From the Service Drive to the Sales Lot: Why Dealers Must Rethink Vehicle Sourcing Now
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my years working at dealerships and with dealers across the country, it’s this: the best opportunities are often right under your nose. And right now, that opportunity is sitting in your service drive.
At the recent Fixed OPS Roundtable, I had the chance to speak alongside Micah Tindor about the shifting dynamics in vehicle sourcing—and why the service lane is becoming the most productive and strategic place to acquire high-quality used inventory.
The Market Has Changed—Have You?
With potential tariffs driving up new vehicle prices by an average of $5,000, affordability is becoming a serious issue. We’re already seeing a shift in consumer demand from new to used vehicles. But here’s the challenge: auction supply is tightening, which means prices are rising.
And that’s where the service drive comes in.
Why the Service Drive Is the New Frontline
We’ve talked about service drive acquisition for years, but efforts by dealers to successfully acquire vehicles in the service drive have proved problematic. In some cases, the technologies and tools to facilitate a consistent, smooth process didn’t work as well as they could. In other cases, the efforts faltered because of a lack of cooperation and coordination between sales and service to get the cars.
That’s changed. With integrated tools like vAuto, Xtime, and Kelley Blue Book Instant Cash Offer, we can now connect fixed and variable ops in a way that makes sourcing from service not just possible—but profitable.
Vehicles coming through the service lane are some of the highest quality units available. They’re already in your ecosystem, and with the right process, they can be appraised, acquired, and retailed with minimal risk. Often, the vehicles dealers acquire from their service drives rank as some of their most profitable used vehicle inventory—units that rank as Gold-level investments or higher for dealers who use vAuto’s ProfitTime GPS
Fixed Ops: This Is Your Moment Too
Historically, fixed ops teams saw service drive acquisition as a loss—losing a repair order to the sales team. But now, it’s a win-win. By identifying customers likely to defect or those ready for a new vehicle, fixed ops can restart the ownership cycle, generate internal pay work, and drive revenue.
It’s also a powerful engagement tool. Instead of just delivering bad news about a repair bill, service advisors can offer customers a compelling alternative: “We need your vehicle. Let’s talk trade-in.”
Making It Work: The Five Essentials
To make this strategy stick, you need:
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Connected Technology – A unified platform that bridges service, appraisal, and inventory tools.
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Aligned Processes – Clear workflows that integrate fixed and variable operations.
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Consistent Appraisals – Accurate, transparent valuations that build customer trust.
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Aligned Compensation Plans – Incentives that reward collaboration between your acquisition/sales associates and your service advisors.
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Robust Reporting – Insights that track performance and help managers guide and coach continuous improvement.
We’ve built tools that bring all of this together—OBD2 scanner integration, reconditioning estimates, and professional consumer presentations that replace the old “green Sharpie” with real data and transparency. We are just getting started, you can expect future announcements regarding more time-saving innovation from vAuto as we support your efforts to source more profitable used car inventory.
Final Thoughts
Dealers don’t need to appraise every car in the service lane. But they do need to appraise the right ones—and do it well. With the right tech and strategy, you can turn your service drive into a sourcing engine that feeds your lot with high-margin, high-demand inventory.
The market is shifting. The tools are ready. The opportunity is here.
Let’s go work the service drive and get those cars.