Bill Camastro isn't waiting for Cadillac to solve his inventory problem. Instead, the executive vice president and dealer partner at Gold Coast Cadillac in New Jersey built his own retention machine.
Some context: Cadillac is sunsetting three ICE models, including the XT6, XT4, and CT4, which Camastro estimates make up about a quarter of Cadillac's overall volume. And EV margins aren't making up the difference.
With that in mind, Camastro is leaning hard into fixed ops, used cars, and customer retention as his primary growth levers.
Here’s how: At the point of sale, every Gold Coast customer gets a one-page letter from Camastro.
It outlines post-sale benefits, includes his personal cell number, and has a QR code that the salesperson walks the customer through on the spot.
It also books their first service appointment before they leave the lot. Online service booking is now at 40%. The industry average, for comparison, is around 10%.
"I see this time as an opportunity to gobble up market share by doing things that other dealers won't do," Camastro told Daily Dealer Live host Sam D’Arc.
On the inbound service side: Camastro has been running Numa AI for five years.
If someone is with a customer or the store is closed, Numa handles the call, including scheduling appointments, answering questions, and describing vehicle issues, all while transcribing the conversation in real time to every team member's phone.
Even so, Camastro can jump in from anywhere.
“If you give them the option 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to communicate with me,” Camastro pointed out. “The number of people communicating with me is infinitely higher.”
He's also expanding his loaner fleet from 75 to 90 vehicles, using it as a direct pipeline for used-car acquisition.
“Rather than going to Manheim online or going to the auction and bidding against 35 other people,” Camastro said. “The only person I'm working on a bid with is the customer.”
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Beyond that: Camastro's strategy focuses on one number: 70%. He thinks that seven in 10 customers who get their car worked on in the service department will give that dealership a chance to make a sale.
And to him, that makes the service drive the most important room in the building.
Bottom line: As new vehicle margins compress and OEM model mixes shift, dealers who control the customer relationship have options. And that’s why Camastro’s customers have his full attention, and phone number, too.
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