When Eric Miller, Director at Morrie's Auto Group discovered that General Motors $GM ( 0.0% ) had thousands of Chevrolet Bolts with new batteries sitting in holding yards in January, he developed a Sunday morning routine that became legendary among his staff.
Miller would wake up before his family and spend hours analyzing over 1,200 available Bolts, building spreadsheets to identify the best 40 targets before placing bids by 10 a.m.
And week after week, Miller systematically acquired these vehicles while competitors avoided them entirely.
What they’re saying: "We did dozens of them, like near a hundred," Miller told Daily Dealer Live hosts Sam D'Arc and Uli De'Martino. "Those vehicles had a higher margin for us after reconditioning than any other used vehicle type so far in 2025."
For context: These vehicles had been paused for two to three years while GM installed replacement batteries. But when they finally emerged, they had eight-year/100,000-mile battery warranties, new tires, fresh service records, zero competition from other dealers, and of course, eligibility for federal rebates up to $4,000.
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"I spent the morning at the auction before getting here, and we're three and four thousand dollars over MMR for the segments in which dealers like me compete against," Miller explained. "So finding an area where the competition really hasn't focused actually gave us a leg up."
At a high level, Miller's success exposes how dealer attitudes create artificial market inefficiencies. While skeptical competitors avoided EVs, he was systematically acquiring vehicles with structural cost advantages.
For example, EVs don't need oil changes during recon, and they typically don't need brake work.
The main costs are tires (which EVs burn through faster) and missing EVSE chargers that can run several hundred dollars.
The elephant in the room: Federal EV tax credits expire at the end of this month, but Miller isn't panicking. He's seen policy changes before.
"This has happened over and over cyclically for the 30 years I've been in the business," he said. "Whether it is fuel economy or whether it is some other regulatory pressure... this isn't new."
He expects manufacturers to step in temporarily, pointing to GM's previous "Altium Promise" that offered $7,500 rebates when Cadillac lost federal credit eligibility.
Miller has already adjusted his strategy, avoiding vehicles just over the $25,000 threshold for used EV credits because customers naturally choose qualifying alternatives.
The bigger challenge: Staff education. At Morrie's, 80% of his Cadillac customers are new to the brand, so Miller uses a one-price strategy to eliminate negotiation friction.
Bottom line: Profitable segments exist wherever other operators refuse to compete.
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