Today I'm joined by George Karolis, President at The Presidio Group. Dealership buy/sell activity is on pace to match or beat the record year, with roughly 215 deals already done and 315 or more expected by year's end. George breaks down why the average dealer is over 70 years old with no succession plan, why nearly 18% of dealers now say they want to sell in the next year (almost double last year), and why the biggest groups are trading luxury stores rather than walking away from them entirely. He also unpacks why Toyota stores now trade like BMW and Mercedes dealerships, and why Carvana's rapid new-car growth might not be the experiment dealers think it is.
Topics:
00:20 Presidio's Jay Leno & Hendrick Event.
02:30 Ernie Garcia's Tight-Lipped Strategy.
03:00 Carvana's 998-Unit Month.
04:50 Why Pump-Outs Could Backfire.
05:40 2026's Record Buy-Sell Pace.
07:55 Aging Dealers Fueling Sales.
09:00 18% Of Dealers Want Out.
13:00 Lexus Stores Trade Like Gold.
17:40 Luxury Is M&A's Sweet Spot.
19:55 The Two Porsche Stories.
23:25 Toyota Trades Like Luxury.
27:45 The Fletcher Jones Playbook.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. @plugmotors – The only wholesale auction built for EV’s, making used EV buying fast, transparent, and profitable. If your dealership is taking EV trade-ins or looking for used EV inventory, you need to check out @ https://plug.vin/
2. @Podiumsoftware – the AI platform trusted by one in three dealerships. Podium helps dealers consolidate sales, service, messaging, and voice into one connected system that actually runs the work. If your AI isn’t driving real outcomes, it’s time to take a closer look @ https://www.podium.com/car-dealership-guy
3. @ThePresidioGroup – The Presidio Group is one of the longest-standing investment banks focused exclusively on automotive. Founded in 1998, the firm's professionals have collectively advised on more than 320 transactions representing nearly $22.5 billion in value. Presidio is also a leading source of dealership M&A and valuation insights through its Quarterly M&A Market Update, Presidio Valuation Index, and other proprietary market intelligence. Explore these and other industry insights @ www.thepresidiogroup.com.
Presidio reports mentioned in today's episode:
Q2 2026 M&A Market Update / Presidio Valuation Index: https://thepresidiogroup.com/7429
Midyear 2026 Dealer Direction Survey: https://thepresidiogroup.com/os6a
Q2 2026 Presidio-NCM Average Dealership Performance Benchmark: https://thepresidiogroup.com/x98e
Q2 2026 Drive-In LIVE: https://thepresidiogroup.com/r5xw
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