Tag: cash flow

Top 5 Reasons to Remain Optimistic About Your Trades

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Used vehicle sales helped keep dealerships afloat during new vehicle inventory shortages in recent years, but they are expected to be flat this year as new vehicle sales rally. Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke recently shared this projection in a 2023 Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index. His team also expects used vehicle values to begin recovering by the end of the year, based on year-to-date increases in the first quarter.

Whether used vehicles are leading sales for your dealership or playing a more supporting role, the way you handle trade-ins affects your profitability and cash flow. In any market conditions, optimizing trade-in payoffs and lien and title release can help you save on processing and holding costs and realize profits sooner.

Let’s look at five ways using a digital solution can help you plan for success and make the most from your trades:

#1 – Eliminate deal-killing surprises

When a trade-in comes to you without a title, you don’t know what you don’t know. There could be an ex-spouse or estranged parent listed who won’t approve the trade or can’t be reached. Before you know it, you’re facing unwound deals and bad feelings all around. Or inversely you may find yourself doing what other dealers do and turn away a potentially profitable trade due to the risk of there being a payoff surprise tied to the vehicle with no way of knowing what details reside on the title.

A trade-in titling solution lets you view an image of the paper or electronic title before you take in a trade. With all the facts in front of you, your dealership can work with the customer to solve any potential problems or choose not to accept the trade. Either way, you move forward with all the necessary information to make the decisions that are right for you.

#2 – Less painful payoff quotes

Does your ear feel warm just thinking about the time you spend on the phone to define what the trade-in payoff amount is? Do you hang up each call expecting that you may still have to deal with a short pay or overpay?

Using a digital trade-in titling solution gives you a direct online connection to top lenders for reliable payoff calculations specific to the lender and based on the date you choose.

#3 – No more checks in the mail

It’s probably been a while since you wrote a check at the grocery store. So why are you still cutting checks and shipping them to lenders? The entire process is surprisingly costly for dealerships, adding up to an average of a thousand dollars per month for a single rooftop.* The administrative work includes having to look up the correct remit address for the lender and making sure you verify the account number. It’s a lot of effort that could be handled with a press of a button using a trade-in payoff solution.

With all the routing information included on the back end, ACH payoff gets the payment to the lender immediately so processing can begin right away.

#4 – Title or lien sat release in hand faster

The longer it takes to get a trade-in vehicle’s paperwork transferred, the longer it sits idle on the lot costing you money instead of making money. On average, it takes 18 or more days to release a lien or title and in the meantime the vehicle is taking up a percentage of what you spend on dealership overhead costs. Expedited lien and title release cuts that processing time down by 70% when you use Dealertrack Accelerated Title®.**

#5 – Steady cash flow

It’s important to keep cash flow moving to power your dealership. The sooner you have the lien sat release or title in hand for a trade, the sooner you can sell it and realize fuller profits. Instead of letting holding costs add up and take away from your profits, speeding lien and title release means you can be re-selling the vehicle more quickly off your lot or at auction.

The bottom line

Streamlining your lien and title payoff and release processes can benefit your dealership regardless of economic trends. Take control of your operational efficiencies now to help make the most of your trades, even when times are uncertain.

Save money and get rewarded!

Throughout November 2023, use Accelerated Title and you can earn rewards and be eligible for grand prizes. Terms and conditions apply. Find out more here.

Sources:

*Dealertrack and dealer customer data as of August 2022. Not a guarantee of actual savings.
**Based on average industry timeframe for vehicle title release and vehicle payoff process of 18+ days, as determined by 2022 Dealertrack data.

5 Tips to Reduce Contracts in Transit

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As dealerships seek ways to maximize efficiency and cash flow, many are taking a close look at their contracts in transit (CIT). Traditional paper contract packages spend an average of five days in transit according to Dealertrack data. They get packaged into an envelope and shipped to the lender, which means they can’t be reviewed – much less funded – until they’re delivered and opened.

That’s the best-case scenario. If the lender requires additional documents or there’s an error such as a missed signature that leads to re-contracting, the funding can get delayed further.

Here are five things your dealership can do to cut down on contracts in transit:

Tip 1: Know Where Your Contracts Are

Tracking your contract status is essential to finding out the scope of your funding delays. Make sure you have regular meetings and discussions with your F&I and back office teams about the number and dollar amount of contracts in progress that not yet funded and potentially holding up cash flow.

Make this information part of your daily heat sheet/CIT meetings with all teams to stay aware of your cash flow situation. Some dealerships have found that they can effectively manage their CIT by making it a part of each a team’s goals.

Tip 2: Look to Technology

Dealertrack data shows that one out of every four paper contracts contains an error such as missed signatures, contracts not meeting lender requirements, missing stips, and other errors that can lead to re-contracting and make the contracts in transit period longer than usual. In a recent survey of dealers, nearly 70% said that missed stips contribute to delays in funding or their CIT.

eContracting technology is designed with checks in place and built-in verifications to ensure that you can’t proceed without required information and signatures. It also reduces data re-entry by importing information from the DMS, so you can avoid accidentally introducing errors that can come from re-typing.

Another big advantage to taking your contracts digital is that you save money, not only by making the contracting process faster, but also by reducing hard costs such as floor plan, shipping charges, and paper forms.

Tip 3: Keep Your Lenders Close

Get to know the requirements of your preferred lenders to help ensure that everything they need is included in the funding package the first time around. Make sure your support staff gets a checklist to help them gather the necessary documents for your lenders – or use a digital solution with an integrated checklist to remove the guesswork from the process.

We also recommend staying connected with your lender reps so you always know who to work with to address any funding that gets stuck in transit.

Tip 4: Start the Clock Sooner

To really optimize your processes, rethink when “contracts in transit” begins. Rather than starting the timer at the end of the day or the next day, look at integrating your front and back office processes to get the deal out the door before your customer drives off the lot.

Take advantage of technology to speed up stip collection: scanners, copiers or tablets can get the documents into your computer and ready to submit in seconds. Make it a goal to submit each funding package as soon as it’s ready and see how that helps speed your cash flow.

Tip 5: Get Your Whole Crew Involved

Funding should not be the F&I department’s responsibility alone. Provide access and visibility to your software solutions so that sales, F&I and the back-office staff can improve the dealership’s overall workflow efficiency, including speeding trade-in titling to keep from holding up that portion of the deal.

With all your staff trained on the software, checklists and equipment you use in the dealership, you can work as a team to support F&I to get deals finalized, submitted and funded. Be sure to establish a process for training new employees and make use of free online training sessions from OEMs, lenders and software providers.

Start Today

There’s no need to wait to start reducing contracts in transit. From optimizing internal processes to adopting technology solutions, your dealership can begin to overcome cash flow roadblocks now.

Learn more about increasing your contracting efficiency and speeding funding with Dealertrack Digital Contracting.

Avoiding Title and Payoff Surprises With Trade-Ins

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Under the current market conditions, with new car inventory at historic lows, dealerships’ used car programs are more important than ever as a revenue and cash flow source. That puts increased focus on your dealership’s trade-in process, both for replenishing used car inventory and enticing car buyers to upgrade.

Now the challenge is to ensure that you have all the information you need to keep the deal moving smoothly.

The more you know…

Let’s say someone brings in a trade-in vehicle with great resale potential and they’re eager to purchase another vehicle from you. The customer tells you that nothing has changed with their name or address since they bought the car and they’re the only person listed on the title.

What you don’t know is that the title actually lists an old address – and the customer’s former spouse as the co-lienholder.

With manual processes and paperwork, that kind of revelation could take a while to surface and when it does, there’s a chance that your dealership could be stuck with a vehicle it can’t legally sell. At the very least, it will create extra work and hassle for you and your customer. At worst, it can cause the deal to unravel and leave you with the fallout if you’ve sold the trade to someone else or sold a new car to the customer who brought in the trade, valued with the vehicle they brought in.

When your dealership has access to a digital trade-in title solution, you can view all the title details immediately. That way, if there’s a potential problem you can begin to work it out with the customer then and there, before you even accept the trade. Having the information you need up front helps ensure smoother transactions and preserve your CSI scores.

Payoff perspective

Another manual trade-in process that can bring its own surprises is loan payoff. Having complete and reliable payoff information is important for desking clean deals. It also cuts down on time-consuming back-and-forth with the lender if you need to make adjustments.

A digital trade-in titling solution provides direct lender connections for real-time payoff quotes based on the payoff date and allows for immediate title release as soon as the lender receives payment.

Keeping cash flow moving

Why is all this important? Because delays in payoff and title release equal delays in cash flow. While the dealership waits for the title on a trade-in, holding costs accumulate and the potential for retailing or auctioning the vehicle is held back. The sooner you can have the title in hand, the quicker that cash flows into your bank account.

Find out how Dealertrack Accelerated Title helps keeps your trade-in process moving without any surprises.

Your Shortcut to Faster Trade-In Titling

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The typical trade-in process is full of time-consuming manual steps that can mean a long road ahead before you receive the title and turn the inventory. Dealertrack Accelerated Title® offers an expressway to faster title release with just a few easy, online steps.

See how it works in the infographic below (click image for a larger view) and visit go.dealertrack.com/ATexpress to get your dealership on the AT Expressway.

How Dealertrack Accelerated Title speeds trade-in title release

Clear Titles, Full Details Make for a Winning Trade-In

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Autumn means colorful leaves, a chill in the air and the welcome return of football. This year, the auto business is experiencing some tough challenges brought on by daunting economic and industry conditions. Your dealership’s team has a job to do, and trade-ins can be part of a winning strategy for keeping your used car inventory stocked and your cash flow moving.

To lead your team to victory, you can take a cue from the inspirational pep talks football coaches use to help their players turn the game around. So, here are some encouraging words about how your dealership can utilize a digital solution to dig deep and overcome some of the obstacles you’re up against when it comes to trade-in titling.

The Need for A Clearer View of the Field

Let’s say you have a customer who’s ready to buy a vehicle – and they have a trade-in that you know is in demand. If they don’t have title in hand and you use a manual process to obtain one, it could be weeks before you can be 100% sure you’re in the clear and that there are no surprises like a former spouse as co-lienholder or wrong addresses to impede your progress.

Keep Deals from Getting Sacked

If you do encounter one of those payoff surprises, what you thought was a touchdown could end up being a costly sack. If you can’t gain a clear title for a trade – especially if you’ve already re-sold it – you could be facing a very unhappy customer and an expensive loss.

A better strategy is to beef up your defensive line with a digital trade-in titling solution that allows you to see full title details before you decide to take in a trade. That way, you have the information you need to anticipate anything that might tackle the deal so you can take the appropriate action before it’s too late.

Improve Your Inventory Game

Between car buyers’ understandable budget concerns and unusually low levels of new car inventory, used cars are having a moment in the spotlight for dealerships. Trade-ins play a big role in keeping a dealership’s used car inventory lineup solid, so it helps to optimize your payoff and title release process to not only avoid any payoff surprises, but also help keep trade-in inventory moving.

Outrun Cash Flow Interference

Manual payoff and title release takes an average of 18 or more days according to Dealertrack data. While trade-ins sit idle, you’re not yet realizing a profit on your investment. At the same time, holding costs add up until the title arrives, further impeding your profit opportunity.

Even if you’re planning on auctioning the vehicle, having the title in hand nearly doubles your chances of first pass sale at auction1 – and until the title arrives, your cash flow on the sale is held back while you wait.

Using a digital trade-in titling solution to expedite title release from key lenders can get your trade-in inventory in play faster by reducing the time spent waiting from weeks to days. That way you’ll get to the cash flow goalpost more quickly, regardless of whether you re-sell trades on your lot or at auction.

Want to learn how Dealertrack Accelerated Title trade-in titling solution can help you reach your dealership’s inventory turn goal lines more quickly? Visit our feature page for more information and to request a demo.

12018 (1.6X) Manheim Articles “Impact of Delayed Titles at Auction

CASH FLOW OPPORTUNITIES: THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN RETHINKING YOUR BACK-OFFICE PROCESS

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Now more than ever, dealers are looking for ways to promote efficient processes that can stimulate healthy revenue flow for their business. After all, cash is king, especially when looking at the current state of the economy and preparing for future trends. To stay competitive, it’s essential for dealerships to look for solutions that will help speed transactional processing of the inventory they source and sell.

Dealertrack Sr. Business Development Director Joey Yates and titling specialist David King recently explored cash flow efficiency in a video chat from their respective home offices. Through their discussion, they offer interesting insights and best practices for optimizing your back-office processes to help promote cash flow at your dealership, not only today, but for every day moving forward.

Understand the key drivers of cash flow at your dealership

Did you know that one of the most viable sources for cash flow at your dealership today is trade-ins? Here are some areas to look at to ensure that your trade-in program is operating at peak efficiency:

  • Inventory Sourcing – Source opportunistically, with cash flow in mind. When taking a vehicle in on trade, consider the speed of title receipt along with how fast you can recon the vehicle to determine when you can get to market and sell for cash fast. Vet your wins and employ a discerning eye towards trade and wholesale acquisitions to add to your inventory.
  • Marketability – Assess vehicles’ marketability and target key advertising channels to provide optimal results and visibility for vehicles you are looking to sell. This is especially important in today’s economy, where dealers are seeing a glut of supply and less immediate demand.
  • Process Efficiency – You want to move your inventory fast and keep holding costs and bottlenecks in recouping funds from hindering your cash flow. Use digital solutions to understand the payoff amount left on each vehicle (if any) and get the title released quickly. This will help with inventory turn – whether off the lot or at auction – and optimize cash flow for your dealership.

Digital tools help streamline processes

Manual processing of payoff and title release is time-consuming and can steal valuable time away from your remarketing window of profitability. The holding costs for slow movers or vehicles in title release limbo at auction can add up quickly, and negatively impact your bottom line.

A digital solution like Dealertrack Accelerated Title® allows you to gain insights into title details, calculate a reliable payoff, understand the profit potential of the vehicle, and gauge the opportunity for quick resale. You also want tools that will aid you in gaining the title quickly to help ensure speed for move to auction or remarket. When you add speed, insights and accuracy to your back-office process, you can boost fluid cash flow and recognize profit opportunities on your trade-in vehicles.

Want to learn more? Watch Joey and David’s conversation to hear their insights on increasing back-office efficiency, or download our Titling for a New Today Guide that focuses on cash flow opportunities for your back office.

Improving Cash Flow with Faster Title and Lien Release

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Cash is king for any business, and dealerships are no exception. Even with solid reserves and good fluidity, better cash flow always helps with your dealership’s expenses and overhead.

So, how does faster title and lien release help with cash flow? Let’s take a look.

Immovable objects

Once you’ve invested in a trade-in, there’s going to be a period of time when the vehicle is basically an oversized paperweight until you can finalize the lien release and get your hands on the title.

In a few states, it’s illegal to re-sell a vehicle before you have the title in hand. Everywhere else, even if you do take a vehicle to auction without the title, Manheim data shows that your chances of selling it on first pass are about half what they would be if you had the title in hand.

Dealertrack data shows that the industry average payoff and lien and title release for a used vehicle is 12-18 days. That’s weeks where the cash you paid for a vehicle – and the cash you’ll ultimately get for reselling it – are tied up while your dealership spends hours chasing down titles and cutting checks.

All this time you’re also accumulating holding costs, including the overhead involved in storing the vehicle plus any interest if there’s floor planning involved. Meanwhile, you still need cash flow to keep taking in trades and covering payroll.

Turning metal into money

What if you could pay off trade-ins and get the title and lien release into your hands in days instead of weeks? Think about the cash flow boost you’d get from cutting two or more weeks off the time you need to wait before you can auction or re-sell a trade-in.

Dealertrack Accelerated Title takes the lengthy manual payoff and title release process and handles it with the press of a button. Instead of 12-18 days of cash stagnation while you wait for processing, you get your title and lien release back as quickly as 4-6 days.

That gives you the opportunity to consistently speed up your ROI for each used vehicle taken in on trade.

Want to learn more about this no-charge enhancement to your existing Dealertrack account? Request a demo today.