About this episode
Today Sam D'Arc is joined by Justin Zane, SVP, US Marketplace & Services at OPENLANE.
We unpack why digital auctions have overtaken physical lanes in reach and efficiency, and why old habits—not economics—are keeping brick-and-mortar alive.
Justin explains how off-lease inventory is reshaping acquisition strategy, where AI improves condition accuracy, and why speed is now the dealer’s most valuable asset.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. Wikimotive - Wikimotive delivers organic and paid search solutions to hundreds of dealerships from rural rooftops to multiple top-5 national dealers. Their focus is simple: get your store in front of people already searching for a car or service, and measure success by the leads and appointments that follow — not vanity metrics. Visit @ https://wikimotive.com/CDG/
2. Openlane - The world’s best online dealer marketplace for used cars, bringing you exclusive inventory, simple transactions, and better outcomes. Learn more @ openlane.com/cdg
Check out LotGPT here: https://lotlinx.com/lotgpt-waitlist/
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
For dealers:
CDG Circles ? ???????https://cdgcircles.com/???????
Industry job board ? ???????????????????????http://jobs.dealershipguy.com???????????????????????
Dealership recruiting ? ???????????????????????http://www.cdgrecruiting.com???????????????????????
Fix your dealership’s social media ? ???????????????????????http://www.trynomad.co???????????????????????
Request to be a podcast guest ? ???????????????????????http://www.cdgguest.com??????????????????????
For industry vendors:
Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ? ???????????????????????http://www.cdgpartner.com???????????????????????
Industry job board ? ???????????????????????http://jobs.dealershipguy.com???????????????????????
Request to be a podcast guest ? ???????????????????????http://www.cdgguest.com???????????????????
Topics:
04:06 How does Openlane help dealers win?
05:16 What's happening with off-lease EV prices?
07:31 What are the key tips for buying EVs?
09:09 How can dealers move aged inventory?
11:56 Digital auctions versus physical lanes
15:25 How is trust built in online buyi
