Cox Automotive Just SHOCKED the Auto Industry | Episode 1001

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It's noon here in frigid, Ventner City, New Jersey, and our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.

And this is Car Edge Live for Tuesday, January 27th with your hosts, me, Ray here in Ventner City,

and, well, kid wearing a t-shirt in Washington, D.C. I heard it's cold. What's going on?

No, it's heating up. Things are heating up here in D.C., folks, because Cox Automotive,

the big conglomerate that pretty much owns all things in the auto industry,

they just shocked everyone. Dad, I cannot wait to get into today's show.

Before we do, I have a reminder that my dad and I started CarEdge.com six years ago.

Holy cow, man, we've been making YouTube videos for a minute.

Six years ago, we started CarEdge.com.

And for those of you that are unfamiliar, you should go to CarEdge.com because

CarShite's sites, excuse me, show you fake prices will get you the real one.

CarEdge, we provide a car buying service that takes care of the research, dealer outreach,

even negotiation. We learn what matters to you.

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You can learn more back at CarEdge.com.

Now, Dad, the big story this morning, Cox Automotive came out with their most recent

car buyer journey satisfaction. And what do you know, Dad?

We have the highest level of car buying satisfaction on record.

I'm going to jump into the data here in just a second, but can you see here why I led

with Cox Automotive shocks the auto industry?

We have the highest levels we've ever seen of car buying satisfaction, shocking.

That is shocking. Who'd they pull?

Deal with ship employees? I mean, really?

Because I don't know, I read the comments on our show and on our videos.

And for the most part, the comments that I see from actual people who are actually trying

to buy a car is that, well, trying to buy a car is one of the most negative experiences

one can ever encounter here in the United States.

So exactly who, who did they survey?

All right, we're going to talk about who in a second.

But first, I want to put you and our community on the spot.

What percentage of new car shoppers do you think said they were highly satisfied

with their car buying experience? What percentage do you think?

Do I think that Cox is claiming or what percentage do I really think?

You can give me both numbers and it's not that they're claiming this is their study.

Okay, I'm going to guess that Cox's study says that it's about 73%.

And I'm going to tell you it's probably closer to 23%.

Okay, so let's start here. Let me pull it back up on the screen.

We've got 73 and 23 are the guesses from Pops.

This is the 16th annual car buying buyer journey study.

Okay, so here's what they do.

The research was conducted in the fall of 2025 and surveyed 2,300 consumers

who purchased a newer used vehicle in the previous 12 months.

Okay, so we've got 2,300 people surveyed.

They bought cars in the prior three months at the end of 2025.

Now, dad, we have, when they come down here, 76% of new vehicle buyers indicating

they were highly satisfied with the process and all-time high drivers

of the improved score include better vehicle selection,

more efficient shopping processes, and smoother dealership experiences.

Can you believe that that 76% of new car shoppers found that they had

a highly satisfactory car shopping experience?

I think that you and I are going to go out of business pretty soon if that keeps up.

Yeah, and my question would be how many of those 76% were brain dead when they answered this?

I'm sorry, Zach.

You know, I read the comments.

Yep.

I spent 43 years in retail automotive.

You did.

We do live experiments on this program.

We see pricing and then we get our hands on out-the-door quotes that,

well, the out-the-door quote doesn't seem to be based on the advertised pricing.

So you cannot convince me that 76 out of 100 car buyers is finding this a pleasant experience.

I'm sorry.

Something's not the math ain't mathin', okay?

I'm sorry.

It just isn't.

You can't have as much customer discontent that we witness daily in comments,

that we have the data points to prove that the advertised price and the final selling price are two different things.

We have 30,000 plus out-the-door quotes from dealerships across America.

Are you telling me the only quotes we're getting are from the 24% of the dealers that are trying to screw their customers

and not the 76% of the dealers who just delight the hell out of their car?

I am not buying this BS from Cox Automotive for a second.

And this, folks, is why we said Cox shocked the auto industry because it is kind of remarkable.

The idea that our business, for example, CarEd and many other third-party automotive marketplaces are built on the premise

that consumers want help buying a car.

And we do have a lot of data.

For example, the 30,000 plus out-the-door price quotes that we've been able to get,

obviously they do show a lot of bait and switch pricing, for example, which not every dealership does it,

but things like this, I'll pull it up on the screen.

This is a quote for a, what is this, a key carnival.

Okay.

And you know, it's just the classic, did you ask for Vanguard for $1,695?

Did you ask for SilaJet for $1,295?

Did you ask for 3M for $895 or wheel locks for $495?

This is a lot of frustration.

Those must be gold-plated or diamond-encrusted wheel locks for $495.

I'm just saying and my guess is that the wheel lock key has very soft white gloves that come with it as well

so that you don't scratch any of that gold coating or the diamond-encrusted, I'm sorry.

You know, I'm 74 and I'm cynical.

Okay.

I admit that I'm cynical.

And I just, common sense from having spent 43 years in retail automotive, from having

read all the comments that I read.

You know, we've been doing videos for six plus years.

Okay.

And the comments are normally not extremely effusive about how wonderful the experience

was when it comes to buying a car.

So common sense just says that these numbers, I don't know, I don't know how they asked

the question, but it's important what the wording of the question was because if it's

worded in such a way, it can get a 76% satisfaction score.

And if it's worded in a slightly different way, it might be a 25% satisfaction score.

But I guarantee you that since this is Cox Automotive and it has everything to do with

the automotive industry, that it was worded in such a way that it would get a 76% satisfaction

response.

And common sense is just, it's not so.

I just go talk to people on the street.

Okay.

Go talk to somebody getting out of their car and say, oh, when you bought the car, how

happy were you with the process?

And I guarantee you 76 out of 100 people are in going to go, oh my God, I've never been

happier.

They're going to tell you it felt like going to the dentist and getting a root canal.

This is such BS.

They didn't shock the industry.

There's snowball in the industry.

They're gaslighting the industry and they're gaslighting the public.

I'll be good now in my humble opinion.

Now we're going to hold my doubt accountable here because it's not just Cox coming out

with this type of information.

This is from Capital One.

Car buyer trusts surges as digital and in-person shopping experiences converge.

That again, this is an automotive news from Capital One.

Almost 70% of car buyers say they view auto dealers as trustworthy, a sharp increase.

Stop it.

For God's sake.

What's the Gallup survey?

Where do politicians, lawyers, and car people rank in the Gallup survey of trustworthiness

in America?

It ain't anywhere near 70%.

I'm pretty damn sure that perhaps if it wasn't for politicians and lawyers, we would rank

car people would rank at the bottom.

It is just, this is pure unadulterated BS.

I am sorry.

This is my opinion and there it is.

Everything is my opinion today.

All right.

There we go.

This is the annual trustworthiness of profession poll, honesty and ethics.

The green line shows you this is from Gallup.

The consumers, people who say that they have high and very high trust.

This is going to be the average and then the red is going to be the low, very low.

You can see here car sales people, they rank at 7% of consumers have high or very high

trustworthiness and honesty and ethics of a car sales person, which is actually the lowest,

with the exception of lobbyists down here at the floor.

Yes.

You tell me how those numbers can absolutely correlate with one another where 70% of buyers

are just so happy with the experience and yet the lowest other than lobbyists who, my

God, I just wish I had their expense account.

I could live comfortably off of one of their expense accounts, but it doesn't match up.

Please tell me how it can.

Hey, I hear you, man.

I'm just recording on the news.

Let's keep going here, dad.

Back to the clocks.

I don't know that we're reporting on the news so much as we're reporting on the propaganda

that a couple sources within the industry are putting forth to make it seem like it's

better than it is.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is my opinion.

I'm telling you, go to your local grocery store.

Ask people as they get out of their car.

Hey, can I just ask you a quick question about your buying experience when you bought your

car?

Were you happy with it?

And just go up to 100 people, and if you get 100 people to answer, I guarantee you 70%

aren't going to go, oh, my God, it was the easiest thing I've ever gone through.

I mean, maybe that's something we should actually do, dad.

We've done surveys in the past, which should be clear, have shown a pretty big gap in trust

when it comes to the car shopping experience.

But again, here is the information that comes out of Cox or from Capital One as well.

The fact that 70% of consumers that they trust car dealerships is nuts because, again, we

see the data day in and day out.

And to be clear here, there are a lot of great car dealers out there.

There are a lot of very honest, very transparent groups and organizations.

It's unfortunate that there are also many that do the bait and switch, the things that

we see day in and day out in our business.

But dad, let's keep looking at some of the data here because it is fascinating to see.

71% of all vehicle buyers were highly satisfied with the process.

That's new and used.

So obviously used car.

You know what?

I go into comedy shows.

They didn't make me laugh as much as this survey.

Okay.

I'm sorry.

I don't know where the hell the punchline is.

I don't know who wrote the joke, but that's all this is.

It's a joke.

There is.

Okay.

Go back to the thing.

I'm sorry.

I'll be good.

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76%, like we said before.

Satisfied with the process, highly satisfied with who the hell is satisfied with the sales

process and their automobile dealership?

How could somebody be satisfied with a process that takes, I don't know, 15 to 20 hours worth

of research before you ever show up at a dealership and then takes another four, five, six, seven,

eight hours when you're at the dealership?

Because there's 14 closers that you have to talk to.

They don't want you to leave.

They hold your keys.

I don't know how many times I've read in the comments, well, they praised my car and they

wouldn't give me my keys back.

And people are going to go, oh, right, they don't do that anymore.

That's so old school.

Well, guess what?

It still goes on every day at many, many, many dealerships all across the land.

There is, unless these people are brain dead, there is no way somebody's going to say,

oh, yeah, this is just the most pleasant process to buy a car.

It's not, which is why we're in business, which is why our business is growing.

42% said their experience was better than last time.

Well, what does that mean?

Better than last time.

Last time they got bludgeoned over there.

This time the dealership used grease.

What?

What is better than the, what does that mean?

It's, it was so much better than the last time.

They were just so much more gentle with me.

They, they, they whispered sweet nothings in my ear.

Get the hell out of here.

I'm sorry.

I'm really getting off track here.

I'd like to apologize, but I can't ladies and gentlemen, apparently this makes me extremely

emotional.

It does make you extremely emotional.

Maybe dad, maybe things have changed so much.

Maybe we actually have had that big of an impact over the past few years that things

are significantly better.

And honestly, to be clear here, that is our ambition is for satisfaction to be higher

and for fairness and transparency to permeate throughout all aspects of the car buying experience.

So a couple other things that they found were around affordability.

So this is, if you're sick of hearing us talk about affordability, well, I'm sorry.

It's going to be the theme for the remainder of this year.

More shop shoppers than usual dad considered both new and used vehicles.

I found this to be interesting.

66% of shoppers were looking at both new and used.

I find that fascinating.

I think it's just a point, a point of emphasis for how people are looking for something they

can actually afford.

Yes.

And, and we know for a fact that many people who had always been new car buyers in

the past are now considering one, two and three year older or older used cars because

those are the only vehicles that are affordable and those new cars no longer are.

So yeah, a greater percentage of people are considering both once they realize that they

can no longer afford that new one that they started out on.

Yeah.

Yeah, and I mean, look at this 71% of shoppers went into the process with an open mind unsure

of what vehicle they were going to buy.

So I mean, people are just out there looking for something that fits their budget, which

I think, again, we talked about it yesterday.

Consumers are, what was it, refusing to buy cars, which makes sense because we did some

examples of F-150 pickup trucks or Ram 1500 tungsten.

The inventory turnover has to happen sooner rather than later because people are going

out there just thinking, I want something I can afford and then not finding that option

and then obviously taking themselves out of the market.

So I found that to be pretty interesting.

Again, different than satisfaction or trustworthiness with the dealership, which

obviously was really amusing for all of us to watch you get kind of riled up there.

But this is a different angle, which is really interesting, which is people are just looking

for something that they can afford, which will be a theme all year long.

Well, yeah, I mean, people have to make adjustments because they can no longer afford these things.

Here's something that I find interesting.

Okay, if 66% of the people say, okay, I not only considered new, I considered used,

then please explain to me how that would translate into a very positive experience for people.

When they went to a dealership actually considering the new car

and realized that they could not afford it at the prices that dealerships are charging

and then had to settle for a pre-owned car.

And you mean to tell me that that's going to rate highly satisfied for the customer?

I'll be good.

No, I hear you, Dad.

I hear you.

There is actually something really interesting in the data, which is this.

AI shows promise in helping further improve vehicle buying.

This is fast.

So let me share this with you, Dad.

Throughout the 2025 CBJ Carbuyer Journey study, results continually reinforced the fact that,

quote, mostly digital buyers, those who completed more than 50% of the required

process online were the most satisfied vehicle buyers.

So we're going to dig into that.

Yes.

Other research also found that AI is helping in the process while usage was relatively modest.

Those who did use AI tools reported higher satisfaction.

So this is really interesting, Dad.

Again, the takeaways here are people who do more of the car shopping experience online

have higher satisfaction, and people who use AI tools to help them navigate the car buying

process have even higher satisfaction.

What do you make of that?

I think that's fascinating.

I think that bodes well for our future.

Okay, just saying.

I think the reason it leads to higher satisfaction is, as with the case of our AI agent,

you're living your life while the AI agent's doing your work.

So yeah, it's extremely satisfying.

You're at your kid's soccer game, or you're at your kid's school play, whatever it is.

Meanwhile, your AI agent's working in the background, and once you've agreed to a number,

then it becomes a relatively easy experience for you.

So yeah, that could make it more sense.

So did they only talk to the people that were heavily engaged with AI to find out that 70%

or 71% or 76% thought the process was pleasant or easy?

But yeah, I think-

Even take the AI piece out of it, Dad.

Just the fact that doing more of the car shopping experience online,

I think that's important because the moment you go to the dealership,

you're really falling prey to whatever the in-person tactics are for the sales experience,

which are a lot of like four square related things,

trying to hold you at the dealership, keep you there, grind you down, etc.

Yes.

You can buy a car entirely online in many states.

Now, where you take delivery at the dealership or will they come drop it off at your house?

Yeah, you're still going to have to do that.

Maybe even sign the paperwork with a physical pen and paper,

but getting out the door price, things like that.

Pretty much everything we preach over on the CarEdge channel,

and we preach here on CarEdge Live too, you can do so much of that online.

And so I was thrilled when I saw that this data says people are more satisfied

when they do more of the work upfront and online.

That is great because there's transparency.

If you find the right resources, there can also be misinformation,

which is also another problem.

If you find the right dealer, there are-

from the data that we collect, we know how difficult it is operating online via email,

text, or whatever to actually get a dealer to respond to A to your email,

and B to respond with the information that you asked for.

We know how difficult that is.

Yeah.

The minority of dealerships out there that have fully digitized their platform

to where you can actually see the car, see the price,

hit by the car, and will actually go through the entire process with you.

Yes, those type of dealers, the handful that are out there that do that,

are going to score really well as far as customer satisfaction.

But we know through our research that that is not the majority of dealerships out there.

That is a small minority of dealerships.

Part of what it is that we're trying to do is to get more and more dealerships

to operate in that manner, to make it easy and transparent for their customers,

as opposed to making it as difficult as they can.

I would say it's a growing group.

There are more and more people that want to operate in this way.

Okay, final data points here, and then we'll switch gears.

25% of new vehicle buyers engaged AI tools in the shopping process,

so it's still relatively-

I mean, not relatively-

objectively, a small amount of people using these tools.

Almost 60% reported higher satisfaction when they had AI help.

84% who engaged with AI assistance were highly satisfied with the buying process.

Think about that.

They had 76, and then they had 84.

So, wow, lots of people are satisfied when they use AI.

That's what they're saying.

83% of consumers say that AI will impact car buying in the future.

So, super interesting stuff here from Cox Automotive.

Now, let's switch gears just for us to click in.

May I say one thing first, and this is from my heart.

I honestly believe that the advent of AI agents, consumer AI agents,

not dealership AI agents, but consumer-oriented AI agents,

such as what we've come up with,

I think it is that type of development that will actually speed up the process

of bringing more dealerships in line with the way we think they should operate,

so that the second most expensive purchase in somebody's life could actually,

and should actually, be pleasant, enjoyable, and fun.

Yeah.

So, I think our AI agent will speed up that process, and that's certainly my hope.

I hope so too, man.

I really, really do.

Hey, the other story, and then we're going to come to the chat here.

January, US new vehicle sales poised to drop now in line with seasonal norms,

is the add-on there.

So, it's interesting to start to look at some of the initial trends and ideas here.

January has a slow month in the auto industry, and I think that's going to come to fruition.

I think this has been a very slow month for many dealers.

It didn't help that last week through Sunday, we had a major winter storm that impacted

2,000 miles swath of the country, to where basically many dealerships, even though they're open,

are fundamentally shut down because A, people can't get there.

Employees might not be able to get there.

Customers certainly aren't interested in getting there.

So, I think the storm that hit last week will have a major impact on the total sales for

the month of January, and here's the good news.

There's another storm that's supposed to hit this weekend.

I think we're setting the stage for a pretty aggressive February, because when the sales

numbers come in for January, and they're as bad as I anticipate they're going to be,

I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on February and March to try and make the quarter,

at least, not look abysmal.

So, I think there's going to be a lot of shopping opportunities for consumers

as we get into February and March, and obviously, on the use-car side of things,

it is spring selling season once we get into March.

So, it would be interesting.

May I say one thing about the spring selling season, looking at auction results?

It appears as if vehicles are not depreciating as much as they historically have this time

of year, so that the advent of the spring selling season and the eventual price increases

that are normally associated with the spring selling season are already starting to take

place, unfortunately.

Maybe tomorrow we'll actually do a use-car market update, so stay tuned.

We'll focus our attention there.

Dad, let's turn to the chat here from Rich Diana earlier in the show.

Good to see you, Rich.

Things have changed so much.

We boomers are suffering future shock.

Find your center ray.

Thank you, Rich.

Very peaceful, Bob's very peaceful.

And from Matthew earlier in the show, thank you for this, Matthew.

Pops, source the Patek.

Well, email a pic to Zach, can't wait to see him watch.

I can't afford.

I already picked up the dog blank while wearing it.

Never be afraid to use your toys' lives too short.

Matthew, you are killing it in life, man.

You're doing great.

I will say this.

Matthew's take on life and how you spend your money to bring joy to yourself is an absolute

pleasure to share.

You know, he has a way to always bring a smile to our faces.

And as you know, one of my great joys in life is trying to figure out ways to make people laugh.

So at least for a second or two, the weight of the world can be removed from their shoulders

and they can just enjoy themselves.

And well, Matthew does that for me every day.

Appreciate you, Matthew.

And from Larry earlier in the show, Zach, at least the 2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E.

Yesterday got $10,000 off as a combination of rebates and discounts.

They had the car in the lot for six months.

Sales manager just about fell apart when I asked how much floor plan he had paid.

Wow, that's awesome.

Love reading a comment like that.

Yes, very nice, very nicely done.

For those of you that are unfamiliar, you can see how long a vehicle has been on a dealer's

lot back at caredge.com.

Go to caredge.com, click on Shop New or Shop Used.

I'm going to click on Shop New here.

And for free, this is just part of the car search on all vehicle cards.

It says 60 days on market, 96 days on market, 165 days on market.

When you click into a vehicle, you'll be able to with Car Edge Pro unlock our market insights.

So that includes the dealer invoice price as well as, if I scroll down here,

at the invoice price, we have a target discount range, days on market, market day supply, total

for sale, how many have sold in the last 45 days, all sorts of great information back on the

caredge.com car search.

I encourage you to give it a try.

Pops, let's call it a show for today.

We're back tomorrow with more Car Edge Live.

We appreciate everyone tuning in and spending some time of their day with us.

If you haven't subscribed to the channel, we appreciate it when you do.

So please give that button a little click.

And Dad, enjoy your afternoon.

Are you going to go outside today?

Am I going to go outside today?

I might.

I was thinking that I might go to the store today, but I did just get an invitation from

my dear friend across the hall, Jay, that he cooked up some soup.

So I'm about to go across the hall and have a nice bowl of soup and a nice chat.

And then maybe after the soup and the chat, I will venture forth and head to the food store.

Well, enjoy that.

Say hi to Jay for me.

Enjoy the afternoon.

And I'll talk to you later on, Dad.

Absolutely.

I'll let Jay know you said hello.

All right.

I love you.

Love you too.

Thanks everybody for being here today.

We're back, following an incredible drive by Feeding America, powered by neighbors everywhere.

They're sorting fresh produce headed to food banks and pantries nationwide.

Another big play.

Local fridges stocked with care so families can choose foods that fit their lives.

Farmers, drivers, advocates, volunteers, all moving food into the hands of families.

They've pushed all season.

And when you join the team today, we can drive hunger back one yard at a time.

Give now at FeedingAmerica.org.

Dear winter, Toyota can't get enough of you.

Because Toyota's got 25 vehicles with available all wheel drive and four wheel drive.

And that's more than any other auto brand.

From the versatile RAV4 to the svelte crown, the sleek Camry all wheel drive,

the Corolla hybrid all wheel drive, the rugged Tacoma, the tenacious Tundra,

and the spacious Grand Highlander with all wheel drive to keep you and your safe.

Hey, you bring the action, we'll bring the traction.

Toyota, let's go places.

Based on manufacturers websites as a 10 2025.

Cox Automotive Just SHOCKED the Auto Industry | Episode 1001

About this episode

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Toyota Crown

Toyota Tundra

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out-the-door quote

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Cox Automotive

bait and switch pricing

Kia Carnival

Morgan Six Plus

Toyota Tacoma

horsepower

i-Force Max hybrid powertrain

Ram 1500

Ford F-150

dealer fees

Ford Mustang

floor plan

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