I’d make the online buying expertise a major part of the role rather than just another bullet, since it sounds like that’s one of the most important skill sets you’re trying to hire.
Vehicle Acquisition Manager
Preston Auto Group is looking for an experienced, highly motivated Vehicle Acquisition Manager to lead and grow our used vehicle acquisition efforts across our automotive group.
A major focus of this position will be buying vehicles online at scale. We are especially interested in someone who is highly experienced with online auctions and digital wholesale platforms and understands the entire process—from identifying and purchasing the right vehicles to arranging transportation, inspecting arrivals, handling condition discrepancies, and successfully navigating arbitration when necessary.
This person will also be responsible for developing additional acquisition channels and ultimately building a team and process that creates a consistent pipeline of quality used inventory for our dealerships.
Key Responsibilities
- Aggressively source and purchase used vehicles through online auctions and digital wholesale platforms
- Buy vehicles at physical auctions when appropriate
- Have a strong understanding of condition reports, vehicle history reports, market values, fees, and total acquisition cost when purchasing vehicles remotely
- Arrange and manage transportation of purchased vehicles to our dealerships efficiently and cost-effectively
- Manage post-sale issues, including vehicle inspections, condition discrepancies, title issues, and arbitration
- Develop relationships and purchasing opportunities with rental car companies, wholesalers, fleets, and other vehicle sources
- Proactively source vehicles directly from private sellers, including Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and other online marketplaces
- Build a process for purchasing vehicles directly from consumers
- Develop and eventually oversee a service-drive acquisition team that provides purchase offers to customers servicing their vehicles at our dealerships
- Work closely with used car managers and dealership leadership to identify inventory needs by store, brand, price point, and vehicle type
- Evaluate vehicles and determine appropriate acquisition values based on current market conditions and expected retail performance
- Track acquisition volume, inventory turn, gross profit, transportation costs, arbitration results, and ROI by acquisition source
- Continually identify new opportunities to increase used vehicle inventory across Preston Auto Group
What We're Looking For
We are looking for someone who is entrepreneurial, aggressive, organized, and results-driven and wants to take ownership of our vehicle acquisition strategy.
The ideal candidate will have significant experience purchasing used vehicles online and be comfortable making buying decisions remotely and at volume. Experience with online auction platforms, transportation/logistics, vehicle arbitration, appraisals, and wholesale market values is especially important.
Automotive used car management, purchasing, appraisal, auction, or vehicle acquisition experience is strongly preferred. Candidates should have a strong understanding of used vehicle values, market-based pricing, inventory turn, and dealership profitability.
This is not simply an auction-buying position. We want someone who can build a comprehensive acquisition operation—buying vehicles online and at auction, sourcing directly from consumers, developing new acquisition channels, and eventually building and leading a team around the process.
Compensation
Compensation will include:
- Base salary
- Percentage of front-end and back-end gross profit on vehicles acquired and trade-ins acquired
The compensation structure provides significant upside for someone who can consistently acquire desirable inventory at the right money and help us grow our used vehicle business.
About Preston Auto Group
Preston Auto Group is an Automotive News Top 150 Dealer Group, family-owned and operated, representing 12 franchises across Western Pennsylvania and Northeast Ohio. We are focused on continuing to grow our used vehicle business, and we see vehicle acquisition as a major opportunity to drive that growth.
For the right person, this is an opportunity to take ownership of a major group-wide initiative, build a team, and create a vehicle acquisition operation that impacts dealerships across our entire organization.
