________
- Storybooks Used? Yes / No
- Used Vehicle Tools/Processes in Place: ______________________________
- Inventory Management System: ____________________
- Reports Routinely Reviewed: ____________________
- Wholesale Policy Summary: ________________________________________
- Inventory Sourcing Channels: _____________________________________
- Monthly Vehicles Bought Off the Street: __________
- Vehicles Acquired from Service: __________
- Service Drive Acquisition Process: _________________________________
- Consumer Buying Tool Used: ____________________
- Units Aged >60 Days: ________ | >90 Days: ________ | >120 Days: ________
- Any Cleared Wholesale Units Aged >10 Days? Yes / No | Count: ________
- List Units Over 90 Days (or attach): ______________________________________
Section 4: Acquisition & Strategy
- Auction Purchases vs. Trade Appraisals (%): ____________________
- Buy List Criteria & Strategy: ____________________
- Oldest 5 Units – Condition & Location: ____________________
- Lot Display & Layout Strategy: ____________________
- Avg. Time from Recon to Web: ________ Days
- % of Vehicles Online: __________%
- % with Pricing Online: __________%
- Pricing Strategy & Market Positioning: ____________________
- % Missing Photos: __________%
- Primary Ad Platforms (Website, 3rd Party, Social): ____________________
Section 5: F&I & Deal Finalization
- F&I PVR (Used): $__________
- Finance Penetration: __________%
- Service Contract Penetration: __________%
- Are Waivers Used? Yes / No
- Menu System Used (If Any): ____________________
- F&I Deal Structure Strategy: ____________________
- Deal Closing Process: ____________________
- Who Finalizes Deal Outcomes? ____________________
- Contracts in Transit – Count: ________ | Amount: $__________ | Avg. Time: ________
- Review of 30 Deals – Notes on Structure, Terms, Profitability: ____________________
Section 6: CRM, BDC & Marketing
- CRM Platform: ____________________
- BDC/CDC Department Present? Yes / No
- BDC Setup: Proactive / Reactive
- Opportunity Sources (Digital, Walk-ins, Service, etc.): ____________________
- Lead Handling Process & Sales Team Integration: ____________________
- Marketing Overview (Ad Spend, Messaging, Channels): ____________________
- Website Performance Review: ____________________
- Display Ad Usage: ____________________
- Keyword Targeting Strategy: ____________________
- Aggregator Platforms Used (e.g., CarGurus, Autotrader): ____________________
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