Aug. 7, 2025

"Race to the Top": How Dealers are Creating Trust at Scale—and Dominating Automotive Marketplaces | Alex Vetter, CEO of Cars Commerce

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Show Notes

Today I’m joined by Alex Vetter, CEO of Cars Commerce. We unpack why consumers are getting shellshocked in the service lane, reveal the CRM blind spots from retail research to retail shopping behavior, and explore why 95% of car buyers still start their journey on third-party websites—plus much more.

This episode is brought to you by:

1. CarNow - Tired of tools that promise the world but don’t deliver? CarNow isn’t one of them. One store switched to CarNow's full platform and went from a 3% to 30% close rate—in one month. Everything connects. Everything converts. Take a look at the story here @ http://www.carnow.com/performance

2. Mia - Meet Mia: Your 24/7 AI receptionist who speaks like a human, not a robot. No more "press 1" - just natural conversations for sales, service, and support. She handles everything from car shopping to appointment scheduling in multiple languages, while integrating with your systems. Never miss another lead. Check out https://www.mia.inc

3. Cars Commerce - The platform to simplify everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at https://www.carscommerce.inc

Need help finding top automotive talent? Get started here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cdgrecruiting.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Interested in advertising with Car Dealership Guy? Drop us a line here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://cdgpartner.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Interested in being considered as a guest on the podcast? Add your name here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3Suismu⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Topics:

00:19 Key insights from Used Car Palooza?

01:34 Current outlook for the used car market?

03:50 Biggest challenges in used car acquisition?

05:03 Best strategies for dealer inventory sourcing?

05:34 Why does transparency matter now?

07:58 How do dealers build resilience?

10:17 What is AI's role in the future of dealerships?