{"version":"1.0.0","episode":{"title":"#427 - One Location, More Sales: Lessons from a 20-Year Buy Here Pay Here Veteran","url":"http://getcarcurious.com/episodes/427-one-location-more-sales-lessons-from-a-20-year-buy-here-pay-here-veteran","audioUrl":"https://anchor.fm/s/8164a88/podcast/play/118504662/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-3-15%2F422133110-44100-2-9f67022f9282b.mp3","description":"In this episode of the Independent Dealer Podcast, Jeff Watson and Luke Godwin sit down with Cesar Torres of Lofi Motors in Corpus Christi, TX, for a candid look at what it really takes to build a buy here pay here dealership from the ground up. Cesar shares how he stumbled into the car business, how he convinced a local bank to restructure their lending model — and how that $250,000 line of credit eventually grew to $3.5 million. From carving out a sub-$15K niche to leveraging reinsurance to fund 50 rental properties, this is a masterclass in independent dealer growth.What You'll Learn: -How Cesar got into the car business with no experience — and why the bank turning him down was the best thing that ever happened to him -The microloan banking strategy that turned a $250K line of credit into $3.5M in portfolio funding -Why Cesar closed his second location — and how one store ended up outselling two -How to find your niche market and stop competing with CarMax and franchise dealers-The reinsurance strategy that funded his entire real estate portfolio -What 20 years in BHPH has taught him about gross, underwriting, and knowing your numbersIf you're a buy here pay here or independent dealer looking to scale your portfolio, tighten your underwriting, or figure out when to grow and when to consolidate, this episode is packed with real-world experience you won't find in a textbook.Support the businesses that support the podcast:Buckeye Risk Services - Reinsurance and wealth strategies for independent dealers.https://theindependentdealer.com/buckeyeBlytzPay - BHPH payment processing with fast funding and text-to-pay. https://theindependentdealer.com/blytzpayIturan GPS - Asset protection and customer management for BHPH and retail dealers.https://theindependentdealer.com/ituranFollow & Connect: Website: www.theindependentdealer.com Facebook Group: @independentautogroup Luke Godwin: @lukegodwin Jeff Watson: /sendtojeffwLike, subscribe, and share this with a dealer who needs to hear it.\n"},"annotations":[{"startTime":65.5,"endTime":73.7,"type":"concept","title":"collections","url":"/glossary/collections","quote":"We're gonna study collections as a whole. We're gonna learn to role play with our staff. We're gonna learn things like recency, delinquency,","canonicalId":"concept:collections","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Collections” refers to the process of following up on overdue payments and working to recover money owed. The episode frames collections as something to study “as a whole,” implying coordination between data, staff training, and customer communication.","simplifiedExplanation":"“Collections” is the process of getting paid when someone falls behind. It usually involves calls, reminders, and working out ways to catch up."}},{"startTime":70.3,"endTime":73.7,"type":"term","title":"delinquency","url":"/glossary/delinquency","quote":"We're gonna learn things like recency, delinquency, and how better can we prepare our collectors to collect the money that we lend out?","canonicalId":"term:delinquency","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Delinquency” means a borrower is behind on payments. In BHPH operations, delinquency status is central to collections workflows—determining who gets contacted, how urgently, and what recovery steps are appropriate.","simplifiedExplanation":"“Delinquency” means the customer is late on their payments. The later someone is, the more urgent and structured the dealership’s follow-up usually becomes."}},{"startTime":151.2,"endTime":156.6,"type":"concept","title":"buy here, pay here","url":"/glossary/buy-here-pay-here","quote":"but when it comes to buy here, pay here, [154.0s] there's not many better if there's any better.","canonicalId":"concept:buy-here-pay-here","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.95,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Buy here, pay here” (often shortened to BHPH) is a dealership model where the dealer sells the car and also finances the purchase directly. The dealer typically manages collections and repossession risk in-house rather than sending the loan to a bank.","simplifiedExplanation":"“Buy here, pay here” means the car lot sells you the car and also handles the payments. Instead of a bank financing it, the dealership is the one you pay."}},{"startTime":503.3,"endTime":507.2,"type":"concept","title":"book of business","url":"/glossary/book-of-business","quote":"I gave him the book of business. We had a book of business and I said, hey, you know what, well, let's back up a little bit.","canonicalId":"concept:book-of-business","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"A “book of business” is the set of customers, leads, and repeat buyers a person or company has built over time. In auto sales, it can include prior buyers, referral sources, and ongoing relationships that drive sales.","simplifiedExplanation":"A “book of business” means the customers and leads you already have. If you’ve built relationships over time, those people are more likely to buy again or send others."}},{"startTime":516.3,"endTime":530.0,"type":"term","title":"curb stoner","url":"/glossary/curbstoner","quote":"he was a curb stoner and that term is basically a guy who goes on Craigslist or somewhere or, somebody's got an old car in their yard, offers to buy it and cleans it up and puts it on the road and sells it.","canonicalId":"term:curb-stoner","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Curb stoner” is a dealer-lingo term for someone who finds cars from private owners—often via listings like Craigslist—then cleans them up, gets them road-ready, and sells them. It’s essentially a small-scale, informal vehicle flipper/sourcing person.","simplifiedExplanation":"A “curb stoner” is someone who spots cars people have sitting around (like from Craigslist), fixes them up enough to drive, and then sells them. Think of it like a small-time car reseller."}},{"startTime":520.7,"endTime":524.6,"type":"concept","title":"Craigslist","url":"/glossary/craigslist","quote":"he was a curb stoner and that term is basically a guy who goes on Craigslist or somewhere or, somebody's got an old car in their yard,","canonicalId":"concept:craigslist","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Craigslist is referenced as a common place where informal car buyers/sellers find vehicles from private yards. In dealer operations, it’s often part of the sourcing pipeline for used cars—especially for “curb stoner” style acquisition.","simplifiedExplanation":"They mention Craigslist because it’s a website where people list cars they want to sell. Some car resellers use it to find cheap vehicles from private owners."}},{"startTime":545.1,"endTime":548.3,"type":"term","title":"inventory","url":"/glossary/inventory","quote":"[542.4s]  I'll get the license.\n[545.1s]  I'll get the building, a biasing inventory, you know,\n[548.3s]  I'll be the owner, but we'll split the proceeds,","canonicalId":"term:inventory","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Inventory” here means the cars the dealer has on hand to sell. In a BHPH model, inventory selection and turnover matter because the dealer’s cash flow depends on selling vehicles and then collecting payments.","simplifiedExplanation":"Inventory is just the cars the dealership has available to sell. If you don’t have the right cars (or you can’t sell them fast enough), the business doesn’t bring in money."}},{"startTime":575.7,"endTime":580.0,"type":"concept","title":"accounting","url":"/glossary/accounting","quote":"[572.6s]  cause I wanted to do everything, you know,\n[575.7s]  we needed accounting, we needed to make sure that the,\n[577.8s]  you know, whatever we spent was, you know, cataloged","canonicalId":"concept:accounting","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Accounting” refers to tracking income, expenses, and deal-related costs in a way that can be documented and reported. For a BHPH dealer, good accounting is critical for knowing true profitability per deal and for managing compliance and audits.","simplifiedExplanation":"Accounting is keeping track of the money—what came in and what was spent. For a car lot, it helps you know what deals are actually making money and keeps the paperwork organized."}},{"startTime":646.3,"endTime":648.3,"type":"term","title":"on call","url":"/glossary/on-call","quote":"In between, you know, being on call, you know, if somebody would call and run and make a call or whatever, fix something and come back.","canonicalId":"term:on-call","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Being “on call” means the person is available to respond to urgent issues outside normal hours. For a dealership or reconditioning operation, this often reflects the reality of handling breakdowns, customer issues, or quick repairs to keep sales and service flowing.","simplifiedExplanation":"“On call” means you’re expected to be reachable if something goes wrong. In a car business, that could be a repair request or a problem that needs fixing quickly."}},{"startTime":696.8,"endTime":702.9,"type":"concept","title":"finance or the banking","url":"/glossary/finance-or-the-banking","quote":"[690.4s]  And I'd say it was like somewhere in 2011,\n[695.4s]  which is a terrible idea.\n[696.8s]  So just to show you that I knew nothing about the car business\n[700.5s]  or the finance or the banking or anything","canonicalId":"concept:finance-or-the-banking","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"The transcript highlights “finance or the banking” as areas the speaker didn’t understand when they entered the car business. In dealer-lending models like Buy Here Pay Here, understanding underwriting, payment performance, and collections is crucial because the dealer is exposed to customer credit risk. This mention underscores why dealer finance knowledge matters as much as selling cars."}},{"startTime":989.1,"endTime":1028.9,"type":"concept","title":"line of credit","url":"/glossary/line-of-credit","quote":"Old school banks would give somebody a line of credit and say, hey, go, go get some clients for me, finance them. We're going to finance them under the company or under the, you know, the bank name","canonicalId":"concept:line-of-credit","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"A line of credit is a revolving borrowing limit that can be drawn as needed, then repaid, with the available balance replenishing over time. In dealer financing partnerships, a line of credit is often used to fund customer loans or inventory-related financing.","simplifiedExplanation":"A line of credit is like a credit limit you can tap into when you need money, then pay back. The lender decides the limit and can change it based on how things go."}},{"startTime":1019.3,"endTime":1028.9,"type":"concept","title":"renew every year depending on how your loans perform","url":"/glossary/renew-every-year-depending-on-how-your-loans-perform","quote":"This is how our program works and this is line of credit. We'll renew every year, depending on how your loans perform and so on and so forth.","canonicalId":"concept:renew-every-year-depending-on-how-your-loans-perform","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"This describes performance-based renewal of dealer funding: the lender continues or adjusts the credit facility based on how prior financed loans performed. It’s a key risk-management lever because defaults can directly affect future funding availability.","simplifiedExplanation":"The lender may keep funding you, but they review it each year. If the customers you financed default, they can tighten the terms or stop renewing the credit."}},{"startTime":1121.9,"endTime":1124.0,"type":"term","title":"gap","url":"/glossary/gap","quote":"My customers have options of warranties and service contracts gap. I think it's just been great, Jeff.","canonicalId":"term:gap","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"GAP (Guaranteed Asset Protection) coverage helps pay the difference between what you owe on the loan/lease and the car’s actual cash value if the vehicle is totaled. It’s especially relevant for high-depreciation vehicles and low-down-payment deals.","simplifiedExplanation":"GAP coverage helps if your car is totaled and the insurance payout doesn’t cover what you still owe. It pays the “gap” between the two amounts."}},{"startTime":1186.9,"endTime":1191.4,"type":"concept","title":"interest only","url":"/glossary/interest-only","quote":"...they have a borrowing basis and they pay interest and it's basically interest only. And so there's really no way of reducing principal, right?","canonicalId":"concept:interest-only","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Interest only” means the borrower pays only the interest cost each period, not the principal balance. That keeps the debt level from shrinking, which affects cash flow and long-term financing cost.","simplifiedExplanation":"Interest-only payments mean you’re paying the cost of borrowing, but not paying down the loan itself. So the balance stays about the same."}},{"startTime":1189.0,"endTime":1191.4,"type":"concept","title":"principal","url":"/glossary/principal","quote":"...there's really no way of reducing principal, right? So when I sold my bank, so,","canonicalId":"concept:principal","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Principal is the original amount borrowed (the “balance” of the loan) as opposed to interest, which is the cost of borrowing. The speaker contrasts principal reduction versus interest-only structures.","simplifiedExplanation":"Principal is the actual money you borrowed. Interest is what you pay on top of that—so paying principal helps the loan shrink."}},{"startTime":1191.4,"endTime":1199.8,"type":"concept","title":"floor plank company","url":"/glossary/floor-plank-company","quote":"...they had a floor plank company in the bank, right? Where you could floor cars and, you know, they would give you an advance on the car.","canonicalId":"concept:floor-plank-company","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.8,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"A “floor plan” (often described as a floor plank in transcripts) is inventory financing where a lender advances money against vehicles on the dealer’s lot. The dealer typically pays interest while the car sits as inventory, and the loan is repaid when the vehicle is sold.","simplifiedExplanation":"Floor plan financing is how dealers fund cars sitting on the lot. The bank lends money against those cars, and when you sell the car, you pay the loan back."}},{"startTime":1244.0,"endTime":1264.7,"type":"concept","title":"cash flow","url":"/glossary/cash-flow","quote":"...I built, you know, cash flow. And he sat there and looked at me for a minute and just, you know, thought about it...","canonicalId":"concept:cash-flow","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Cash flow is the movement of money in and out of the business over time. The speaker’s point is that restructuring financing to pay principal (not just interest) improves the dealer’s cash flow cycle.","simplifiedExplanation":"Cash flow is basically whether the business has enough money coming in to cover what it owes. Better loan structure can help the business keep more money available."}},{"startTime":1250.2,"endTime":1258.2,"type":"concept","title":"over collateralized","url":"/glossary/over-collateralized","quote":"...the loan value of the car is five grand. I said, you're, you're over collateralized already.","canonicalId":"concept:over-collateralized","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Over-collateralized means the collateral value exceeds the loan amount, giving the lender extra protection. The speaker argues the car’s loan value is already covered, making the bank more comfortable with the proposed structure.","simplifiedExplanation":"Over-collateralized means the car is worth more than the loan amount. That gives the bank a safety cushion if something goes wrong."}},{"startTime":1345.7,"endTime":1381.9,"type":"concept","title":"interest rate","url":"/glossary/interest-rate","quote":"...it was like 14%, which is really good... some of the rates are a lot higher... they said, Hey, we'll give you eight or eight and a half...","canonicalId":"concept:interest-rate","priority":0.9,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Interest rate is the cost of borrowing money, usually expressed as a percentage per year. The speaker compares 14% financing to other banks offering 8% to 8.5%, and explains how rate differences affect profitability.","simplifiedExplanation":"The interest rate is the extra cost the bank charges for letting you borrow money. A lower rate means borrowing costs less, which can make it easier to profit."}},{"startTime":1594.9,"endTime":1600.0,"type":"concept","title":"financing","url":"/glossary/financing","quote":"...they have much deeper buying power, they have much better financing, they have much better warranties than you do.","canonicalId":"concept:financing","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Financing refers to how the dealer structures the loan terms and works with lenders to get customers approved. In BHPH, financing terms (down payment, term length, and payment amount) strongly influence default rates and overall business stability."}},{"startTime":1594.9,"endTime":1600.0,"type":"concept","title":"warranties","url":"/glossary/warranties","quote":"...they have much deeper buying power, they have much better financing, they have much better warranties than you do.","canonicalId":"concept:warranties","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Warranties are used as a competitive advantage—larger dealers can offer better warranty coverage, which reduces buyer risk and can justify higher prices. For smaller BHPH operators, limited warranty options can make head-to-head competition harder."}},{"startTime":1620.0,"endTime":1622.6,"type":"concept","title":"down payment","url":"/glossary/down-payment","quote":"...taking a thousand or $2,000 down and putting them in a seven year note...","canonicalId":"concept:down-payment","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"A down payment is the upfront amount a buyer pays before financing the rest of the vehicle price. In BHPH, down payments can reduce the amount financed and may lower default risk by showing buyer commitment.","simplifiedExplanation":"A down payment is money you pay upfront when you buy the car. It reduces how much you have to borrow and can make the loan less risky."}},{"startTime":1743.4,"endTime":1755.3,"type":"concept","title":"zip codes","url":"/glossary/zip-codes","quote":"So seven, eight, you know, six, seven of the deals that we were selling at the, at the, at the north location originated from zip codes in the area where we had our principal store.","canonicalId":"concept:zip-codes","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Using zip codes is a common way to analyze where customers come from and which areas generate loan originations. Here, the dealer found most deals from the “north” location actually came from the same zip-code area as the main store.","simplifiedExplanation":"They looked at what neighborhoods customers were coming from. They found that the second location was mostly serving the same area as the first one."}},{"startTime":1774.2,"endTime":1789.5,"type":"concept","title":"consolidate the one store","url":"/glossary/consolidate-the-one-store","quote":"And so we said, we're going to take a, you know, we're going to take an opportunity to try and see if we could consolidate the one store and see if we could sell more. And so last year in September, you know, we shut down our north location...","canonicalId":"concept:consolidate-the-one-store","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.88,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Consolidating” means closing one location and focusing operations on a single site. The goal is often to concentrate inventory, staffing, and management attention to improve throughput and sales efficiency."}},{"startTime":1850.3,"endTime":1857.3,"type":"concept","title":"stores are too close together","url":"/glossary/stores-are-too-close-together","quote":"You had the facts that said, this doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe our stores [1850.3s]  are too close together at this point, because we're just stealing traffic from the other store.","canonicalId":"concept:stores-are-too-close-together","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"This refers to dealership location overlap, where two stores compete for the same nearby customers. When stores are close enough, the second location may not generate enough incremental demand to justify its costs.","simplifiedExplanation":"If two dealerships are near each other, they can end up competing for the same people. That can make the second one less profitable than expected."}},{"startTime":1924.5,"endTime":1928.5,"type":"concept","title":"return on investment","url":"/glossary/return-on-investment","quote":"And how do you, how do you fund that? How do you justify the return on investment? [1924.5s]  Because sometimes real estate's good. And sometimes it's not as good as the car business.","canonicalId":"concept:return-on-investment","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Return on investment (ROI) is the measure of how much profit or value you get compared to what you put in. Here it’s being used to compare real estate investing versus the car business, asking which one produces better results for the same effort and capital.","simplifiedExplanation":"ROI is basically “did this investment pay off?” It compares what you put in versus what you get back. They’re asking whether real estate is a better deal than the car business."}},{"startTime":2467.3,"endTime":2539.4,"type":"company","title":"Blitzpay","url":"/glossary/blitz-pay","quote":"I do it through Blitzpay. The guys and girls at Blitzpay are great... the back end automation... automated texts... The customers click and pay... they got this AI thing... the audio AI, the phone caller...","canonicalId":"company:blitzpay","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.95,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Blitzpay is a payments/credit-card processing service that helps dealers take card payments and automate parts of the payment workflow. In this episode, it’s positioned as offering phone/text automation and AI features to improve efficiency in collections and customer contact.","simplifiedExplanation":"Blitzpay is a company that helps car dealers take credit card payments. They also help automate customer messages and calls so the dealer can collect payments with less manual work."}},{"startTime":2524.2,"endTime":2539.4,"type":"term","title":"credit card processing","url":"/glossary/credit-card-processing","quote":"...use Blitzpay for their credit card processing, incredibly competitive rates, super easy interface...","canonicalId":"term:credit-card-processing","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.85,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"Credit card processing is the infrastructure that enables merchants to accept card payments, including authorization, settlement, and payment routing. The episode emphasizes competitive rates and an easy interface as reasons dealers switch providers.","simplifiedExplanation":"Credit card processing is the system that lets a dealer accept credit card payments from customers. It affects fees and how smoothly payments get handled."}},{"startTime":2623.1,"endTime":2645.1,"type":"concept","title":"scoring model","url":"/glossary/scoring-model","quote":"we started using, I think what the software was, out of Zoom, great. I think out of Zoom was the first, for the first, you know, scoring model we had. And then after that, I think we might, we used Neo.","canonicalId":"concept:scoring-model","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.88,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"A scoring model is an underwriting/decision tool that estimates the likelihood a customer will repay based on their profile and deal characteristics. In dealer finance, better scoring helps identify which buyers and deal structures are lower risk. The transcript describes using scoring models to “tighten up” approvals and improve outcomes."}},{"startTime":2681.6,"endTime":2693.4,"type":"concept","title":"paper profit vs actual profit","quote":"the topic's going to be, you know, where to recognize profit in the company and understanding the difference between paper profit and actual profit and, you know, that aspect of the business","canonicalId":"concept:paper-profit-vs-actual-profit","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"“Paper profit” refers to accounting profit that may look good on statements but isn’t necessarily cash in hand yet. “Actual profit” is the real money outcome based on cash flow, collections, and expenses. The speaker frames this as a core lesson for recognizing profit correctly in a dealer finance business."}},{"startTime":2942.2,"endTime":2958.28,"type":"concept","title":"internet","url":"/glossary/internet","quote":"...one of the things that I know for a fact that wasn't around when I was around is the internet, man. The internet is huge. The wealth of knowledge today is just unsurmountable...","canonicalId":"concept:internet","priority":0.5,"confidence":0.9,"source":"hybrid-fuzzy+gpt-5.4-nano","data":{"explanation":"The speaker contrasts the pre-internet era with today’s “wealth of knowledge” available online. For dealers, the internet changes how quickly they can research regulations, financing practices, vehicle information, and industry best practices.","simplifiedExplanation":"They’re saying the internet makes it much easier to learn things now compared to when they started. Dealers can find information faster and more easily."}}],"speakers":[{"id":"s1","name":"Jeff Watson","role":"host"},{"id":"s2","name":"amp; Luke Godwin","role":"host"}],"transcripts":[{"url":"http://getcarcurious.com/episodes/427-one-location-more-sales-lessons-from-a-20-year-buy-here-pay-here-veteran/transcript.vtt","type":"text/vtt"}]}