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ICYMI: We’re looking into buyback trends, specifically lenders making dealers repurchase vehicles after a deal goes bad, and whether you’ve seen more of them lately.
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Welcome to the Market Pulse—your cheatsheet to auto retail, built to help dealers price right, stock smart, and stay ahead.
47.5%: The share of dealers (out of 61 responses) who said October traffic is down from last year.
34.4%: Dealers who said traffic is up.
18%: Dealers who said flat (7) or mixed (4).
(Source: CDG Temp Check of dealers on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Responses recorded as of Oct. 25, 2026)
The election may be keeping some shoppers on the sidelines, but sales are holding up at many stores.
We asked dealers on X, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn how October feels compared to last year. Overall, showroom traffic looks a bit weaker, but sales are mostly holding steady.
Of 61 dealer answers:
29 said traffic is down;
21 said up;
7 said flat;
And 4 said mixed.
Even so, at least four dealers shared that, despite fewer leads and/or traffic, shoppers who come in are ready to buy.
Here’s what they’re saying:
"Traffic and leads are way down. Sales are great. Our staff creates [its] own business." (Subaru Midwest)
"Traffic down, but ones coming in are buyers" (GMC/Buick/Cadillac Illinois)
"Used sales up 68%, new down 50% vs October 2025." (Volvo SoCal)
"A week ago we were pacing for 97 vehicles. Now pacing for 70." (Chevy store in Pennsylvania)
"80% of deals are cash right now on anything over $40k." (Ford dealer, rural Minnesota)
"Currently over 100% new car objectives with over a full week left." (Chevy/GMC GM)
Timing matters: The mixed picture isn't too surprising, given what dealers are navigating right now with rates, gas prices, price hikes, California's CARS Act, and the election cycle.
I mean, the election alone can shift customer sentiment, even if only because shoppers see fewer OEM ads as political campaigns take over airtime and TV space.
Take it from Peter deTar, internet manager with Mike White Ford, who weighed in on LinkedIn after our initial temp check:
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After hearing from dealers last week, I reviewed some of CDG’s Daily Dealer Live episodes from this month to see where operators are still finding wins and which mindsets are setting their stores up for a strong finish to the year.
Here are a few Dos and Don’ts from the month:
Do: Book and confirm appointments, so you're not waiting on walk-ins.
Bobby Preston, president of Preston Auto Group, said on an Oct. 21 episode of DDL that his stores run on scheduled visits instead of hoping people show up.
Each store has a daily appointment goal, and he shared that he exports appointments from DriveCentric, the group's CRM, into ChatGPT to see how many each store has booked, which stores are at goal, and which need to book more.
"We're a very appointment-driven store, so we really focus on not hoping customers are gonna come in, but knowing that we're gonna be busy each day by having a lot of appointments, having confirmed appointments, and ensuring they show and sell."
Bobby Preston
Do: Track trade-in rate by salesperson, not just by store.
Kip Miles, director of automotive operations at Tom Wood Automotive Group in Indianapolis, said on an Oct. 26 episode of DDL that measuring trade-ins person by person exposed leaks.
"We started to measure trade-in percentages, not just for the store, not just by new and used, but also by the sales manager and the salesperson. We found some, shall we say, trade-in leaks."
Kip Miles
The upside: Trade-in capture rose from 42% two years ago to a projected 54%+ this year, and used volume is up 11.5% vs. 2025.
Don’t: Celebrate a good month and stop pushing.
Ben Stapleton, general manager of McGraw Ford in Texas, said on an Oct. 26 episode of DDL that his store is on pace to roughly double last year's sales and is still not satisfied.
"We're growing. We're gonna do about double what we did last year. But we're not here to celebrate mediocrity. We're here for excellence, and so we have lots of work still to do."
Ben Stapleton
Don’t: Let a slow quarter push you into a fear-based playbook.
Miles, also on his Oct. 26 DDL appearance, shared that last year's tough Q4 was largely self-inflicted because the group focused too much on expenses and lost new-car volume.
"Our messaging was fear-based, and scared money never wins,” he said, adding, “So we need to get back on the offense, and we did. We went straight back onto offense February 1."
A few dealers told us this is just a typical Q4, election aside, and I can also get behind that. Either way, a slow month or quarter shouldn't change how hard teams work.
Stay on offense, use the quiet time to fix what's been bugging staff, and let the rest play out.
