Future Auto Group
Future Auto Group in the Greater Sacramento area built a dedicated private party buying program, moved off the auction, and went from buying 100 cars a month at the lane to 115 cars in a single month off the street with an in-house buy center.
Problem
Most of their used inventory came from the auction.
They were paying transport, trusting condition reports, and hoping arbitration would cover what the lane missed. Trade ins and KBB Instant Cash Offer helped, but the team was still reacting instead of going out and getting the cars they actually wanted.
Strategy
Future hired a dedicated Used Vehicle Acquisition Coordinator and gave him one job, buy from people in the community all day.
They rolled out VETTX to pull in listings from every major marketplace, organize every conversation, and move sellers through a clear set of buckets so nothing slipped. Weekly calls and training kept buyers supported and accountable across stores.
Results
Before VETTX, they were buying around 100 cars a month from the auction and zero off the street.
Now they are running a true in-house buy center and recently did 115 cars in a single month solely from private party sellers, with dedicated buyers averaging 15 units a month and four-digit front-end gross on those street purchases.
Key Metrics
0 -> 115
Street-purchased units/mo
$1k - $4k
Avg. Front End Gross
The Pivot: From Auction Only to Off-the-Street
Future did not abandon the auction. They just stopped letting it be the only plan.
Dan describes the lane like this:
“yeah, at the auction, you only win by losing. Right. You only you only win the car when you’re the one who’s raising their hand last. Willing to pay the most for it.”
They wanted a way to buy cars that did not start with being the last hand in the air.
Buying from people in their backyard solved that. Low-mileage cars. Daily drivers. Units they could “wipe its nose and put it on the front line” instead of holding for long recon.
When tariffs made new vehicles more expensive and used cars tighter, Future decided they needed to be “real players in this space” and put Dan in charge of building it out across the group.
“we’ve seen grosses in the triple digits on the auction cars for an average, you know, it’s trade bait. It’s move metal. It’s seller warranty. But there’s there’s not a lot of front end gross profit in auction units, whereas, you’re going to be at least four digits on VETTX cars.”
Dan Howe, Used Vehicle Acquisition Coordinator
Building a Daily Acquisition Machine
The work now looks like a normal day at a strong buying center. High activity, clear structure, and simple tools.
Jace (Acquisition Specialist) explains the jump in volume after they added VETTX:
“probably averaging around 15.”
Each buyer lives in the platform. They filter out junk and focus on real opportunities.
“it filters out a good amount things that we’re not looking for, so it’ll filter out, you know, salvage titles, lemon law and dealers.”
“it’s really helping me stay organized. There’s a lot of tools on VETTX that keeps me organized with setting appointments, keeping my notes in. You know, having target a CSV keeps everything really organized and really simple.”
David, who is brand new to the car business, ramped into that workflow fast.
“I would say no. No more than a week or two. Just getting down to the system, just learning exactly what I’m looking for, how much we’re trying to buy for how much we’re trying to sell for.”
Better Cars, Bigger Gross
The quality of the cars changed.
These are not mystery units coming off a truck. They are local vehicles coming straight from daily drivers.
Jace sums it up:
“They don’t need much work. That’s the the main, you know, positive on buying off the street is that they’re going to need windshield wipers and that’s about it.”
“These are daily drivers, so they’re coming straight from a daily driver to, you know, our dealership, our home.”
That shows up in the numbers. Buyers now target strong cost-to-market and front-end profit, instead of hoping an auction car does not surprise them later.
David explains how he thinks about it:
“I want to say our gross on these units is like 4 or 5 grand a copy”
Culture Shift and Training
Future did not leave buyers in a back corner.
They made the role visible and supported. Weekly calls. GM involvement. Outside coaches. Shared wins. Shared struggles.
Dan has seen what happens when that support is missing.
“these people get relegated to a small, dark corner of the building where nobody talks to them. They’re a one person department. Everybody leaves them alone. Oh. Who? Oh. That guy. Yeah, he’s in the back corner over there.”
So they built the opposite.
“this is my wild Wednesday buyer’s call. Nice, right. That’s every buyer in the company. That’s every buyer that we have. All of their gems, some gems that are on there that want to be. That want to be a part of it. And it keeps adding, right.”
Training and coaching keep people from feeling like they are on an island.
David talks about the impact:
“it’s definitely made a big change… it definitely helped me, you know, to reevaluate. Look at what I need to look at, just kind of overall how to appraise cars.”
Jace feels the same about the buyer support from VETTX:
“trainings are really enjoyable. Talking to this guy Cameron… we’ll hop on zooms, you know, very flexible… it’s definitely a huge help.”
The Seller Experience and Follow Up
A lot of the value shows up in how sellers feel.
Same-day checks, clear communication, and honest education on what their car is worth.
Jace sees it in their reactions:
“being able to go hand a person a check the same day is definitely a big smile on people’s faces… within 30 to 45 minutes.”
David uses the platform and data to be transparent.
“anytime that I’ve checked the vehicle history of someone else’s car that they’re trying to sell me, I always provide the report. Always show them the Carfax… why not show them it’s their car.”
“realistically, I’ll show them exactly what the vehicle is worth… just kind of just giving them, you know, a little bit of reality… just educating approach.”
And they do not stop at the first “no.”
“it’s a lot about planting the seed.”
“if I had a customer, we were ten grand away… I kept following up on them. Created a friendly, nice relationship… gave it a month, and he’s coming back calling me, you know, wanting to make that deal at what we started with.”
Results: What Future Auto Group Built
- Shifted from auction-only to a true in-house buy center
- Around 100 auction units a month before VETTX, to 115 street-purchased units in a single month
- Dedicated buyers averaging 15 cars a month off the street
- Four-digit front-end gross averages on private party units
- Cleaner, local inventory that needs minimal recon
- Proactive acquisition, targeting any unit the stores want instead of waiting for the next “ping”
The Road Ahead
Future is not waiting on the market.
With a clear system, trained buyers, and a leadership team that is willing to “step up and put the money on the cars that deserve it,” they are turning private party acquisition into a lasting advantage, not a side project.
