Dealer Stories: Q&A with Tyler Spice, Chilliwack Ford
Tyler Spice from Chilliwack Ford shares how his dealership was able to simplify its logistics, achieve quicker inventory turnover and more. In this Q&A, we’ll show you how, just like Tyler, you can also make wholesale easy for your dealership. Let’s get into it.
Tyler, tell us a little bit about yourself and your dealership.
I grew up in Chilliwack, went away to school and then moved back to Edmonton to sell cars out there for a couple of years. I then had the chance to come back to Chilliwack and be a sales manager here at Chilliwack Ford.
Prior to using OPENLANE for wholesale, what were some of the biggest challenges you faced at Chilliwack Ford?
We used to use wholesalers — there were about three or four people in total who would come into the dealership and they’d be fighting over the vehicles. We’d also have to store the vehicles for a while because they couldn’t immediately come and get them. It was those sort of challenges.
How has our platform helped you overcome these challenges?
The process with OPENLANE is much easier. We no longer have to deal with wholesalers directly. We don’t have to worry about transport or detailing. We also have more lot space at the dealership because once we decide to sell a vehicle, we can quickly have it picked up the next day and have it run in our OPENLANE Simulcast sale for that week — where it’ll most likely either sell that week or the following week. So, it also helps us have quicker turnover.
Tell us a bit more about your quick turnover. What do you attribute your strong buyer base to? How has using OPENLANE helped you build that trust with your buyer base?
Being transparent and including details go a long way — and OPENLANE makes it easy for us to deliver on both those things. It’s set up so that buyers get as much information as possible for vehicles. So, I always send in every bit of info that I have. We also make it a priority to be well-informed about our vehicles so that our buyers always get the vehicles they are expecting. If we know something is wrong with the vehicle, we always declare it. But if something somehow gets missed and a vehicle goes to arbitration, we always try to come to some sort of resolution. So, being easy to deal with also helps. We also have a great relationship with our OPENLANE contacts — George, Mark and John. They’re always available if we have a question or need some help.
Speaking of transparency and easy wholesale, we know you frequently use Market Guide. How has this been a game changer for you?
It’s impacted how we choose to price vehicles and also helped us gain higher profits. I’m always researching vehicle values in the Market Guide, especially when I’m doing appraisals. We can see what a vehicle has run for in the past month or two, and that gives us a solid idea of what we can get for it. It helps us make sure we’re not overpricing or underpricing vehicles. Market Guide has also only gotten better and more detailed over the years.
You spoke earlier about our transport services and how they help with quick turnover. Can you share a specific example of how your logistics have been simplified?
Even though it is basically routine for us now, the best example would be when our lot is jammed with vehicles and there is hardly any space to park vehicles. Seeing our OPENLANE transport contacts then pull up to take the vehicles away is a huge sigh of relief. They are also very friendly so it’s always a positive experience.
Ready to make wholesale easy?
For any questions, give us a call and one of our team members will be happy to help.
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