Independent Dealers Podcasts

Anthony Clavenna used to fly across the country with $30,000 in cash stuffed in a backpack just to buy trucks off strangers, and he says that scrappy, no-safety-net approach is exactly what let him outpace giants like Carvana and CarMax at buying cars off the street. He walks through the moment the business finally graduated from cash runs to wires and a private app, how a single fraud incident gets baked into the process as a new checkpoint instead of a reason to slow down, and argues that s...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Eric Cohen, CEO of Merchant Advocate, and Cole Frankman, Owner/Operator of Frankman Motors, to discuss why credit card processing fees keep climbing year after year and how dealers can uncover the hidden increases buried in their merchant statements. Eric reveals that 80 percent of dealerships he reviews are being overcharged by 20 to 25 percent, and explains why the fee never really stops rising: the sales rep who set up t...

In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Alex Lawrence, CEO and co-founder of EVauto, and Chris Roig, Director of Sales Engineering at Netchex, to discuss how the country's largest EV-only dealer group is scaling into new states without letting payroll and HR become the bottleneck. Alex reveals a payroll tax scare that nearly caught EVauto off guard and how a surprise refund from the IRS became a turning point. Now growing toward 4,000 cars a year across three ...

Today I'm joined by Jimmy Douglas, Founder & CEO at Plug. He breaks down why the top used EV dealers turn inventory in 30 days instead of 59 while selling for 3% more, and shares the arbitrage move of stocking a competitor's EV so you capture a sale that was happening anyway. Topics: 00:47 Tax Credits Killed EV Residuals. 08:20 Selling A Computer On Wheels. 18:29 Live With An EV For One Month. 21:35 Stack Teslas For Massive Arbitrage. 27:25 Detroit's Global EV Future Is B...

Today I’m joined by Johnny Cantrell, Executive Vice President at Shottenkirk Automotive Group. We break down his playbook for installing new operators and setting them up to win, the patterns he’s diagnosed across 29 stores nationwide, the tech powering their inventory ops, and more. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Impel - Impel AI helps you drive loyalty with proactive, personalized service outreach that scales seamlessly. From service milestones to recall alerts and tailored incentives...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight—a focused series hosted by Sam D’Arc, highlighting standout dealerships and innovative companies, and exploring the trends driving success in today’s automotive market. Today, Sam sits down with Doug Obenhaus, President Texas Auto Sales, and David Kang, Chief Marketing & Analytics Officer, Copart. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Copart: Copart – Are you looking to expand your dealership’s wholesale inventory? Finding front-line...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Sam Mahrouq, CEO of Ikon Technologies where we discuss: Scaling his auto group to 11 dealerships and millions in sales, How an "ah ha" moment at the dealership led him to found a $55M revenue tech company and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: 1. Uber for Business - With Central, you can request a ride on behalf of your customers even if they don’t have the Uber app. If yo...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast! In this episode, I sit down with Ernie Garcia Jr., Co-founder and CEO of Carvana. We dive into topics like the greatest comeback story of any public company ever, lessons from selling millions of cars, the future of the automotive wholesale business and much more. This episode is brought to you by: DealNow - The safe and simple way to avoid fraud, sign documents, and instantly transact any vehicle online. Learn more at https://dealnow.com/ CDG Recrui...

Welcome to Industry Spotlight, a new show on the Car Dealership Guy Podcast hosted by Sam D'Arc. In each episode, Sam highlights the most compelling dealerships and innovative companies in automotive, diving into key trends, best practices, and insights from those shaping the future of automotive retail. Today, Sam sits down with Ross Tinkham, GTM Leader at Podium, and Alex Lawrence, CEO of EV Auto, to discuss how dealers are leveraging AI to cover busy showrooms and sell more cars. This episo...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I speak with John Temerian, CEO of CURATED, a Miami-based boutique dealership specializing in rare, vintage supercars and catering to the ultra-elite. We discuss how a lifelong obsession with supercars turned into an impressive business, his wild search for "blue chip" cars, and how he became the go-to car concierge for the rich and powerful looking to build world-class car collections. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Sanjiv Yajnik, President of Financial Services at Capital One, and Kris Gaerlan, President of Dallas Lease Returns where we discuss: Why people don't trust car dealers and how to fix it, Creating unique experiences in the car dealership, Why he's calling buyers looking for things to fix after the sale and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: CDK Global - Empowering dealers w...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Jeff Watson, Owner of IV Seasons Auto where we discuss: Secrets of automotive's most controversial business, tackling 90% in-house financing, economics of buy here pay here dealerships and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: DLRdmv - Everyone knows out of state titling is a major headache. It doesn’t have to be this way. Our friends at DLRdmv have created a progra...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Andrew Glaser, CEO of Vantage Auto, where we discuss: How he became the #1 seller of interesting, odd, and weird cars in the US, making millions from nostalgia, striking gold in an Indiana barn and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: Lotlinx - Get the best possible market advantage on every vehicle transaction. Optimize operations and boost profits using artificia...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Alex Lawrence, CEO of EV Auto where we discuss: From PhD to selling Teslas, Why EV mandate should end, Decoding Elon to beat the market and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: DealerOn - Put the power of the highest-converting, fastest-performing website platform in retail automotive to work for you. Get guaranteed results when you switch to DealerOn. Learn ...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with George Saliba, Dealer Principal at J&S Mitsubishi where we discuss: why he's livestreaming car buying to thousands, how dealers can kill on social media, is the Cybertruck a flop? and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: Car Dealership Guy Industry Job Board - Connecting world-class talent with top-notch companies in Automotive. Find your next role—or start hiring ...

Welcome to the Car Dealership Guy Podcast. In this episode, I'm speaking with Michael Kelley, General Manager of Bourne's Auto Center, where we discuss: How to build a used car dealership empire, Crushing $125M in sales in one location, "Cigars and P&L statements", Turning recon into a profit center and much more! This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: Uber for Business - With Central, you can request a ride on behalf of your customers even if they don’t...

In this episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast, I'm speaking with Eli Hanna, Dealer Principal of Hanna Cars where we discuss: Selling his first car behind a service shop, expanding his independent car dealership business into the Florida used car market, whether he can succeed in the same location where another dealership failed and much more. This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by: Car Dealership Guy Industry Job Board - Connecting world-class talent ...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Tiger Okeley, President at Oak Motors. This episode is brought to you by: AutoFi's powerful platform helps dealers sell smarter, not harder—online and in the showroom. Learn more at autofi.com/cdg CDK Global - Empowering dealers with the tools and technology to build deeper customer relationships. Learn more @ https://www.cdkglobal.com/dealership-xperience-platform Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Inte...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Bruce Miller, Owner of Miller Motors. This episode is brought to you by: Cars Commerce - The platform to simplify everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at carscommerce.inc Podium - The lead conversion platform for car dealerships. Get 10% of your plan by texting “CarDealershipGuy” to (833) 441-1166 or visit https://bit.ly/48UKr4x Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being consi...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Brandon Miller, Founder of Miller Auto. This episode is brought to you by: Podium - The lead conversion platform for car dealerships. Get 10% off your plan by texting “CarDealershipGuy” to (833) 441-1166 or visit www.podium.com/automotive CDK Global - Empowering dealers with the tools and technology to build deeper customer relationships. Learn more @ https://www.cdkglobal.com/dealership-xperience-platform Interested in advertising with CarDea...

In this episode, I'm speaking with John Clay Wolfe, Founder of GivemetheVIN.com. You can check out the full story of John's historic barn find and see the cars they got ahold of here. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here. Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:33) - John’s early career in media and auto (00:07:17) - How John's radio career impacted his wholesaling business (00:08:52) -...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Jason Putnam, Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Tactical Fleet. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here 00:00 - Intro 01:00 - Jason's background 05:35 - Attracting exotic clients 11:45 - Selling to Sonic Automotive 14:15 - Unit Economics 25:00 - Scaling, customer profiles, internet money 35:52 - The best "deals" in exotic right now...

This episode is brought to you by: ⁠KEYper Systems⁠ - Key Management Simplified. Interested in advertising with CarDealershipGuy? Drop us a line here Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here In this episode, I'm speaking with Robert Hollenshead, Founder of R. Hollenshead Auto Sales and Accu-Trade. 00:00 - Intro 02:21 - Bob's background 08:27 - Lack of transparency back in the day 13:11 - Creating things the industry needed 35:24 - Accu-Trade, Galves, M...

In this episode, I'm speaking with Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group.