Looking But Not Buying: The Summer 2026 Used Car Playbook for Managers

The spring selling season is over and the shopper index has fallen roughly 30%, but here is the truth most dealers are missing: buyers are still out there, they have just lost their urgency. In this episode of LotTalk, Chris Keene, John Anderson, and Renaldo Leonard break down the Cox and Experian data behind the slowdown (record $7,214 negative equity, $50,000 average new car prices, and aggressive new-truck incentives crushing used values) and turn it into a practical plan. You will get the exact outright-seller script for sourcing inventory out of your own CRM with no auction fees, the trade and price variance checks that expose self-inflicted margin compression, and the S.P.A.C.E.D. follow-up framework that gives your team something to say besides "are you still in the market." Get watertight now, before the market turns back up. Download the free Summer 2026 Used Car Playbook at lotpop.com.