Never have I received some many DMs about a post.

Here's a summary of the Carvana ($CVNA) allegations by Hindenburg Research:

1) Hindenburg is alleging that Carvana is engaging in financial misconduct, including $800 million in loan sales to a suspected undisclosed related party.

2) Despite these allegations, Carvana's stock rose by 284% in 2024, indicating that investors are expressing confidence in the company's recovery.

3) Carvana is being accused of using accounting manipulation and lax underwriting to inflate income, while insiders are reportedly cashing out billions.

4) Carvana’s business model involves selling auto loans, with a significant portion being subprime, which is leading to high delinquency rates.

5) The company is being valued at an 845% higher sales multiple compared to peers, suggesting overvaluation despite the allegations.

6) Carvana is reporting positive net income for three consecutive quarters, showing some financial stability.

7) Claims are surfacing that Carvana’s related-party transactions might be artificially inflating its profitability (wholesale vehicle sales to DriveTime)

8) Carvana’s CEO’s father, Ernest Garcia II, is selling substantial amounts of stock, potentially signaling concerns about the company’s future.

9) The stock experienced volatile trading following Hindenburg's report, initially dropping but later recovering.

10) Questions are remaining about the sustainability of Carvana’s business model given the economic headwinds and the reliance on subprime loans.

Right now, what surprises me most is that the stock price is staying relatively unfazed.

Tough to tell if this is a big "nothingburger" or real cause for concern... What do you think? Below is the podcast I recorded a couple of weeks back with CEO of Carvana

Have offered Ernie the opportunity to return to the podcast to address all these allegations head on.

Hypothetically, if he were to come back on, what would you want me to ask?

dealershipguy.com/videos/the-ris…

BREAKING

You might not own an electric vehicle by 2032, after all.

The EPA is *easing* its emissions rule ramp-up after major concerns from the car industry.

Percentage of EVs by 2032:

Previous plan: 67%
Current plan: 30-56%

Dealers and consumers - how do you feel about this?

Tell me below.

Will compile responses and summarize sentiment.

(via EPA, Auto News) Will post a variety of opinions.

1/

https://twitter.com/hillsdalestever/status/1770540002067288074

True or false:

You should LEASE if you’re optimizing for lifestyle.
You should BUY if you’re optimizing for value.

Don't touch another car before reading this: First, let's breakdown the differences:

Leasing offers more flexibility than outright buying, but it comes at a price.

You don't get to keep the car you've paid towards at the end of the 3-year term.

Instead, here's what you do get:

Just in:

A major bank is rumored to be exiting the auto lending business tomorrow.

They have over 3,000 dealer partners nationwide.

Unconfirmed but from a highly credible source, as always.

Will keep you posted. Every 3 weeks I send an email.

It contains car market and economic insights to make you smarter.

I’ll share the official bank announcement in my next email.

it’s 100% free to join: dealershipguy.com

My tweets get 100M+ impressions per month.

Time for an experiment…

Let’s get your car sold on Twitter 😊

Sellers: Post a 1-sentence description of your car and the price.

Buyers: Tell us what car you’re looking to buy and your budget. A “Twitter Marketplace” would be huge. Something for the roadmap 😊

(cc @evanstnlyjones / @ptraughber)

2024 Lexus GX 🤯 What do we think?

Basically, it's harder to get a car loan.

Auto credit availability just hit a 2-year low and is now tighter than *pre-COVID* [1]

But there's more: According to Automotive News:

Loan officers representing 17 of 46 large and "other" banks (less than $50 billion in assets) in April expected their institutions to tighten auto loans "somewhat" by the end of the year.

Imagine *subscribing* to an electric car.

Scott Painter, Founder of Autonomy, is building that.

Our convo on @CDG_Podcast:
— Subscribing vs Owning a car
— When Elon called him out of the blue
— His wild prediction for EVs
— How he makes money (+ more)

Watch or listen below: twitter.com/i/web/status/1… Apple: bit.ly/3J5WNv5
Spotify: spoti.fi/45S7Zp4
YouTube: lnkd.in/e7xteDZb

You should lease if you’re optimizing for lifestyle.

You should buy if you’re optimizing for value.

True or false? The answer may surprise you: Leasing offers more flexibility, but it comes at a price.

You don't get to keep the car you've paid towards at the end of the 3-year term.

Instead, here's what you do get:

Jeep is the most *under-discussed* canary in the coal mine in the car world:

It just had its *worst* first quarter in at least six years with sales falling 20%.

But the billion-dollar question... WHY? For starters, Jeep launched a line of luxury SUVs in 2021.

But Jeep's timing couldn't have been worse...

This was right before the economy peaked and interest rates started rising, stifling consumer demand for expensive vehicles.

The result?

Car dealerships can legally save $1,000,000s in taxes.

The secret? Using "Captives".

Here's how they work (and how you can do it too): Most of the profit car dealers make is not from selling cars.

You already knew that — Dealers sell many lucrative products and services in addition to the cars themselves.

But there is one secret car dealers don’t talk about often…

Toyota is LOSING market share at a dizzying pace.

Customers are finally realizing that maybe it isn't worth it to wait 9-12 months for a marked-up Toyota Sienna.

Management needs to wake up. Fast 👇 Just look at the numbers...

Toyota has just dropped from 15.2% overall vehicle market share to 13.2%.

Craziest part?

It happened in the span of 3 months!

Holy shit!!!

My new podcast just hit #5 top podcast in Leisure in less than 24hrs Here’s the link: pod.link/1677810412

topic suggestions for first podcast? will be a fun experiment.

have never done a podcast before.

first episode will go live on apple podcasts, spotify and youtube.

subscribe to my youtube channel below: youtube.com/@cardealership…

ANNOUNCEMENT

I just set up my YouTube channel 😱

first 50,000 subscribers get exclusive access to my identity-reveal video (coming later this year)

- who am i?
- why the f*ck did i create this account?
- whats in store for the future?

subscribe below:
youtube.com/@cardealership… this is going to be so funny

https://twitter.com/RFortunae/status/1635474381752401920?s=20

CDG EXCLUSIVE: The brewing problem with the recent spike in car prices 📈 Before we start, some context...

Wholesale car prices declined all last year, but in a surprise move for everyone, prices jumped by *4.4%* in the first 2 weeks in February, the largest February increase since 2009.

i just invested in a badass startup called @_PrivateAuto

its like Venmo but for selling and buying a car.

but here’s the thing - all they’re doing is helping you sell your car “privately”… like old times.

except they’ve made it 10X better.

here’s how -

Q: When will car prices go back to the pre-2020 ‘normal’?

A: Unlikely anytime soon.

Here’s why… 1) We under-produced 8.6M cars over the past 3 years.

There are simply fewer cars in the secondary market.

Fewer cars —> Higher prices

Used car prices still rising quickly at dealer auctions

consumers - expect used car prices to continue rising 📈 well into late-march and april. whats driving the fast rise?

2 things:

1) tax refund season: increased customer demand

but this happens every year.

2) lack of supply: exacerbated by minimal lease returns.

this has never happened before.

Franchise dealers are positioned a lot better than non-franchise dealers in this environment.

the 2010s favored used-only dealers:

carmax, carvana, etc

the 2020s will favor franchise dealers:

asbury, lithia, group 1, etc

maybe it’s time for us to enter the franchise biz…🤔 A couple reasons i'm bullish on franchise model -

- Multiple revenue streams (Used/New/Parts/Service)
- Expanded roster of lending partners
- Lease returns (non-competitive inventory acquisition)
- Marketing Co-Op
- Inventory floorplan credits

and more.

I'm feeling generous.

dealers or dealership employees:

join my dealer network and get *lifetime* access to 1,000s of active car buyers and sellers.

please pay it forward by sharing this with other reputable dealers.

limited to next 250 sign-ups.

join in 3 clicks below: dealersignup.carrd.co