Questions dealers ask
One question, one straight answer
6 of the questions dealers, general managers and department heads ask most, each answered in the first line.
Questions people actually asked
Real questions put to Dealership Genius by dealers and their teams, most recent first.
- “What should a healthy used-car reconditioning time be?”
- “How can a dealership raise effective labor rate without blindly raising its door rate?”
- “What is the best BDC appointment-set process for a dealership in 2026?”
- “How should a new GM rebuild a burned-out used-car team in 30 days?”
- “How should a dealership evaluate and implement an AI tool in 2026?”
- “What is dealership fixed absorption, and what is a healthy rate?”
BDC and lead management
- What is the best BDC appointment-set process for a dealership in 2026?
DealershipGenius recommends an under-five-minute response and at least three balanced phone, SMS, and email attempts in the first hour. Answer the shopper’s question, give a reason to visit, offer two appointment choices, confirm consent, and measure set, show, and sold rates separately.
Fixed ops absorption
- What is dealership fixed absorption, and what is a healthy rate?
Dealership fixed absorption measures how much total dealership fixed expense is covered by service, parts, and collision gross profit. Under the DGS formula, 100% means fixed operations cover the defined fixed-expense denominator; compare stores only when inclusions and exclusions match.
Leadership and management
- How should a new GM rebuild a burned-out used-car team in 30 days?
A new GM should spend 30 days restoring operating truth, not staging mass firings: clean the data, inspect every unit, fix recon flow, localize inventory, accelerate appraisals, make keep/move decisions, and install daily accountability. Coach first; change people only after objective evidence.
Service department
- How can a dealership raise effective labor rate without blindly raising its door rate?
Raise effective labor rate by measuring customer-pay, warranty, and internal work separately, then fixing discounts, labor-grid design, job mix, billed-hour accuracy, and advisor behavior. The posted door rate is an input—not ELR. Calculate actual capture before changing prices.
Technology and systems
- How should a dealership evaluate and implement an AI tool in 2026?
Before signing an AI contract, define the outcome and accountable owner; inventory current AI, data, and integrations; test security, legal, vendor, and financial controls; then pilot one bounded workflow with least privilege, human approval, a kill switch, measurable ROI, and continuous monitoring.
Used car department
- What should a healthy used-car reconditioning time be?
A healthy dealership should make most used vehicles front-line ready within three to five service working days. Track acquisition-to-inspection, approval, repair, detail, photos, and online publication separately; one blended average can hide the bottleneck costing turn and gross.