Blogs

Strategies for Success in a Changing Fixed Ops Landscape
Fixed operations is the steady workhorse that creates customers for life.

Practice for Consistent Performance
The action of consistency is imperative to the success of the entire customer experience.

Tips to Break into the RV and Powersports Market
As an F&I professional looking to break into the RV and powersports market, here are key tips that will help in your success:

Are Cars Smart Enough to Avoid Hacking?
New technology brings new threats, and as vehicles get smarter, data security becomes more of a hot topic.

Technology in the Service Department
The service department continues to be a valuable resource for dealership revenue and customer experience. In recent years, technology has improved efficiencies for the technician and customer.

How AI Will Affect the Automotive Industry
It’s no secret that AI development impacts the tech world, but how will it bleed into the automotive space?

Dealer Tech Revs Up: What to Expect in 2023
As the new year kicks off, so does new dealership technology. Since the pandemic began in 2020, dealers had to adjust to a new normal.

Educating Consumers on EVs
Though tech and car enthusiasts welcome EVs with open arms, some consumers are unsure of the long-term reliability and price tag of new, shiny EVs.

RVs and Powersports: Two Heavyweights in Outdoor Recreation Boom
With so much growth in the outdoor market, more RVs and powersport vehicles are being sold every day. Read on to explore the rise in outdoor recreation and what it means for RVs and powersports!

The Benefits of Pre-Owned Service Agreements
If you want to learn more the benefits of pre-owned service agreements, then keep on reading! We’re going to cover everything you need to know so you can confidently recommend them to your customers!

Exploring EV Technology
Electric vehicles (EVs) give drivers a glimpse into the future of cars. Many EVs on the market boast an unapologetically minimalist design, but when you step inside, you’re greeted with technology.

Your Guide to EV Maintenance
When you think of EVs, a futuristic set of wheels comes to mind - one that requires little maintenance and offers a new world of electrified driving.

How Long Do EV Batteries Last?
EVs continue to soar in popularity as drivers electrify their commutes. Powered by batteries instead of an internal combustion engine, there is a lot to discover about EV maintenance and longevity.

How Dealerships Can Prepare for the Rise in EVs
As EVs become more popular on the roads, dealerships will need to adapt their sales and service teams to a future-proof system.

Do EVs Last? Buckle Up and Explore EV Reliability
As the hype toward EVs continues to rise, what does this mean for consumers? Keep on reading as we deep-dive into EV reliability.

What to Do Once You Get Promoted
After the grind, you get the reward. You’ve been promoted, but now what? As your career progresses, you may be stuck wondering what is next.

Supply and Demand of Automotive Technicians
With part shortages, a high demand for labor, and an increase in electric vehicles, the world of automotive technicians is getting smaller.

Automotive Year in Review
As Fixed Ops 5 celebrates its first anniversary, we lookback on the last year in the automotive industry.

The Electrifying Future of the Automotive Industry
Tony Wanderon, CEO of National Auto Care, recently spoke with Corey Smith regarding the future of the automotive industry and how dealerships can keep up.

Adapt and Build: How to Future-Proof a BDC
With the rise of digital car buying services, a Business Development Center (BDC) can be an attractive option for dealerships to help enhance the customer experience.
How to Build a Successful BDC
Some dealerships find themselves struggling with how to best utilize a Business Development Center (BDC). With digital retailing on the rise, a BDC can be a useful tool to attract and keep customers.
The State of Service Technicians
The last two years have been challenging for dealership service departments, and the next decade will present a whole new set of them. Learn tips on how to adapt to the future of service.
The Parts Shortage in 2022
2021 was a challenging year for industries across the country. It hit the parts and service industries especially hard. What's to come in 2022?

Best Practices for Achieving Goals
Setting goals is only part of the equation: successfully achieving them requires taking action, asking questions, and getting your team members on board.
Training Tips for Service Drive
With so much riding on customer interactions with service advisors, training should be used as a tool to continuously improve your team's knowledge.
Compensation & Employee Retention
If the subject of how important compensation is to employee retention has you wondering if your pay plans are holding you back, consider implementing strategies like these to make your compensation.
Strategies for Employee Engagement and Retention
Employee engagement cannot be a once-a-year initiative: it is an ongoing practice that can build a stronger connection between your business and the people who help make it a success.
The Importance of Employee Engagement
The data is clear: engaging and retaining employees is a must for any successful business. But how can dealerships improve this part of their operations? Read our latest blog post to learn more.

Tuning Up Your Parts Department
The parts department carries an average of $1.2 million worth of inventory. Are you managing that value to the best of your ability?

Recall Obstacles
Knowing how to navigate challenging obstacles associated with recalls will ensure that your customers are happier, their vehicles safer, and your store more profitable.
Capitalizing on Recall Repairs
Learn the things dealerships may not know about recalls and how to take advantage of a huge opportunity to bring revenue into your service department while making the roads safer for everyone.
Creating a Culture of Unity in Service & F&I
Getting the service and F&I teams focused on the same end goals and helping them work together will lead to a better customer experience and a more profitable future.
Taking Service Advisors From Good to Great
If you could help your advisors go from good to great, why wouldn’t you? It will pay dividends for your team and your store.
Technology, Efficiency & Consumer Education
There are three key areas dealers should focus on to drive service profit growth: technology, efficiency, and consumer education.
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Maximizing Service Profitability
Your dealership’s sales department gets a lot of oxygen, but don’t neglect your parts and service departments: now is the time to set them up for long-term profits and stability!
The Disconnect Between F&I and Service
It's important that your F&I department doesn't function on its own island; this is for the good of the F&I department and for the store.

Turning In-Store Competition into Cooperation, Driving Retention
Why do so many dealerships have disjointed departments that aren't effectively working together as a whole toward that goal? Read to learn more.
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Customer Retention - An Introduction
A successful sales climate can be the best time to focus on building customer loyalty and retention at your dealership.
How to Present the Multi-Point Inspection - A Fixed Ops 5 Blog
By presenting the fact-based results of their multi-point inspection, you can build trust by showing customers that you respect their time.

Staying Current Part IV - F&I Product Impacts
As EVs become more ubiquitous, it’s not just dealers who will have to adapt: product providers will also have to reevaluate some aspects of their strategy in the age of electrification.

Staying Current Part III - Automotive Impacts
While there are few official estimates as yet, it is widely expected that the rise of EVs will have massive implications for repair facilities—particularly the 160,000+ independent shops across the US

Staying Current Part II - Challenges and Outlooks
With a variety of electric vehicle models available from multiple OEMs, what is holding back EV adoption rates in the US?
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Staying Current Part I - A Series on Electric Vehicles
In this series, we explore the current EV landscape, predictions for and challenges facing its future, and how electrification will impact the larger automotive industry.
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Used in 2021
In early 2020, analysts expected the used car business to lose little sales volume versus 2019. And then, well, you know. Read more to learn how COVID-19 changed the used vehicle sales landscape.

The Key to Long-Term Gains
Planning for and securing the future of your dealership is more important than ever, and leveraging today’s opportunities will ensure that your business enjoys success and security for years to come.
Paint and Fabric Protection: Take Car of Your Car from the Inside Out
Why Paint & Fabric protection products are essential to protecting a vehicle's interior and exterior.
Shifting to Digital Sales
As the nation braces for a likely resurgence of the coronavirus, dealers who have made the shift to online vehicle purchase and home delivery are better positioned to meet their customers’ needs.

Protect Your Tech
In recent years, the technology of passenger vehicles has become more complex and prominent. Even 5 years ago, many drivers would not have expected their next new vehicle to be capable of braking...

The New Normal: Digital Marketing
In a post-COVID landscape, many dealers are doing more with less, getting creative, and maximizing the return on time and money spent.

Revenue Streams Can Be Moved – and Maximized – Online
By utilizing digital platforms with accompanying apps or websites, dealers can put themselves in front of their customers even after the initial vehicle sale has been made. Learn more about how...

Now More Than Ever, Is Your Car Clean?
People’s cars may be largely sitting idle for now, but once daily life returns to something resembling normality, it will be important to bring a heightened awareness of germs to your vehicle to...

Profit Sharing – Know Your Options
The most common participation program types are Retro programs, Dealer-Owned Service Companies and Reinsurance. Choosing the best structure for your business is vital to ensure that you’re getting...

Just Add Videos
Studies are demonstrating that shoppers want more information about vehicles and F&I products, and they’d prefer to get it before they visit a dealership. Utilizing web videos to deliver this...

Smarten Up Your Cars
As smartphones continue to be an integral part of everyday life, getting in front of your customers via their phones can make all the difference in building a long-term connection and business...

Connect to Greater Opportunity
By 2025, more than 300 million vehicles worldwide will be equipped with connectivity technology. Consumers and dealers alike can capitalize on the data these devices capture.

Millennials Creating Powerful Shifts
Millennial buyers aren’t killing the Powersports industry – they’re simply changing it. Are your F&I offerings keeping up?

Powered by the Latest Trends
Today’s market has changed the Powersports industry. Are your F&I offerings keeping up?

Train Profit Right
Why proper F&I training is crucial to help you drive change, profit and opportunity.

What’s Trendy in F&I?
Read up on the next big things in the aftermarket product sector.

The Rise of Used
Demand for new vehicles may be running on fumes, but used vehicles are expected to have another strong sales year. What’s driving buyers to pre-owned vehicles, and how can dealers capitalize on...

GAP and Depreciation Protection – Better Together
Customers dealing with a total loss don’t just have big balances on the vehicle they’re buying; many of them have rolled debt from their last vehicle into their new loan balance. Fortunately, there...

The Benefits of Leasing
After a few years of record sales and rising prices, new vehicle sales are expected to drop in 2019. As dealers and consumers struggle to find opportunities in the new vehicle market, leasing...