Reference

Car dealership glossary

Plain-language definitions of the terms an independent car dealer runs into — from VIN decoding and desking to aging, gross and floor plan.

Aging (days in stock): How long a vehicle has sat on the lot since it was acquired. The longer a car ages, the more it ties up capital and the more its value tends to slip, so dealers track aging to decide what to reprice or wholesale.
BHPH (Buy Here Pay Here): A model where the dealership itself finances the customer and collects the payments, instead of sending them to a bank or lender. Common at independent used-car lots serving buyers who can't get outside financing.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Software for capturing and following up on leads and customers. At a dealership it tracks each shopper from first inquiry through the sale, so no lead is forgotten and every follow-up happens on time.
Desking (deal desking): Structuring a car deal: taking the vehicle price, a trade-in, tax and financing terms and working them into a monthly payment the customer can agree to. A DMS desks the deal on one screen and prints the paperwork.
DMS (Dealership Management System): Software that runs a car dealership's day-to-day operations from one place — inventory, a customer-facing website, leads, deal desking and reporting — so data flows between steps instead of living in separate tools.
F&I (Finance and Insurance): The part of a car sale where financing, warranties, and protection products are arranged. Often a meaningful share of a dealership's profit (the "back end") on top of the vehicle's front-end gross.
Floor plan (floorplanning): A revolving line of credit a dealer uses to buy inventory, repaid when each car sells. It lets a lot stock more cars than its cash on hand, but the interest ("flooring cost") rises the longer a unit ages.
Front-end gross: The profit on the vehicle itself — its selling price minus what the dealer has in it (purchase cost plus reconditioning and pack). Separate from back-end (F&I) profit.
Inventory turn: How many times a dealer sells and replaces its stock over a period. Faster turn means capital and floor-plan interest are freed up sooner — usually a healthier sign than a lot full of aging units.
Lead: A potential buyer who has shown interest — a website inquiry, a phone call, or a walk-in. Leads are worked through a pipeline (new, working, appointment, sold) until they buy or drop off.
Pack: A fixed amount a dealership adds to each car's cost to cover overhead before commission is calculated. It affects reported gross per unit, so knowing the pack matters when reading profit numbers.
Price to market: Setting a car's price against what comparable vehicles are actually selling for nearby, rather than a fixed markup. Pricing to market keeps listings competitive and helps units sell before they age.
Reconditioning (recon): The work done to get a used car retail-ready — mechanical repairs, detailing, tyres, minor body work. Recon cost is part of what the dealer has in the car and directly reduces gross profit.
Speed to lead: How quickly a dealership responds to a new inquiry. Responding within minutes rather than hours sharply improves the odds of reaching the shopper and winning the sale — often before a competitor replies.
SRP (Search Results Page): The inventory listing page on a dealership website, where shoppers browse, search and filter the available cars. Each result links to that vehicle's detail page (VDP).
Syndication: Sending a dealership's inventory feed out to third-party marketplaces and listing sites so the same cars appear in more places shoppers look, without re-entering each vehicle.
VDP (Vehicle Detail Page): The page for a single vehicle on a dealership website — photos, specs, price, and usually a monthly-payment estimate and an inquiry form. The VDP is where a shopper decides to reach out.
VIN (Vehicle Identification Number): The unique 17-character code stamped on every vehicle that encodes its year, make, model, and build. Decoding the VIN lets a dealer fill in a car's specs automatically instead of typing them.