Welcome to another edition of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast Recap newsletter—the key lessons from top operators, founders, and execs shaping the future of auto retail.
Today’s guest is Phil Pecoraro, Operating Partner of Murdock Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
We dig into Phil’s first month running his new store — why he’s returning to the same dealership where he earned his first GM role 16 years ago, and how he’s carrying forward the legacy of Larry H. Miller’s final store.
Personal investment drives different behavior than just drawing a paycheck.
When Phil ran his vacuum business at 20 years old, the stakes were personal in a way that shaped his entire approach to business.
"Until you've had a three day evict notice on your door, I don't think that you've really felt it. Now, in the grand scheme of things, it was a $600/month little office space that I was leasing, but it was tough."
That early failure wasn’t easy, but it also taught him about real accountability and the weight of responsibility for other people's livelihoods.
The first week of ownership reveals what really matters in a dealership.
Phil is navigating the chaos of a fresh acquisition while trying to establish the right foundation for long-term success.
"You think that you have a lot of it prepared before you start, but then there's so many things as far as technical issues, website issues, manufacturer, getting everything turned on. Just trying to make it as seamless as possible for the employees to kind of figure out where their logins are."
The pressure of those early results is real, but Phil knows the foundation he's building will determine success over the next three to five years.
Turning around an underperforming store starts with focusing on what you can control.
When Phil took over Bountiful Chrysler Jeep during a challenging market, he didn't complain about the brand or wait for conditions to improve.
"We took it from selling 30 used cars to 80 used cars consistently. We focused on getting really good at the internet. We had to get really good at driving people here, just really working hard on the internet process, making sure that we were training our guys to set appointments."
That turnaround from a $1.6 million loss to a million-dollar profit in four years came from executing the basics at a high level.
Community ownership creates accountability that public companies can't replicate.
Phil insisted on keeping the Murdock family name on the dealership because local ownership matters to customers and employees alike.
"You would be surprised, just my first week here, of how many people have came by and said, ‘Hey, I know the Murdocks take care of people. I know the Murdocks are good in service.’"
That level of personal accountability creates a different kind of business than one run by distant corporate management.
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Every employee should understand how their work impacts the financial statement.
Phil believes in radical transparency about dealership finances, which is unusual in the industry.
"Anybody who's mature enough can see a financial statement. They need to be exposed to that. That was Larry’s rule. And I’m going to continue that rule."
When employees understand the economics of the business, they make better decisions and feel more invested in the outcome.
Strategic processes eliminate the need for daily firefighting.
Phil learned at the Ford store that he couldn't muscle his way through running a large operation and needed systems instead.
"My biggest failure when I started at this store was, when I drove up, everybody kind of waited around to see what I cared about that day. What does Phil care about today? And when I went to the Ford store, I realized that I wouldn't be successful if I tried to run it that way."
By creating predictable processes and clear expectations, Phil freed himself from being the bottleneck and empowered his team to execute.
Used car acquisition should start with understanding your customer base, not just auction availability.
Rather than buying whatever's available at auction, Phil believes in strategically stocking inventory that matches your market.
"Have you really dove into doing good guess sheets of what your last 30 days of customers are trying to buy and then going out in future buying those customers for your customer. So you create your customer base by what you stock."
The best used cars often come from your own customers, and you should be willing to pay up to get the right inventory.
Service appraisals should be a daily habit for every salesperson.
At the Ford store, Phil mandated that every salesperson complete one service appraisal per day, which drove significant used car volume.
"We were at 200 a day and it wasn't aggressive, it was just like, ‘Hey, this is your car. This is what we want to pay you for it.’ A lot of times they drive off or they're not really interested, but a couple of weeks later they'll be there. It's kind of that swimming upstream before they've really decided they're in the market."
This consistent activity created a steady pipeline of opportunities without putting pressure on customers.
Ownership means responsibility for people's livelihoods, not just profits.
When Phil bought into the dealership, the weight of responsibility hit him immediately.
"What really keeps me up at night is the tremendous amount of trust people have put into me."
That sense of responsibility to employees, partners, and the community drives Phil's approach to running the business every single day.
Larry H. Miller's principles still guide dealership operations decades later.
Phil carries forward core values from the Larry H. Miller organization that shaped his entire approach to the car business.
"Larry Miller told me, if I ever bought or sold a dealership, I wanted to be able to walk by that person in a year or two and both of us feel good about the deal. And I actually use that for my salespeople."
That long-term thinking about relationships and reputation continues to influence how Phil builds his business today.
