Dennis Pennington, used-car director at Andy Mohr Ford, has been in the auto industry for 30 years, the last nine of which he has spent at the Plainfield, Ind., dealership.

He recalls a conversation several years ago with the late Rick Case, the founder of the eponymous dealer group with locations throughout Florida and Georgia.

“He kind of opened me up to the national thinking. Not just local thinking, not just being No. 1 in the region or No. 1 in the state, but being No. 1 in the nation,” Pennington told Auto Remarketing. “And our mindset is that national-level of customer service or that national level of sales. So, it's just kind of thinking big."

Thinking big and thinking national has paid off for Andy Mohr Ford.

The dealership has been Ford’s No. 1 seller of certified pre-owned vehicles for two consecutive years and is on pace to make it three straight.

With these accolades, Andy Mohr Ford is being recognized as Auto Remarketing’s 2022 CPO Dealer of the Year, an award sponsored by KAR Global.

The dealership joins the likes of previous winners Paragon Honda/Paragon Acura, Galpin Ford, Cavender Toyota and many others.

Andy Mohr Ford will be recognized during the Used Car Awards Luncheon on Nov. 15 at Used Car Week, which is being held at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego. The luncheon is also sponsored by KAR.

Pennington will also be a panelist on “The Best CPO Dealers in the USA: Selling More Used Cars” panel discussion on Nov. 14 at Used Car Week, along with Andrew Ashman of Ford, Mark Gilbert of Automotive Training Network, Danny Papakalos of #1 Cochran and Mark Weida of Street Smart Auto Brokers.

“When I started at the dealership nine years ago, the general manager, Chris Huston, told me that he wanted to focus on the certified pre-owned program. So, our main focus has been that program,” Pennington said. “And then when they revamped it a couple years ago and they encompassed all the other brands, just putting the focus towards that, and making sure the salespeople were trained on it, using that to build the value, (we) use it as our selling tool.”

The expansion Pennington refers to is the Ford Blue Advantage program, which launched in 2021. It includes an expanded level of inventory from what would typically be included in the traditional Ford certified pre-owned program.

Ford dealers can now use two different levels of certification for used vehicles: Gold Certified and Blue Certified.

Gold Certified, which is essentially the standard of the traditional Ford CPO program, includes a 172-point inspection and includes a 12-month/12,000-mile comprehensive limited warranty (whichever comes first) and a seven-year/100,000-mile (whichever comes first) powertrain limited warranty.

These vehicles must be 6 years old or newer and have fewer than 80,000 miles on the odometer.

Meanwhile, the Blue Certified tier expands that eligibility. Those vehicles must be 10 years old or newer and have 120,000 or fewer miles. They undergo a 139-point inspection and include a 90-day/4,000-mile (whichever comes first) comprehensive limited warranty. Additionally, non-Ford vehicles can be certified under the Blue segment.

Pennington said that in a crowded market, “you've got to use whatever little edge you can get to set yourself apart,” and Ford Blue Advantage helps to do that by providing additional peace-of-mind and warranty that other stores may not be able to on older vehicles.

Being able to certify vehicles up to 10 years in age also helps in sourcing CPO inventory, given constrained off-lease volumes amid already tight used-car supply.

It “broadens” the age range of vehicles Andy Mohr Ford looks to acquire, Pennington said.

“When we're looking to trade for some of those vehicles, where these other guys, they may be a little more cautious, we’re able to go a little heavier in some of those cars, because we know that we're going to be able to turn around and sell them,” he said. “A lot of people don’t sell some of that older stuff and they can't back the older stuff, that's why they don't want to sell it. So, for us, it just helps us out.”

To find these vehicles, Pennington said the dealership turns to mining the service department for vehicles as well as searching for customer cars that might be up for sale via private party.

For more best practices in CPO, be sure to catch Pennington’s insights on the ‘Best CPO Dealers’ panel at UCW. More information is available at www.usedcarweek.biz.

The full list of Auto Remarketing’s CPO Dealer of the Year honorees over the years can be found below.

2022: Andy Mohr Ford

2021: Roger Beasley Mazda South

2020: Mullinax Ford

2019: Cavender Toyota

2018: Trophy Nissan

2017: Kia of Irvine

2016: Fletcher Jones Motorcars

2015: Bill Luke Chrysler Jeep Dodge & Ram

2014: Hyundai of New Port Richey

2013: Galpin Ford

2012: Longo Toyota

2011: Karl Chevrolet

2010: Paragon Honda/Paragon Acura