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Summary: Dealers can turn their service lane into a powerful used-vehicle acquisition channel by identifying high-value vehicles during scheduled service visits, using real-time inspection data to inform appraisals, and proactively engaging customers with transparent trade-in offers. With customers holding vehicles longer and showing increased interest in value discussions during service, dealerships that connect service, inventory, and CRM workflows can acquire vehicles more efficiently while protecting margin and improving customer experience. 

A hot topic in the industry right now is finding better ways to source used vehicles. With vehicle and transportation costs higher than ever, dealers are looking for alternatives to sourcing at auction. Increasingly, they’re turning to their existing customers instead. 

In the latest session in our Fixed Ops Focus Series: Vehicle Inventory Sourcing Featuring vAuto and VinSolutions, Cox Automotive experts Taylor Finch-Thompson, Jonathan Brown and Brett O’Rear discussed the trend of sourcing used vehicle inventory from the service lane. 

The opportunities presented by shopping your service drive are clear: 

• Maintenance and repair records, including multipoint inspections, already on file 

• Customers with scheduled service appointments  

• The chance to sell another vehicle to an existing customer 

That sounds great, but how do you create a system to regularly add vehicles to your used inventory? Fortunately, the full suite of Xtime solutions encompass every single touchpoint and engagement that your dealership will have before, during and after the service visit with your customers. Then, vAuto and VinSolutions help cement the acquisition with valuation and a predictable process. 

Let’s look at how each of these solutions play a role in the used vehicle acquisition process. 

The First Step: Scheduling 

Scheduling the appointment is a clear starting point because it gets customers back into the store to have their vehicle worked on. Xtime Schedule lets customers conveniently schedule an appointment from any device, 24/7 and in the background, it’s aligning available appointment slots with your service lane capacity and expertise. 

It also presents the customer with good/better/best menus, open and active recalls, and vehicle warranty information to help them choose the right service package for their needs and budget. 

But one more important thing Schedule does is automatically inform you about potential acquisition targets coming into the dealership. So, now you know exactly when a desirable vehicle will be pulling into the service drive. 

Setting the Stage with the Inspection 

As the technician is doing the inspection, they’re making recommendations of services that the vehicle needs. Xtime Inspect helps you do a better job selling the work during the service visit, increasing the RO value, and capturing any work that gets declined. 

You can leverage that data to present those services to the consumer again during the next visit. But you can also use the data to build a vAuto appraisal and inform your vehicle acquisition manager of the work that needs to be done to get the vehicle frontline ready. 

The Cox Automotive 2026 Fixed Ops and Ownership Study shows that consumers start considering trading in their vehicle instead of repairing it once the cost exceeds $3,000. So, many of your customers are open to an appraisal after the inspection has been completed. 

With Xtime Inspect data feeding into the appraisal, your dealership can proactively identify owners already raising their hand through a service appointment. 

Setting Up Your Acquisition Workflow 

Acquisition has never been more competitive or more expensive than it is today. So, why not start by targeting the lowest hanging fruit already engaging with your dealership? 

The workflow described below is designed for whoever owns the acquisition strategy at the dealership, whether that’s the used car manager, the acquisition manager, used car director, or any variable ops leadership. 

The goal is to create a process for buying the most profitable vehicles from your service lane. 

First, you’ll set up automated searches within your inventory tool based on filtering criteria such as service appointments, inventory needs, and vAuto ProfitTime® GPS value scores. That way you can identify the vehicles that make the most sense for the dealership. 

Once you’ve identified a potential acquisition, you’ll push it as a lead to your VinSolutions CRM. That will let you confirm whether the customer is already in your CRM, which mitigates duplicate lead creation and keeps your data cleaner. You can then set an appraisal appointment with the BDC or sales rep. 

The acquisition team can actively track who has been contacted, who has engaged with each lead, who has not yet been sent a lead, and how the opportunities are progressing. 

Making the Offer 

After identifying the opportunity within any lead and completing an appraisal, the dealership can generate a professional, consumer-facing offer directly tied to that customer’s vehicle.  

Today’s consumers expect a level of transparency and immediacy, so it’s not enough to tell them the dealership is interested in their vehicle – they want to know what their vehicle may be worth today and why. 

The consumer offer helps you tell the story of their vehicle’s actual value, minus the repair costs you identified during the inspection. That gives them good insights into what their vehicle is worth today, and you can often present them an offer right away. 

Implementing Your Service-to-Sales Acquisition Strategy 

Instead of relying exclusively on outside inventory acquisition channels where competition and costs continue to rise, dealerships can now leverage key solutions as a scalable acquisition engine that they can actively monitor across the entire Cox Automotive ecosystem. 

By connecting Xtime, vAuto and VinSolutions to create a powerful acquisition workflow, the dealership gains valuable visibility, timing, and proactive engagement with customers they already know. 

Want to learn more? Schedule a discussion with us. 

AI is transforming automotive retail, from how shoppers search to how dealerships market, personalize, and perform. Tools powered by AI can move faster, surface insights instantly, and automate what once took hours. But the dealerships seeing the strongest results aren’t relying on AI alone. They’re pairing AI with human expertise. 

At Dealer.com, we believe the best outcomes happen when advanced technology and experienced specialists work together, turning speed and automation into real, measurable impact. 

Why AI Matters More Than Ever 

Today’s shoppers expect fast, intuitive, and relevant digital experiences. Increasingly, they’re researching through AI‑powered tools, not just traditional search. That means dealerships must stay visible, perform well, and deliver personalized experiences across every touchpoint. 

Dealer.com’s AI-powered platform helps dealerships do exactly that, by focusing on three outcomes that matter most: 

• Performance through faster updates and smarter optimization 

• Personalization that adapts to each shopper’s intent 

• Presence wherever shoppers search and engage 

AI That Predicts, Creates, and Automates 

Dealer.com uses multiple forms of AI to support modern dealerships: 

• Predictive AI analyzes data and trends to forecast demand and optimize decisions. 

• Generative AI creates content, layouts, and messaging to keep sites fresh and conversion‑ready. 

• Agentic AI automates tasks like campaign optimization and performance tuning. 

Together, these capabilities help dealerships move faster and operate more efficiently. 

But knowing what to automate and how to apply it still requires people. 

Where Human Expertise Makes the Difference 

AI can recommend and optimize, but dealership strategy comes from experience. 

That’s why Dealer.com pairs AI with dedicated experts who help: 

• Set the right goals before changes go live 

• Validate AI recommendations against dealership priorities 

• Fine‑tune messaging and campaigns for local markets and inventory 

This combination ensures technology supports the business, rather than running unchecked. 

Smarter Marketing, Managed the Right Way 

Dealer.com uses AI to power precision bidding, audience targeting, retargeting, and video personalization using Cox Automotive data. At the same time, expert teams guide strategy, monitor performance, and make informed adjustments. 

The result? Advertising that’s more efficient, more relevant, and easier to manage, without losing confidence or control. 

Built for the Future of AI Search 

As AI-driven search and conversational tools grow, discoverability means more than ranking on a page. 

Dealer.com websites are optimized for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), helping dealerships stay visible and credible in AI-generated answers. AI handles the technical foundation, while experts ensure content, reputation, and messaging build real trust. 

The Power Is in the Combination 

AI moves fast. Experts bring strategy, context, and confidence. 

Together, they help dealerships move faster, personalize shopper experiences, and stay visible wherever buyers search. 

That’s why the best results don’t come from AI alone. 
 

They come from AI, plus experts. 

What You’ll Learn 

• Why trust is the primary driver of service loyalty, repurchase behavior, and long-term dealership growth.
• How dealers can operationalize trust by making vehicle value visible, consistent, and trusted across service and ownership moments.
• How Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer helps reduce friction, activate service lane opportunities, and turn trust into action.

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New insights from the 2025 Cox Automotive Fixed Ops and Ownership Study show that trust plays a central role in how consumers engage with dealerships over time. It influences where they service their vehicles, how loyal they remain, and where they turn when it’s time to buy or sell. 

The study also points to an important opportunity. Trust isn’t just earned through intent or messaging. It can be operationalized through consistent, transparent experiences that help customers feel confident in their decisions across the ownership journey. 

Why Trust Drives Loyalty and How Dealers Can Put It to Work

Trust isn’t an abstract idea in your dealership. It’s one of the strongest factors influencing whether customers return, stay loyal, and buy again. 

The 2025 Cox Automotive Fixed Ops and Ownership Study makes that clear. Trust is the number one reason consumers return to the same dealership for service, cited more often than price, convenience, or friendliness. It also ranks second only to financial readiness in influencing where consumers choose to buy their next vehicle. Over time, customers who report higher levels of trust show significantly higher service retention than those with lower trust. 

Operationalize: Ground Value Decisions with Trusted Data 

Dealers deliver trust through consistent, transparent experiences that help customers feel confident in their decisions, especially when vehicle value is part of the conversation. 

That’s where Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer plays a critical role. When you consistently ground value discussions in Kelley Blue Book data, you give customers a number they recognize and trust. Over time, that trusted reference point does more than support a single appraisal or trade conversation. It becomes part of how customers evaluate your dealership across ownership moments. 

When the value itself is trusted, confidence carries forward from service visits to future purchase decisions. In practice, that’s how trust turns into loyalty and how loyalty drives long-term growth. 

Service Is Where Trust Is Built and Where Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer Helps Activate It

Service is one of the most consistent touchpoints you have with consumers, and it plays a bigger role in future decisions than many dealers realize. 

According to the study, 88 percent of consumers say their service experience impacts their likelihood to repurchase from the same dealership. It plays a central role in loyalty, repurchase, and acquisition. 

Operationalize: Introduce Instant Cash Offer in the Service Lane 

When you introduce vehicle value during service interactions, you give consumers useful context earlier in the ownership journey. You’re not asking them to decide. You’re helping them understand where they stand. 

Using Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer in the service lane helps make those moments more effective. By grounding value conversations in Kelley Blue Book data, you reinforce confidence during routine ownership touchpoints. They see a number they recognize and trust, which helps the conversation feel informative instead of transactional. 

Over time, these experiences add up. Service becomes more than maintenance. It becomes a trust building moment where value visibility matters. When consumers understand their vehicle’s value throughout ownership, they are better prepared for what comes next, whether that is another service visit, a future purchase, or an opportunity for you to acquire their vehicle when the timing is right. 

This is how service trust carries forward. It supports loyalty today and creates readiness for future sales and acquisition opportunities. 

Making Vehicle Value Visible Earlier with Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer

Today’s consumers want to understand their vehicle’s value, not just at the point of trade, but throughout ownership. 

The study shows that 69 percent of consumers say it’s valuable to always know their vehicle’s current market value. That expectation is even stronger among service customers, rising to 76 percent for consumers who service at dealerships. For many, value awareness is part of how confidence is built over time. 

Operationalize: Replace Uncertainty with Guidance  

When customers understand how market conditions affect their vehicle’s value, they’re better equipped to make informed decisions. Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer supports this through Consumer Market Confidence, a feature designed to help them see how their vehicle’s condition and features contrubite to its value. Instead of value feeling like a surprise that shows up late in the process, it becomes something they can understand and track over time. 

This is what makes value visibility powerful. Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer doesn’t just make a number available. It helps make that number visible, understandable, and trusted. When value is grounded in Kelley Blue Book data, your customers recognize the source and believe the information, which helps conversations feel clear instead of uncertain. 

Turning Trusted Valuation into Action with Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer

When valuation conversations feel uncertain, momentum slows. Customers hesitate, decisions get deferred, and opportunities are missed. The study shows that trust can remove that friction when it is delivered consistently and credibly. 

Satisfaction with appraisal fairness and accuracy is higher when consumers service at a dealership. Confidence rises even further when appraisals are backed by a trusted third-party source like Kelley Blue Book. In other words, when customers recognize and trust where the number comes from, valuation conversations become easier to navigate. 

Operationalize: Turn Confidence into Momentum 

Because Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer valuations are powered by Kelley Blue Book data, customers see a number they already recognize and trust. That familiarity helps conversations feel fair, defensible, and less risky for both sides. Instead of needing to sell the number, you can focus on helping customers understand it. 

Reducing friction creates room for action. Many dealers already see the opportunity. The study shows that 81 percent of dealers view the service lane as a chance to acquire inventory, and 86 percent recognize it as a vehicle sales opportunity. Trust built through service doesn’t have to stop at maintenance when valuation conversations feel clear and credible. 

Uncovering more opportunities in an environment where trust is already established is a win-win for both parties. Appraisal conversations and Offers can be introduced between the consumer and the Service Lane Advisor without disrupting the service experience. Service Drive Acquisition becomes a proactive strategy rather than a reactive one, allowing you to engage customers at the right time with the right context. 

Ready to put trust into practice?

See how Kelley Blue Book^® Instant Cash Offer helps you introduce trusted value earlier, reduce friction in valuation conversations, and turn service trust into inventory opportunity. 

Want a leadership level snapshot of what these ownership insights mean for loyalty and long‑term growth?

Download the executive brief: Why Transparent Valuation Drives Loyalty 

Watch our latest 2026 webinar hosted by Taylor Finch, Jonathon Brown and Brett O’Rear, Senior Product Consultants at Cox Automotive, as they share best practices and actionable insights to help you maximize the value of your vehicle acquisition program

You”ll discover how to Identify inventory targets via scheduled service appointments, use vehicle data and dealership tools for informed acquisition decisions, and Improve revenue by making timely, data-driven offers

This recorded session, which includes Q&A, also provides a first look at how Xtime, vAuto, and VinSolutions work together to create a more enhanced end-to-end acquisition workflow.

Key Takeaways 

• Buyers who complete more steps online are more satisfied.
• Digital‑first journeys shorten time spent at the dealership.
• The biggest gains come from closing specific online gaps, not going fully online.

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The most satisfied car buyers are not spending less time shopping. They’re spending less time stuck in the dealership process. 

According to the recent Car Buyer Journey Study, buyers who complete more steps of the purchase online report significantly higher satisfaction and spend less time in-store. This shift toward digital-first behavior is one of the most important trends shaping the modern buying experience. It’s what your buyers want. And it’s up to you to deliver it. 

We explored the full set of trends, from rising satisfaction to shifting expectations across the purchase and ownership journey, earlier. Now, we’ll go deeper and focus on one takeaway from the data: your most satisfied buyers are doing more online. 

To improve customer satisfaction and save time, you need to know which digital tools make the biggest difference. 

Digital‑First Buyers Are the Most Satisfied

The Car Buyer Journey Study shows a direct connection between digital engagement and buyer satisfaction. Buyers who described their journey as mostly digital reported 78 percent satisfaction, compared to 65 percent satisfaction who used digital tools lightly. That gap isn’t about demographics or vehicle type. It is about control, clarity, and time. 

What this means for you 

When shoppers do more of the work online before they visit in-person, the in-store experience can feel less like a negotiation and more like a confirmation of the decisions they’ve already started making. Providing as much information at the listing level like trade-in value, vehicle details, payment options, and next steps, saves time and reduces friction downstream.

Time Is the Real Currency

One of the most compelling findings from the study is how much time digital buyers save at the dealership. Buyers who completed most of their purchase steps online spent an average of 41 fewer minutes at the dealership compared to more traditional buyers. New‑vehicle buyers saved even more time, averaging 44 minutes, while used‑vehicle buyers saved 39 minutes. 

What this means for you  

Each step completed online before arrival reduces bottlenecks in the showroom, speeds up handoffs, and allows your staff to prioritize higher value interactions. That time savings compounds across every deal. Shorter visits aren’t just a customer experience-win. They help you move more buyers through the process without adding pressure to the sales or F&I teams.

The Data Shows the Future Isn’t All Online. It’s an Omnichannel.

Only 7 percent of buyers completed every step of the purchase fully online. At the same time, 53 percent completed all steps entirely in person. The largest group falls in the middle. 63 percent of buyers prefer an omnichannel blend that combines online and in‑store steps. 

What this means for you 

Buyers want the convenience of starting online and the confidence of finishing in person. The challenge is that desired digital steps and offered digital steps are often misaligned. Dealers who put all their eggs into one basket with an all-digital storefront (or the opposite) are missing out on that 63% group of middle-of-the road buying group. You need to meet buyers where they actually want to be. Most importantly, the digital tools you use need to connect both their online shopping journey to their in-store experience.  

Where the Gaps Create Friction

The Car Buyer Journey Study highlights several clear gaps between what buyers want to do online and what they’re able to do. 

• 48 percent of buyers want to complete a credit application online, but only 33 percent do
• 40 percent want to select F& I products online, but only 16 percent do
• 37 percent want to finalize price details online, but just 19 percent do

What this means for you  

These gaps matter because they interrupt momentum. When your buyers expect progress before they arrive and that progress falls short, they reset emotionally. Closing even one of these gaps can significantly improves perceived efficiency and satisfaction. 

Start with One Step, not a Full Overhaul

The strongest performing dealers aren’t trying to digitize everything at once. They’re choosing one high‑impact step and improving it deliberately. According to the study, more dealers are seeing buyers complete steps for various processes. Online trade‑in offers increased by 6 percentage points, and online F&I selection increased by 4 points year over year  

What this means for you 

Buyers adopt these tools when they’re available and easy to use. Ask yourself whether adding an online tool will reduce time spent in the dealership and build buyer confidence ahead of arrival. For example, credit applications represent the largest unmet demand, making them a logical starting point. Enabling this step earlier in the journey helps shorten approvals, reduces repeat data entry, and makes payment conversations more productive. 

Digital Momentum Starts Before the Showroom

Most buyers begin their journey on third‑party marketplaces like Autotrader, building expectations long before they contact a dealer. That early research shapes which vehicles they consider, which dealerships they trust, and how prepared they feel walking in. 

When more steps carry forward from online discovery into the in‑store experience, dealership teams spend less time rewriting the story and more time closing the deal. 

This is where marketplace‑led digital journeys help bridge marketing and operations. When buyers arrive already informed and engaged, the entire process moves faster and feels easier for everyone involved. 

What You Should Do Next

If digital adoption feels overwhelming, focus on practical progress: 

• Audit which purchase steps you currently offer online versus in-store
• Identify one high-impact gap to close this quarter
• Track time spent at the dealership as a core performance metric, not just close rate
• Create a buyer-centric approach that pairs your digital tools and processes to the desires of today’s shoppers.

The data is consistent. Buyers who do more online are more satisfied, spend less time in the dealership, and arrive ready to move forward. Digital tools don’t replace the sales experience. They make it work better. 

Want the full picture? 

Explore the full 2026 Car Buyer Journey trends and view the infographic for a visual summary of how today’s buyers shop, decide, and buy. 

Source: 2025 Cox Automotive Car Buyer Journey Study