CARY, N.C. -

As part of our “Top 100 Used Car Dealers: Franchised Edition" issue of Auto Remarketing, we asked some of the nation’s leading franchised stores about the challenges they face in the pre-owned market and the strategies they use to overcome those hurdles.

Below is what four of the Top Franchised Dealers had to say.

Starting in the Midwest, Ricart Ford in in Groveport, Ohio, ranked second on the list with 7,700 used retail unit sales in 2014.  

Rick Ricart — the vice president of sales and marketing at Ricart Auto Group —  had this to say: “The most obvious challenge and hurdle is really the decision and re-invention of the franchise used-car business model. Many dealers try to hang on the past without properly embracing today’s consumer behavior and catering to the how and why of today’s shopper.

“The reliance of a good new-car market allows mediocrity in pre-owned where true attention to the process and philosophy could benefit the dealership much more than in the past,” Ricart added.

“All three major categories of a sales department — inventory, personnel and promotion — have to be adjusted and sometimes completely redesigned to allow for that potential growth and opportunity,” he continued. “Many independents (small and large) have taken advantage of that opportunity and no longer does having a big manufacturer sign on the property mean an advantage in selling used cars.”

Further south, Ray Sanabia of Cavender Toyota in San Antonio noticed an especially strong pre-owned market.

“The market is so strong, the only challenge anyone should have is how to get more display space for their inventory,” said Sanabia, the store’s used-car sales director.

The big challenge that Lasco Ford vice president Matt Lasco sees for the market deals with figuring out exactly where supply and demand lies.  He also explained how his store, based in Fenton, Mich., may respond.

“I think one of the biggest challenges used-car dealers will face in the next 12 months is finding out where our true supply and demand is,” Lasco said. “We’ve seen an increase in lease returns hit the auction markets.

“However, there still is not been the wholesale value drop relevant to the increase in supply,” he added. “As a dealer, one of our other main focuses will be on the speed and turnover time of a quality reconditioning, which should allow us to run a leaner, quicker turning inventory.”

Interestingly enough, one of the challenges Norm Reeves Honda Superstore has faced actually stems from the new-car side. But, it’s a dynamic that the Cerritos, Calif., store has eventually be able to take advantage of.

“Some of the used-car challenges we face here at Norm Reeves Honda Cerritos is the constant incentives on the new-car inventory and heavy advertising. Being the largest Honda dealer in the country, it’s natural for our consumers to gravitate towards our new models with the best price standing behind it,” said Peter Buckley, used-car manager of Norm Reeves Honda Superstore

“We are able to take in numerous amounts of trade-ins, which become quality used cars that give us the competitive advantage with an outstanding selection of certified Hondas at all times,” he continued. “This in turn keeps offsite acquisition and costs low, along with a fast turn rate and minimal wholesale loss.

“We also have an exceptional management group who provides quality training on the features and benefits of used cars.” 

Editor's Note on Data: The Top 100 sales rankings in this report are courtesy of Cross-Sell Reports, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions. The rankings are based on retail used-vehicle unit sales from full-year 2014. Please note that while the Cross-Sell data includes a substantial portion of the U.S., it is not meant to be representative of all 50 states.

Cross-Sell gathers the sales data via state DMV title registrations. Some stores within a multi-point group may title used-vehicle retail sales with their respective state DMV as a group, versus titling individually. It is up to the individual state to decipher such collective filings

Staff Writers Josh Hyatt, Sarah Rubenoff and Nick Zulovich contributed to this report.