Six months ago, Phil Pecoraro took over a store with zero used cars on the lot, no functioning DMS for the first two weeks, and no lenders.
Now, Murdock Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram in Bountiful, Utah, grows every month. And Pecoraro, the store’s operating partner, credits process discipline for the growth, not ad spend.
Driving the news: Pecoraro said that every month since the acquisition, the store has added about $10,000 in service gross, with parts tracking along with it. He said they could get close to $300,000 in service gross next month.
And, fixed ops gross has climbed from $150,000 to a projected $185,000 this month.
“That's just really without any advertising driving that traffic,” Pecoraro told Daily Dealer Live host Sam D’Arc. “It's really just making sure that we're inspecting the vehicles accurately."
How it works: The techs use Meta glasses to record their MPI videos hands-free.
They have a nearly 80 percent completion rate now, with Pecoraro aiming to raise that to 90 percent.
Pecoraro uses Tekion as the delivery platform for videos, and he runs unannounced weekly reports to hold advisors accountable on completion rates, video counts, and upsell percentages.
The store also recently installed a Hunter/under-the-vehicle inspection (UVI) machine, the first in its 20-year history. Now, they can add alignment checks and tread depth scans to each inspection.
"Transparency is the key," Pecoraro said. "With UVI, with video, we just want to be as transparent with the guest as possible."
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Digging deeper: Pecoraro says the new machine has already proved its worth.
Days after installation, it flagged three deleted diesel trucks on trade-in that looked fine above the frame but were missing emissions components, a catch worth $5,000 to $7,000 per truck.
Every delivered vehicle now runs through it to document the condition at handoff.
"It'll save us whatever we're spending on it, and also pick up the alignment and tire business," Pecoraro said.
Worth mentioning: The dealership went from having no used cars to having too many used cars at 80 units. Pecoraro said it was too much for the team to manage effectively.
He then pulled back to a 47-car sweet spot, with about 35 days supply.
Every sales manager, including the finance manager, carries a stock number with their initials to help create individual accountability.
"I want the team to understand that they have a vested interest in what we're trying to accomplish," Pecoraro explained.
Zooming out: Pecoraro also rebuilt the sales staff, adding a new sales management team, new finance team, new service manager, and a former advisor from a previous store now running the service drive.
With that, the team has grown from three to five salespeople pre-acquisition to eight, including a fleet salesperson.
Pecoraro admits the store isn't profitable yet, though he expects to close that gap in May, the store’s grand opening month.
Bottom line: Pecoraro's turnaround is built on accountability, not on traffic or incentives, and with everyone invested in the outcome, things are turning around at the store.
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