The Independent Dealer Podcast Jan 29, 2026

#416 - From Family Business to Free Agent: A Dealer Succession Story

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Car

Jeep Cherokee

The Jeep Cherokee is an SUV known for being good off-road and practical for everyday use. It comes with different engine options, which can change how well it drives.

Term

grenade

When someone says a car has 'grenaded', it means that something in the engine has broken very badly, causing a lot of damage. It's a way to describe a serious failure.

LIVE

So is he one running your dad's store now?

He is, yeah.

OK, so good boy.

Did that, like, displace and have a succession plan?

Is he getting the dealership?

I don't know.

So that would be crazy, right?

So what?

That would have set me up a little bit.

Oh.

Hello, and welcome to the Enda Penden Dealer podcast.

Luke, have you ever wanted to get in to buy here, pay here?

No.

I was born in, I just fell in, I was born into it,

and I would love to figure out a way out of it.

Actually, I'm getting out.

So there are multiple ways out, Jeff,

and there's multiple ways in, apparently.

And this is a great example from Dayton on how to get in.

And it's a great example from Don and Stephanie

of how to get out.

Yeah.

We joke around about, you know, you had a PhD,

but I guess, just like Nathan, you had a PhD, PhD.

PhD, PhD.

How do you say that?

Papa had a dealership, and then Papa had a dealership,

may have gone wrong.

Papa had a I hear, pay here dealership.

Yeah, that's right.

So very interesting, you'll hear in Nate's story

of how he grew up in a dealership,

won't give away too much, but he ended up not buying

the dealership that he helped grow.

And I think we do have some listeners

that are in that situation where you might be growing

your parents, your dads, your grandpa's dealership,

but it might not be the one for you long run.

It doesn't have to be, right?

So super interesting story here from Nathan.

Yep, stay tuned.

Listen, there's a lot of good information here

brought to you from the BHPH forum.

So a little canned stuff, but it's really good.

So I worked for my father at that time,

and I ran the business for him.

He was kind of like the money guy,

and I ran the business and did that for several years.

And he decided he wanted to retire.

I feel like a deja vu of myself in this situation.

Very similar situation.

My dad says I want to quit,

and he didn't want to pass it on to me.

So I said, okay, I got to have something to do.

So friend of mine, don't hide this.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

This is a half hour podcast,

so we're gonna have to dig into that a little bit more.

So at the time, when you were in my 20 group,

you and your dad would come.

You were running everything.

You were the brains, he was the money.

But your dad had a lot of other stuff going on too, right?

The carpets, I think someone was running

a pizza joint at the time.

That you or your dad?

That's Joe Mock, right?

He was running a pizza joint as well.

There was another friend,

we were private investors on that one,

but we did have the,

we had a flooring center that he ran,

and then we had...

Not an auto flooring, but actual flooring.

Floors.

Diamonets, okay, yeah.

That goes with car business.

Yeah, very similar.

Not very well.

You were doing all this stuff, you and your dad, and...

Rental properties,

rental construction companies.

So, and I know you got out of the business,

is that when your dad decided to close down the dealership?

No.

Or you got out full.

You saw the writing on the wall.

He got ready to retire, he straight up with me.

Great guy.

He just said I'm ready to quit,

and I said, oh, I worked there.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, so, I mean, like,

that's understandable.

Definitely different than what happened in my situation.

So, when that happens,

I'm sure you had a conversation and said,

well, you know that, Daddy,

I've been working on this thing,

and I'm the one that runs it.

Can I buy you out?

Okay, and at that point, what happens?

Well, at that point, he says,

I really don't want to do that

because I really want to just get all my money, and...

So, again, this sounds exactly like where I was.

It's okay, I just want my money.

I just want my money.

Along with every other guy in that room

we were just in, I was there,

and along with Jeff Watson, you'd like to have your money.

So, Wade, how did he get his money?

He didn't.

God, so, so that is really...

I mean, really, it's still running.

He's still trying to figure out what he's gonna do.

He doesn't know how to exit.

Correct.

So, he told you I want Al,

and no offense to your dad,

he's such a great guy.

He taught me so much in those 20 groups.

Yeah.

But he was like, hey, I want Al,

and you're like, okay, cool, can I do it?

And he's like, no, but I'm gonna do it

some other way, I don't know.

Right, okay.

Hey, guys, just to jump in and talk about

Buckeye risk services.

They've been one of our sponsors forever.

They're great to the industry.

They're one of your sponsors, you don't even know it.

Every time you go to a convention or something like that,

they're there helping out, isn't that right, Jeff?

Yeah, absolutely.

I have not seen a company so willing

to get behind the dealers from an education,

from a support standpoint.

I mean, there's a handful that we see in our sphere

that are very active and always have our back,

but Buckeye really sets the standard.

So when you're looking for a reinsurance company,

if you've decided it's time to get into it,

you've got to call the guys and girls over at Buckeye.

I promise you will not regret it.

Yep, reinsurance, four savings account,

wealth building, tax playing,

all these things go together, so call Buckeye.

And that's where we still are.

Seems crazy.

You know what's so interesting?

Is this is something we hear continually

with, how do we get out?

How do we get out?

I'm gonna die at my desk.

I'm gonna die at my desk, but you know,

your dad and my dad have options of getting out,

but sometimes they're so stubborn,

they don't want to take the option.

Now, my dad convinced me to wind it down with him.

I mean, he wanted his money now,

but he's in the same situation he was, right?

What happens?

I'm not sure.

You're not sure, okay.

I mean, that's simple enough, I mean.

The message for dealers listening is the same advice

we just gave our friend in there at the lunch table was,

don't think you can take it all off the table.

If you are the father listening and you have kids

or you have a manager, you have some sort of secession

or guy you think you're gonna hand this down to,

you can't take it all off the table.

Just know that whether you sell the accounts

or whether you pass it down to somebody,

you're gonna take a haircut.

You're gonna take an architect.

You're not taking 100% on the dollar.

So just accept the fact that

if you gotta take a million dollar portfolio,

sell it for eight.

If you got a 20, sell it for 18.

Like, set your kid or your manager up for success.

We just see so many times when the first generation

thinks they should just take it all,

put it all in the back of their kid

who's gonna pay him out 110% of princia.

It just doesn't happen.

But even over time, be willing to take it over time

because you could have wound him down

as you were building your portfolio up,

which would have been his best exit strategy.

But sometimes it's hard for,

I don't know, it must be this boomer mentality.

Okay, I'm gonna spoil.

It's a boomer, it is definitely a boomer.

I think it is, that is really where my head goes,

is it is a boomer mentality of I can't give up anything.

I can't give up anything.

I gotta get my principal, I gotta get my interest.

If I've got a 10 million dollar portfolio, that's okay.

You gotta stay on the bills.

Did you have a stepmother involved?

I did not.

Okay, you throw that in the mix

and you're really in some situation.

Yeah, so that's what I think is going on.

Can't stand to take that little haircut

and you're going to take a haircut.

If you sell out, you're gonna take a haircut.

Doesn't matter what you're doing.

But I feel like what we did between Don and myself,

so what year is your best way to go?

What year did your dad come to this?

You're gonna say early in 2023.

Okay, so this is recent.

Yeah, it's very recent.

Okay, and so did you stop working for him right then

as soon as that?

I did not.

No, what I did as I was working on the business plan

to buy out the Isaacsons, I was also transitioning

and I took employees that I had within my father's companies

and started moving them around

and positioning them for success as best I could

for my exit, I took the guy that is named Jason,

great, great guy I've been with since 2008

and I taught him everything I could teach him

in six, seven months about what I do on the back.

So is he one running your dad's store now?

He is, yeah.

Okay, so good boy.

Does Jason have a succession plan?

Is he getting the dealership?

I don't know.

So that would be crazy, right?

So what?

That would upset me a little bit.

You hinted at two pieces there.

You said the Isaacsons, you said Don.

So we know Don Isaacson, who's also a friend

and a toy member, great dealer.

You found a dealer who wanted to get out,

did not have someone to pass it down to.

Correct.

Okay, so you got a step.

Yeah, so how does this?

A step inheritance here from the Isaacsons, let's say.

And how you slid in.

How did that, was it just floated around

that you know Don was looking to get out?

Don and I were actually, we were good friends before.

So we had gotten to know each other.

We were both from the Knoxville area

and Knoxville, Tennessee, Govalls.

And we are in Tennessee, it's like a Tennessee theme.

The whole Tennessee thing this week is cold.

We didn't do that on purpose, I apologize.

It's snowing in Saint George as well.

But we knew each other from auctions,

and we became friends.

We went to dinner and went to lunch together

and ate as a family together.

But he was after me for a long time. Hey, you need to buy me out. Hey, you need to buy me out

Hey, you need to buy me out and I was already with my dad's entire

Yeah, thanks. I said, I can't handle one more thing. I'm running five businesses right now. I'm at my max

I can't do anything else. So

My father comes to me and says yeah, this this. Oh, yeah. Hey Don

My I'm a free agent

How far away I'm trying to turn away you little

Yeah, sorry and I owe money all this stuff. Yeah, what um

How far away it was Don store compared to your dad's so 75 miles

So it I mean, it's not the same market, but is it the same market? You know what I mean? Not at all

Okay, I thought it would be it's not at all where where we were both of our other dealerships were in really rural areas

middle Tennessee and

So I moved to North Knoxville, which is more urban

So there was a little learning curve for me right there

Yeah, and I came in knowing that but he had a staff already in place who they knew what they were doing

I did a few little tweaks, but man ground right now. Yes, and he's a good operator

He's a very good word staring into a distressed. No, I'm gonna save this piece

I was stepping into an already successful company with fantastic

Staff and play a real quick break to make sure you guys know about blitz pay

It's who I use to take all the payments at my buy here pay here dealership

We've been with them for almost three years now, and it is absolutely amazing. It's great. Yeah

the product is so simple even an idiot like me can use it but

You know when even when my collectors out and I'm just taking a phone call here or there

No matter where I am I can log into blitz pay and I can take that payment

I can see the customer's texting in and say hey, can you run this or whatever's going on?

It's always on top of it and the money's in the bank almost the next day

And that is to me so important and the support is great if we do have a charge back or a dispute

We get an email that says hey there was this dispute and then their team goes to work to help us resolve it

It doesn't they don't just dump it back on your table with some random

Notification or email that you barely ever see like my previous processors. Yeah, it's so helpful

And a lot of times it's because our our customers did something wrong

But when it's not they'll fight to the to the end with you and get that money back in your account

Yeah, so give them a call the guys and girls over at blitz pay great partner to have

Definitely an essential tool to have if you're a buy here pay here dealer

So we're talking about that here because the way I see it Nate you had

Options right you had a ton of options you could continue to work for you dad

Just keep your mouth shut and ride that out and then go yeah, whatever you could jump ship and start your own thing

And go talk to one of these great lenders in here and gain some capital and and spin something up from zero

Or you could do what you did which was you stepped into a high volume, right?

And they were doing what a hundred a month or some how much I'm what they're doing 65 about the 65 a month

large portfolio and your

On the buyouts and 12 billion books. Yeah, so it's a big 1120 counts. Yeah, that's a big nut

Yeah, you had a big old nutcrack there. You're biting off a lot. Yeah, super interesting those options

Yeah, like so, you know, we talked about you and Dahmer friends and then this came up

How long does it take you to iron out the numbers in a situation that that took a minute?

And what was your due diligence? I mean like because you don't just walk in there and someone you know if someone

Came to to to me and said hey Luke. Could you look at this at this dealer?

I'm looking at mine. It it's a ten million dollar portfolio

That that ten million dollar portfolio in one instance could be worth ten million dollars in the other instance

It could be worth six million dollars. Correct. What is that new diligence process?

So like how long did it take to put the we started talking in February and

We came to an agreement in September. So yeah, yeah and seven months

Yeah, and so we didn't sign papers until 1231 of 23 which makes total sense. Yeah break it

It's this year this calendar year. I am yeah, so we did that intentionally

Yeah, we were we were we were pretty well finished by by December. So call it ten months

What we thought we put it together and that's in it. I mean really and truly on a deal on a business deal that size

That's not crazy. I thought it's pretty fast. That's pretty fast

So it makes me ask you and you don't have to answer all the questions because obviously I get some of its private

But how many were there any terms that were kind of sticking for you?

Did you guys have any disagreements on things where you said hey, I'll give you X amount?

I think it's worth this. I'll pay you this percentage of what we collect or here's the carry-back interest

You know do like I would

Don Isaacson is a genius

And he kind of came with the paint this like oh that sounds really high and he'd go but over here

I'm gonna do this. Oh, that sounds really low. I want this okay

The guy just get in his head. He had it kind of figure out how he wanted it. Yeah, and there were not a ton of disagreements because

Yeah, it was fair and he's been planning don's always don's always to me seem to be a very fair guy very fair guy

And also very smart Stephanie as well. I mean like both of them. They yeah

They both of us in this podcast. Yeah, but both of them under understood the business and and their numbers

I'm sure we're good because I mean we've seen their numbers in 20 group forever and they they ran a good business in business

Yeah, yeah, so let me ask them our details. Do you come in and you know

So so we can help those that are listening kind of understand that the way these would be structured

You would come in and you would say

Okay, I'm going to now be boots on the ground the day-to-day operator, and I'm gonna get a salary for that

Mm-hmm. Okay. I'm gonna pay you out everything we collect

Up to X amount of dollars or or like that is a way to do it. I don't say how we did okay

That's what I'm here. I started my own company your own finance

Every my own car lock. Okay. Oh, yeah dealer license dealer license. Okay. Not I and his I'm not buying his

I'm not buying his customers. I'm not buying his portfolio. I'm not buying anything of his interesting

Okay, but the real reason that you want to do that

I don't see a lot of liability liability my god come somebody comes to me going near your suit

I'm not I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. Yeah, I'm the new owner. Okay. You bought the business

You bought the problem. So that's one reason to pay another reason to do it. I

wanted certain vendors that I wanted and

You're contractually stuck with their vendors if you don't do that if you so yeah

In fact one of my one of their vendors tried to sue him. He's like I'm out of business

Come to me. Oh

No, my it is not a business here. I'm this business because a lot of because it because a lot of these contracts if you go out of business

They terminate. Yeah. Yeah, so you started a dealership on January 1. Yeah, let's say

The his existing dealership closed down

Yeah, or phased out the dealership closed down do I know it's a hidden this yeah finance company continued to carry the note

So you popped up a new sign on day one. Hmm. And you you're playing his

Finance company out correct for a fee. Yeah, okay. Yeah, okay

So you're collecting something you now open your new dealership as far as the customers know for all intents and purposes

No, they're saying thing. They're making the time change a little bit. They don't know the snap stayed the same the building stuff

Okay, so when they come in they make their payments or they want to trade in or something like that

They're doing business with you guys in our seven groups same operation. I rare

I'm rarely seen I slink around people in who I don't know you guys you rebook those accounts in your in your new

RFC you need a capital correct. So how does that coming from that's coming from Don and Stephanie Isaacs, okay?

Yeah, so

What he's done and this was his grand plan you collect all my money

I'll finance you so you can keep going and and charge you an interest charge me interest me

Yep, that is competitive to our market. I'm sure it's a little better than market

I'll be honest with you and that's where so there's the things where he said you're gonna have to do this this this

That's it. Yeah, I'm like whoa. No, no, no when I'm giving you weight, but I'm gonna loan you money at this one

Okay, sold with covenants, I'm sure these guy deal agencies keep a track of stuff and and now those

Those are similar to your interest standards. Sure. And I think they should be. Oh, absolutely keep everybody. I think covenants are

Man, that's have covenants. Okay. That is such. I mean, but really that's such a great way to structure about

Oh, yeah, and and the way for Don is Stephanie to continue to make money

Because you're you're collecting out your portfolio and you're getting that money that you put out for so long

But then you just get the loan and back out. Yeah, you know and make the money without the headache

Yeah, so so so so from from a logistical standpoint though

They're collecting are they collecting probably more money than what you're borrowing back for mall in new

Originations, right? No, it makes a yeah. Yeah, I don't say as I would hope so as they were our sin is yeah

Yeah, that's down goes on them all but yeah right now. Yeah, yeah

Yeah, because because if for them to cash out anything they would have to have a little bit of a difference, right?

I say they brought in with that size of accounts. They're bringing in you know a million dollars a month in payments or something

In principle and interest

You're borrowing not that much back every month on your new origination. So right? Yeah, so

All right, did you change the business model at all because you're two years in not much, okay?

So guys that's something else that should be mentioned right now Don and I being friends both of us being

NIA da members both of us being in 20 groups. We ran

Extremely similar operation extremely similar and in fact, that's how we got to know one another is at every auction

We're bidding this we're only two idiots bidding on the same car

Every yeah, and you're just going all right, so that's how we get to know one another

But once we get to talk about wow do we run the same dealers? Yeah, and so I

Would not just come in and try to take somebody over that I that was not an ADA member at a minimum

But um, we just ran our dealership. So said all the way I came in it probably was turd suit

So we're two years in now essentially, right? Mm-hmm. Are you selling the same volume?

That he was selling I'm not okay because of capital

He was selling 65 a month. I lowered mine to 45 a month. Yeah, okay. That's still a lot of cards

Yeah, yeah, it doesn't want to borrow that much. He wants to take a little bit off the table

There's probably so much capital. He wants correct

Yeah, he puts he puts a limit on the capital so I go well

I can't afford to sell 65 a month, but I can sell us a 45 but selling the 40 is a great number like I mean

One location selling 45 a month. You're gonna be you're gonna have a thousand accounts before you know it

That's correct. So you then have a ramp up period, right?

A 40 a month for the next five six years

You're gonna max out at 600 accounts or something probably a thousand probably thousand counts. I for you get there at 45 a month

Yeah, and then you're gonna start paying down principal. Yes at what point does this transition to where you say now?

I need to start exiting

From a deck leverage standpoint, right? That's exactly so you'll ramp up to whatever the you know

Terminal velocity is with those accounts and then you'll start making a large principal reduction or do you have principal reduction now?

I had my plan

Is that I I'm hoping my RFC is big enough at some point to take the debt on

Yeah, if you follow that yes, and so that's kind of my plan there from a debt reduction standpoint

Then then you're worried about taxes stuff. I mean you keep I can't just

Throw every dollar at principal debt, but yeah, then we get Tomahawk's by the IRS

So it's a long long plan that that is and I it's gonna pass quickly

And I'm sure you're using CPI to help with that definitely as well. Oh, yeah

Mm-hmm a lot of people don't think about that the CPI is such a great product for debt reduction. Yeah

and

And I'm sure you have good ways to it's Tennessee friendly to to CPI very friendly. Yeah, yeah

What's so interesting a 30-day you've got the 30-day rule

That would be that I'm not allowed to charge for 30 days. Yeah, so that that park out of so I'm gonna get around to it for 30 days

We don't even know they don't have insurance for 30 days, so we're good

I see it, but I think most states do that you leave without it and maybe all their first payment

Yeah, yeah, yeah, so what are some of the other lessons like what's a what's a what's something that didn't go is planned

Or what was it was there any curve balls that came up where you like I didn't see that

Yeah, there's a couple that if I was if anybody was gonna do this. I'd say hey watch for this

One thing hidden in the portfolio which freaked me out and Don goes

It's fine. It turns out it was he was right

But there was a period of time where he had so lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of kids and Hyundai's

Man, we hear this story

Yeah, oh no, but it turned out okay, you know, it still worked out

And then there were a lot of

Jeep Cherokees out there and you know the four cylinders great the six-cylinder is not there were a bunch of them out there

And so I'm freak out mode one. Oh my god. He's grenade and it's grenade and it's an extra versus neocadius

And the one those granades. So what's funny is you don't know that until you know it

No, no, no, and if you got you've got a thousand accounts on the wrong

1083 is another one I took over you you sit there and look at every single account if you want to hammer down

But you might notice. Oh, you know what there are a bunch of Hyundai's in here

Then you're gonna go back into a study on that man. What happens is a motor blows and you're like, oh

How many of these are in there?

But what was it his service contracts and his reinsurance company that paid for those if they were still at warranty and that that was

You know, there doesn't know the problem. He had a short warranty term

I said and so I was having all of a sudden you got on a policy expense, right? Yeah

So wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, but that's his portfolio in his cars

So how does that affect you if he has a key and I don't know where I need to charge it off is

Sorry, I'll tell you where it affects is

We all have those customers that pay great. They're awesome. They they're just out of warranty the motor blows and you're having to trade

I need to trade them out

Yeah, it makes total self. What do I have to do? I have to buy that contract out

So I'm buying a ten thousand dollar contract on a five hundred dollar car to get the customer

I mean, I have to you know, you don't have to buddy, but I lose the customer and and you say give that back to

See and come buy one for me, but I think doing it the right way you probably

Figure out a way and you know and don probably guess. Yeah, I would have called Don touch

He haven't parked on the sign there. He needs to pick it up. I don't know this person

Never seen him before

So do it the right way you're exactly right Luke that and there again. Yeah, I could have done that

But especially this customer he's had for five years and they're just

450 a month. Oh, whoa, I'll get that customer and you go Duke will I pay

$8,000 for that customer because that customer may stay forever and so you make you make it back

I couldn't help you put an engine in that car and you but the car back out right?

But how scary is that the first three times you do that and you go, oh my yeah, yeah, these own books

Yeah, I could add up and hurry. Yeah, I could be out a few hundred grand before you know it

But and I'm in the hole. Yeah, but but it turned out not to be that big a deal

And that was having it buying from a friend. He goes dude. It's fine. Hey, I can see and I can see dying cuz I'm so relaxed

Yeah, there's no big deal. We got this. It's fine. I wouldn't have been as relaxed

My hair on fire still when you're fine having all that current customer

Relationship and that customer has the bad side which is obviously you're trying to save a deal

You're trying to save a bad car, but it has a good side too, right?

Cuz we think back to those scenarios you had you could have started from zero with a line of credit from a bank

But you wouldn't have had 40 repeat referral customers from day one, right?

And we are I was just telling Jeff at breakfast morning that

47% of our

Sales each month come for either repeat or referral. Wow that is 47% so crap. I'm doing half

25 I'm a start out of the bad. Yeah. Yeah, just come you just imagine me in a startup company the amount of marketing spend

You have to get to that movie the years it takes

That's true. Yeah, I mean it's just it's

That's a long as well 25 20 customers and you're spending $500 and advertising to get each one of homes

Yeah, I don't do public math, but I think that's 10 grand

So that's $10,000 of free advertising. It will I'm like very that's it's all it is

Yeah, and I know they're good customers too. So there's that it's not a crapshoot there

We don't want to continue to take the rest of your afternoon because you're about to put on a session here

Yeah, um

What is the future look like for your store?

Where I'm heading

Hadn't where I'm heading I want this thing where dawn had it before that's my goal

So we're gonna Stephanie took this thing

To you know 11 1100 1200 Cal cell in 65 a month debt-free pow pow pow pow pow

That's where I'm sorry you want to be and I want to be funding that re-insurance company like it's no tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah, and I

Have run multiple rooftops before no, but nobody never again never again not for when I was a hero run three

Yeah, never again. I'm not doing that. So ultimately I want to I want to get this business up

Stephanie had it along with my wife my wife's involved in this too. She's yeah, she's awesome. She helped me so much, but

we want to get it up to there and

We're gonna do something else. Yeah, I don't know what

I know that and I feel that and that

The last question I have Jeff I want you to take over here is

Would you ever go back and approach your dad and say hey?

Let me take these stores. That's a funny thing dawn asked me the same thing one time. I said no no, but don goes

Don't you probably get in the way you go and valuate those stores and yeah, yeah, I'm like, yeah, so

short answer

Baby, maybe it's because I don't want to rooftops. Yeah, yeah

But I'm gonna throw this out is you train the guy to run that store already I did and it's running so now these were pretty good

I said other books so I

Don't know I think I think I think you got a way out

But dad would have to be okay with the structure by Al correct, but he's already seen these you've done it

Yeah, he was I like I like that. Yeah as long as Don and him get together and talk and he's like John

Go you guys go top dad a little bit. All right. Yeah. Yeah, also without getting into too many details

I want to point out that Don and Stephanie are coming out

They at their portfolio from where from when they stopped when I took over their portfolio

We have collected

With principal interest we've collected 98 percent of that portfolio and I said this to Jeff not long ago

I mean with my with Mike like that. I I believe that I could get to 100%

With principal interest and selling the repos on my lot is cashed, right?

I think I can get to 100% right and it's it that's unheard of where we ran into the 2% that we're missing

that is coming from selling Hyundai's and Kia's yeah and just getting Tomahawk to the auction and

You just not going to and then there was in the there was some funky

Underwriting so there's done right before I took over. Yeah, that um

Thank you that could have been better. I'll lose a little easy boys. There. Yeah, it's now

Makes it stuff this portfolio before he takes over. Yeah

So, but I think I think if the Hyundai and Kia and Jeep has to land

I'm dealing with those things right now. So the Hyundai could Hyundai Kia's still anti student. They've Tomahawk to everybody. Yep

they have and so I

Got a new word this week Tomahawk Tomahawk people

So that I say that for still answers to but but yeah, you could collect 100% easily without

Having a bunch of that stuff. Yeah looks anything else. Yeah, David. Do you tape? It's so great man

I'd be great to have you here great to hear the story great to have you back at these conventions. Yes

I gotta meet you. Yeah. Now. I gotta go sit through three hours

You can come to look

About this episode

Navigating the complexities of dealership succession, Nathan shares his journey from working in his father's buy here, pay here dealership to becoming a free agent. He discusses the challenges of not taking over the family business and instead acquiring a new dealership from friends Don and Stephanie Isaacson. The conversation dives into the intricacies of business valuation, the importance of succession planning, and the realities of managing a dealership portfolio, including dealing with unexpected vehicle issues. Nathan's story offers valuable insights for dealers facing similar transitions.

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Jeep Cherokee

Original notes

What happens when the first generation won't let go?

In this episode, we sit down with Nathan Smith to unpack one of the most common—and painful—challenges in the Buy Here Pay Here industry: dealership succession planning that goes sideways. Nathan shares his story of working for his father, being ready to take over, and watching it all fall apart when his dad wanted out but refused to structure a deal that actually worked.

Then we flip the script. Nathan found a better path forward by partnering with a seasoned dealer who was ready to exit the right way. We break down how that transition happened, what the first 90 days looked like, the unexpected challenges (like inheriting a portfolio with short warranty terms), and why taking over an existing store with repeat customers changed everything.

We cover:

Why so many boomer-generation dealers can't exit successfully

The real cost of trying to take 100% off the table

How Nathan structured the buyout with a seasoned dealer

Managing inherited customer relationships and portfolio risk

The power of starting with 47% repeat/referral business

Why multiple rooftops aren't always the answer

Collecting 98% of an inherited portfolio (and why that matters)

If you're thinking about succession—whether you're the one trying to exit or the one trying to take over—this episode is required listening.

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