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Hey everyone,
Here’s what 25+ dealer chat groups are talking about right now on Circles:
How one major DMS is driving real efficiency gains — with a steep setup cost
The widely used credit-pull provider facing growing pricing concerns
The two AI tools emerging as early winners for SEO and recall outreach
The BI platform groups are leaning on to finally unify their data
The employee-driven sourcing tactic boosting used-car flow across stores
Dealers, you can still join the conversation — jump in here: cdgcircles.com
— CDG
First time reading a CDG Newsletter?
In 2025, a third of all customer calls to the service drive are going unanswered:
Not during lunch, not after hours, but all day.
And car owners are quickly moving on—about 41% never try the dealership again.
The signal: If fixed ops is supposed to backfill shrinking variable margins, answering the phone could be the easiest margin boost left in the building.
(Data source: Car Wars)
Wholesale used car prices edge higher in November as depreciation levels out
Used wholesale prices stopped sliding in November and actually inched up, after a soft October.
The lift was mostly in luxury and EVs, while the rest of the market is still sitting below last year.
Cox’s data suggests buyers just slowed down, and things started to steady as rates eased a bit.
Translation: Prices aren’t ripping higher, but the freefall paused, and dealers should expect a more balanced end to the year if they stay disciplined on inventory.
A quick word from our partner
Identity Fraud is hurting auto dealers.
Experian Automotive found that nearly 90% of dealers are concerned about rising fraud, with 75% reporting a measurable impact on their operations. In the past year, 85% have suspected or confirmed fraud cases, primarily due to income fabrication and forged documents.
The fix? Experian Automotive's Fraud Protect.
Fraud Protect quickly and easily validates customer identities and documents with zero disruption to your sales flow or the consumer journey.
76% of U.S. dealers plan to increase AI spending in the coming year – survey
AI is quickly moving from “nice to have” to core infrastructure at dealerships.
A new survey shows three out of four U.S. dealers plan to spend more on AI next year, with voice agents, merchandising automation, and pricing tools topping the list.
Stores already using AI say it’s paying off in tangible ways via more appointments, lower BDC costs, faster ops, and better online engagement.
The signal here is straightforward: As margins get tighter, dealers aren’t buying AI for hype anymore, they’re buying it because manual processes just don’t scale.
Nissan expands tech partnerships while adjusting production to offset tariffs
Nissan is leaning harder into partnerships as part of its turnaround, saying it can’t move fast enough (or cheap enough) on its own anymore.
Management says everything from software-defined vehicles to autonomy and connected services now requires sharing costs and scale, which is why talks with Renault are back on the table, and new tech alliances are expanding beyond traditional automakers.
At the same time, Nissan is reworking production and sourcing to soften the impact of tariffs, including shifting more build volume closer to the U.S.
And for dealers: That likely means more tech-heavy products built locally, but also tighter factory cost discipline and less room for aggressive incentives.
The human skill the industry lost — and how great dealers are scaling it to 10K+ leads daily
