Why dealership hiring feels tougher than ever (and what smart operators are doing about it)

Hey, everyone —Last week, we took a deep dive into mobile vehicle service, and I wanted to know…

How often are our consumer subscribers actually stepping foot in the dealership for service work?

Here are the responses:

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Within the last 6 months (45%)
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ Don’t service at dealerships (32%)
🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Over a year ago (13%)
🟩⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 6–12 months ago (10%)

More than a third of you haven’t been back in over a year—or avoid the dealership altogether.

The opportunity for mobile service? It’s right there.

—CDG

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The toughest challenge in any business? Finding the right talent. And it's especially tough at car dealerships where the hours are long, and the days are hectic.

In fact—the average dealership turns over nearly half its staff each year (read that again). And according to a Dealertrack analysis, the total cost per rooftop comes out to around $439,000 annually. But what’s happening now isn’t just a churn problem—it’s more about alignment.

And after talking to recruiters, HR folks, and operators across the country this week—three themes keep coming up. AI is reshaping roles. COVID-era hiring left a gap in leadership readiness. And tech stacks are creating jobs dealers didn’t even know they needed.

It's a perfect trifecta of dealership staffing pressure coming into focus...

Pressure Point #1: Operators are hiring differently as AI takes over lower-level dealership tasks.

It’s no secret that frontline roles—reception, BDC, entry-level sales—are where many dealers see the highest churn. And many are still plugging the same holes with the same kind of hires.

Basically—it wasn’t worth keeping people tied up on low-return tasks when AI could do it faster, and free up time for work that actually drives revenue.

Lance Schafer, GM of Product and Engineering at Lotlinx, says this is what many dealers miss about AI—it’s not replacing jobs (yet). It’s exposing what those jobs have actually become.

And AI is being embraced my more of the dealer community…

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Pressure Point #2: Salespeople want to move up the ranks—but many haven’t been trained to lead others.

A few years ago, dealership salespeople were making great money taking orders off a hot market. Now, compensation has come back down to Earth, and those same salespeople want to run a team.

But many haven’t built the muscle, as David pointed out…

Steven Adragna, head of our own CDG Recruiting (yep, that’s my crew—had to give ‘em a nod), told me it’s showing up in nearly every leadership search he runs. Salespeople are chasing GSM and GM titles, but a lot of these candidates are not comfortable working a deal that isn’t pre-sold, haven’t had to desk creatively, or never coached a team through a down month. And yet—they’re asking for six-figure comp packages and some P&L control.

Part of the problem? During the pandemic, turnover was low, cars were moving, and development just wasn’t a priority. Now, with senior leaders aging out and mid-level roles opening up, there’s a big gap and no clear way to fill it.

Something Alex also takes very seriously…

But when it comes to internal promotions, Darrell filters every candidate through four traits: work ethic, integrity, grit, and self-reliance. If they need constant handholding or can’t take ownership when something breaks—they’re not ready.

Pressure Point #3: Growing tech complexity is forcing dealers to rethink their org charts.

Dealership tech stacks have exploded in the last few years, but most stores still don’t have a clear owner for the systems they rely on daily.

And there are a lot of them to manage…

Sherry told me that at her group, tech is now their biggest line item (after inventory). And that was the moment they realized it couldn’t just be “everyone’s responsibility.”

That’s when the store's "heir-apparent" stepped into a formal Chief Technology Officer role. It wasn’t a job they had before. He created it out of necessity.

And it gave the store a center of gravity. Someone accountable. Someone who can connect how a tool gets chosen, rolled out, and actually used. Not a super common role yet at the dealer level, but over the next year, I expect to see a lot more as dealership consolidation accelerates.

Bottom line: In the not-so-distant future, dealership staffing will be defined by compression, not turnover.

AI will keep getting smarter. And as that happens, every role will shrink down to what actually matters. What’s left won’t be trainable in a week. It won’t be fixable with hustle. And it won’t be survivable without intentional systems.

The org chart is going to keep evolving—whether dealers want it to or not. And the teams that win in this environment will be the ones that hire with clarity about what their roles now demand.

Industry Spotlight: How a Superbowl champion helped Cable Dahmer crack the code on interstate vehicle shipping

Stream now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple. And shout out to Auto Hauler Exchange for making this episode possible!

How family turmoil—and a patriarch’s dying wish—sparked a bold new chapter for Crain Automotive

Stream now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple. And shout out to Qmerit and CDK Global for making this episode possible!

Three opportunities hitting the CDG Job Board right now:

• Barrie Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram: Sales Consultant (Canada)

• Village Volkswagen of Chattanooga: Automotive Technician (Tennessee)

• Leif Auto Group: Finance Director (Texas)

Looking to hire? Add your roles today—it’s 100% free.

Thanks for reading. See you on the next edition…

—Car Dealership Guy

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