Jamie LaReau

How dealers can avoid thefts by employees
Dealer Danny McKenna is learning to trust his employees again. Last year McKenna says he discovered that two veteran employees were in collusion and had stolen some $600, ...

Proposals for automakers to help limit distracted driving seem fair
Here's a big thank you to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. ...

Lithia looks to market share growth to pump future earnings
Lithia Motors is prepared to sacrifice new and used per vehicle profit margin if it means more market share, its CEO said today. ...

Another case for bundling
F&I managers like to bundle products, with good reason. The practice typically spurs sales of other products. ...

Test-drive death shakes dealerships
Many dealerships do not have formal guidelines advising salespeople or service technicians who test drive vehicles on public roads how to handle hostile situations, insur ...

Dealers are unnerved by Boston bombings
The bombings in Boston left many area dealers rattled, especially those with stores near the site and those who often attend the race. ...

Dealers pitch in to help after Texas blast
The deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in the small town of West, Texas, last week damaged a nearby General Motors store and spurred local dealers to organize efforts ...

Dealerships absorb an indirect hit when disaster strikes
This past week two catastrophic events hit communities. While no dealership employees were injured in either incident, dealers and staffers felt the impact. ...

Texas dealers confront aftermath of destruction
Greg May Chevrolet in West, Texas, is coping with damage and devastation. Last night, a blast at a fertilizer plant a mile from the store killed several people and injure ...

Good news for sellers: Blue sky values appear strong
It appears blue sky values are back, even at dealerships in distress. Take two recent examples out of California. ...

Service lane focus lifts Lithia's F&I sales
New software and a boost in spiffs have made it easy -- and lucrative -- for Lithia Motors Inc.'s service advisers to sell extended service contracts and lifetime oil cha ...

Strange question? Not really
Should an F&I officer or a salesperson explain the risks of a big down payment to a lease customer? ...

Service lane focus lifts Lithia's F&I sales
New software and a boost in spiffs have made it easy -- and lucrative -- for Lithia Motors Inc.'s service advisers to sell extended service contracts and lifetime oil cha ...

Dealership regroups after the murder of a sales manager on the job
Florida dealer A.J. Hiers and his staff are coming to terms with the violent death of a colleague killed on the job on March 30. John Pratt, 64, was murdered while test d ...

Should dealers give lease customers tutorials on down payment risk?
A friend recently wanted my advice on leasing a new car. I've only leased a car once, but I knew enough to want to put zero cash down. I let the lender bear the depreciat ...

Worried about the CFPB? Stay calm
Everyone stay calm. That's David Westcott's message to finance and insurance professionals, even though the chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association admits ...

N.Y. service center opens, and the rest is history
Gary Flom, owner of Bay Ridge Ford, did the near-impossible in New York City. He found an 88,000-square-foot parcel with a 33,000-square-foot building. ...

Lithia tests 2 service dept. apps
Lithia Motors Inc. is testing two apps for the service department: one that shows customers if their vehicle needs service and another aimed at streamlining communication ...

Young, inexperienced and very successful
Rick Case Fiat's top salesman is a 19-year-old from Jamaica. The finance and insurance manager is a 24-year-old former cashier with no previous dealership experience. ...

As sales rise, so do dealers' gifts to charities
Rising vehicle sales are boosting dealership revenues, making it easier for dealers to give more to charities. ...

Bankrupt Toyota store in Florida sells for $18.7 million
A federal bankruptcy court has approved the sale of a bankrupt Toyota dealership in St. Augustine, Fla., for $18.7 million. The buyer, Michael Beaver, owner of Beaver Toy ...

A case for a la carte menus
Many F&I managers believe bundling is their best friend. By bundling, they can offer customers several F&I products in a package costing less than buying each product ind ...

Ford's F&I training tuneups keep dealer current
Bob Wheat, general manager at Village Ford in suburban Detroit, refuses to rest on his laurels. When Ford offered dealers free training on F&I sales techniques and produc ...

How a small-town dealer tripled his F&I take
When Ford Motor Co. offered dealers free training to sell finance and insurance products in 2010, Joel Higley turned it down. He had hired his own F&I trainer the year be ...

Service moves up front
Bill Underriner is building the dealership of the future. ...