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Hey everyone,
In case you missed it, our latest Breakdown Newsletter went live earlier this week — and this one digs into what’s really driving the surge in dealership buy/sells right now.
Basically, after a stalled first half of 2025, Q3 exploded with 149 rooftops changing hands as buyers rushed to get deals done before policy turbulence hits.
Knowing this, I pulled together the three trends Alan Haig sees reshaping who wins and loses in today’s M&A market.
— CDG
First time reading the CDG Newsletter?
Welcome to The Weekly, a roundup of the top five auto industry headlines of the week.
Prestige Financial Services halts new auto loan originations after 30 years
Prestige Financial is pulling out of the originations game, and officially stopped taking new credit apps on Nov. 20.
After that, the lender (owned by Larry H. Miller Company) will shift to servicing only, a major reset for a longtime subprime player.
“Beginning Thursday, November 20, 2025, we will not accept credit applications,” the company wrote in an internal memo. “We plan to fund any contracts already in-house or in transit until the end of the month.”
Big picture: With unconfirmed reports of deep layoffs and no comment from the company, the move adds to mounting concern around regional lender stability after a string of recent shutdowns and bankruptcies.
Carvana acquires San Diego Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram
Carvana is quietly widening its retail beachhead in San Diego with the purchase of the Mission Valley Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store, its third CDJR acquisition since February, following buys in Arizona and Texas.
The deal joins a vending machine Carvana opened in Mission Valley in early 2024, plus its ADESA site in Otay Mesa, giving the company an increasingly layered presence in the region.
Zooming out: The footprint is still modest, but each buy signals a bigger push to blur the lines between digital, physical, retail, and wholesale.
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Ford teams up with Amazon Autos to sell certified pre-owned vehicles
Ford is expanding its digital retail bets by teaming up with Amazon Autos to sell Blue Advantage certified pre-owned vehicles, becoming the second major automaker on the platform after Hyundai.
What we know: Shoppers can browse, finance, and buy online, then pick up through participating Ford dealers, all at no-haggle pricing with inspections, warranties, and a money-back guarantee baked in.
So far, about 160 dealers have raised their hands, with early pilots live and more rolling out next week.
What’s more: The program is starting in L.A., Seattle, and Dallas, with more cities coming soon as Ford gauges whether CPO momentum could eventually justify adding new vehicles to Amazon’s storefront.
VADA Pres. Don Hall explains three mistakes holding service departments back
Service is often still treated as the back room, even though it funds most of the dealership, and Don Hall says that disconnect is holding stores back.
He argues the old mindset creates predictable failures like:
Advisors not asking basic ownership questions
Dealers assuming independents are cheaper
And leadership overlooking the department that routinely covers 70–100% of expenses.
Hall’s push is simple: Treat service as the core business and train people to build long-term relationships, not just close ROs. Done right, he says, dealers unlock retention, tire sales, and the kind of recurring revenue the front end can’t guarantee.
F&I PVR finished Q3 at its highest level since 2022 – report
Front-end margins kept sliding through Q3, with buyers stretched to record payments and nearly one in five new-car customers taking on $1,000+ notes.
Affordability is squeezing volume, tariffs are adding pressure, and some shoppers are even resorting to short-term mortgages to make deals work.
Still, F&I is doing the heavy lifting: PVR just hit its highest mark since 2022, with service-contract and GAP performance rebounding.
That tells us fixed ops remains the real backstop heading into 2026, as dealerships lean on efficiency, EV readiness, and process discipline to offset shrinking front-end profit.
Missed yesterday’s episode of Daily Dealer Live?
Presented by:
Fixed Ops Friday with David Rogers and Kevin Stuckey
Featured guests:
David Rogers, Fixed Operations Director at Piazza Auto Group
Kevin Stuckey, Platform Director - Fixed Operations at Parkway Family Auto Group
Broken service scheduling is costing dealers big time—here's how some are closing the gaps
