555 episodes
From $30K Cash Backpacks to a $400 Million Wholesaling Empire (+ How He Built a Better Auction) | Anthony Clavenna, CEO of gateway Car Connection
01/09/2026 | 41 mins.Anthony Clavenna used to fly across the country with $30,000 in cash stuffed in a backpack just to buy trucks off strangers, and he says that scrappy, no-safety-net approach is exactly what let him outpace giants like Carvana and CarMax at buying cars off the street.
He walks through the moment the business finally graduated from cash runs to wires and a private app, how a single fraud incident gets baked into the process as a new checkpoint instead of a reason to slow down, and argues that speed, not technology or capital, is the real edge in wholesale.
Topics:
04:00 iPhone Was Their Fraud Prevention.
09:35 Wiring Strangers Money And Hoping.
13:45 Auctions Suck Because You Bid Against Others.
18:00 Speed Is The Only Edge That Matters.
24:00 Texting Dealers Until The App Scaled.
37:45 Going Hard Leaves No Room For Fear.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. Podium - If your AI isn’t driving real outcomes, it’s time to take a closer look @ here.
2. Digital Dealer - Join expert-led sessions, hands-on Learning Labs, and live demos to discover ideas that can help improve sales, service, and marketing. Register today @ here and use code CDG25OFF at checkout.
3. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here.
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comHartman on Carvana, Pharr on F&I, Spradlin on Transforming BDC | Daily Dealer Live
31/08/2026 | 1h 10 mins.Today's show features:
- Jason Hartman, Founder at JXCE
- Scott Pharr, CEO at Pharr Motor Group
- Charlie Spradlin, General Manager at Art Moehn Auto Group
This episode is brought to you by:
Carmax – CarMax Auctions Access thousands of cars weekly at 50+ locations nationwide through our 100% online auctions. From high-end to high mileage, CarMax Auctions has the inventory you need to source smarter and accelerate sales. Register now for free at carmaxauctions.com/CDG.
First up, Jason Hartman, Founder of JXCE. Jason's built a reputation for turning conventional dealer wisdom on its head — and he's bringing a take today that'll have some of you nodding and others reaching for the mute button. You'll want to hear which side you land on.
Then we've got Scott Pharr, Dealer Principal at Pharr Nissan of Chesterton. Here's the kicker — Scott literally just acquired this store days ago. So what's the very first move you make when you walk into a brand-new dealership? Scott's going to tell us what happens in those crucial opening weeks.
And finally, Charlie Spradlin, General Manager at Art Moehn Auto Group — Digital Dealer speaker and a member of the 800% club. Yeah, you read that right. Eight hundred percent. Charlie's going to unpack how you get numbers like that, and whether it's something any store can pull off — or lightning in a bottle.
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com"Where Did The Money Go?!" The 100-Year-Old Payment Process This Dealer Group Finally Killed | Industry Spotlight
29/08/2026 | 24 mins.In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Travis Siebert, SVP at DealerPay, and Kris Towle, Chief Accounting Officer at Niello Company to discuss why one of the auto industry's oldest processes, collecting cash and checks from parts and service customers, still costs dealerships money, time, and trust.
They speak candidly about the safety risk of sending drivers out with cash, why most dealerships never question an outdated process until something goes wrong, and why live phone support, not just software, is what keeps a group this size from ever looking at another vendor. They explain:
◼ Why parts delivery drivers ended up doing accounting work they were never trained for
◼ How a single bounced check could cost a full week of chasing down payment
◼ Why missing cash on a delivery route became an uncomfortable question nobody wanted to ask
◼ Why the switch to mobile payments meant money was in the bank the very next morning
◼ Why Niello Company has never looked at another payments partner since making the switch
This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by DealerPay.
Topics:
02:50 Fixed Ops Causes More Accounting Headaches.
04:30 Drivers Make Terrible Accountants.
05:50 Cash In Trucks Is A Theft Problem.
06:45 Selling Nationwide Hurts Local Retention.
09:50 Dealerships Are Slow To Adopt Digital Payments.
12:15 Onsite Training Eliminates Employee Pushback.
13:10 One-Person Payment Eliminates Customer Confusion.
14:20 Digital Reporting Shows Exactly Who Took Money.
17:05 Answering The Phone Beats AI Every Time.
18:50 Showing Up Matters More Than Technology.
22:50 Accounting Touches Every Part Of The Business.
23:50 Dennis Pushes Harder Than Tully Does.
DealerPay - Dealer Pay is the payment platform built exclusively for car dealerships, connecting fixed ops, variable ops, and back office with sub-10-second, card-present transactions and automated reconciliation, whether it's at the counter, the service drive, or a mobile delivery. Visit @ here to see how it works for your dealership.
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comFixed Ops Friday w/ Wes Lloyd, Spencer Nicholson, Ryan Maher, & Galal Hamdy | Daily Dealer Live
28/08/2026 | 1h 1 mins.Today's show features:
- Wes Lloyd, Service Director at Stuckey Auto
- Spencer Nicholson, Fixed Operations Director at Stuckey Automotive
- Ryan Maher, CEO at BizzyCar
- Galal Hamdy, Strategic Relationship Leader at Zurich U.S. – Direct Markets
This episode is brought to you by:
Zurich – Zurich Advisor IQ is Zurich’s AI-driven training and coaching platform built to help F&I teams perform more consistently and sell more effectively — using real transaction data, not theory.
By analyzing actual F&I transactions, Zurich Advisor IQ helps identify behaviors and trends influencing results, delivers actionable insights and roleplay scenarios, and gives dealership leaders visibility into performance across managers, stores and rooftops. Connect with your Zurich representative to request a demo and see how Zurich Advisor IQ can help turn F&I insight into stronger dealership performance. Check it out at https://carguymedia.com/46ibHtn
BizzyCar – BizzyCar uses AI to automate recall outreach for dealerships, transforming missed opportunities into booked appointments, higher revenue, and safer vehicles. Book a demo today at: https://info.bizzycar.com/cdg
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Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.comThe 65-Year Dealership Empire Born Out of the Wild West of NY Auctions & The Hard Lessons Learned | Laddie Stern of Stern Auto Group
27/08/2026 | 38 mins.Laddie Stern is the Founder of Stern Auto Group, a 20-store empire he has built over 65 years in the car business.
He started as a wholesaler for his uncle before buying and scaling the Skyline and Hatfield auctions into the country's largest privately held auction company, then returned to grow a new car group alongside his son Jonathan.
He speaks candidly about the 2008 downturn that changed how he manages cash for good, the mistakes he made prioritizing the business over his family, and what he looks for before letting the next generation, including his own grandchildren, into the business.
Topics:
02:55 Air Conditioning Was Once Unsellable.
06:25 The Trick That Fixed A Broken Auction.
07:45 Auctions Beat Casinos Every Time.
08:15 Biggest Mistake: Selling The Auctions.
12:05 Stop Working And You Start Dying.
13:25 The '08 Crash Made Cash King.
14:20 Cash Flow Is Thicker Than Blood.
18:45 Two Departments Where Theft Hides.
19:15 The One Regret Money Can't Fix.
27:30 Never Buy A Deal Without Real Estate.
33:55 The Rule For Bringing Kids Into Business.
36:30 Don't Sell Cars And You Go Broke.
This episode is brought to you by:
1. Kenect - Kenect helps dealership GMs automate customer outreach by turning days of manual calling into seconds.
Go to @ here to see how top rooftops are scaling retention today.
2. CDG Circles - Connect with verified dealers all inside the CDG Platform. Learn more @ here.
Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff:
For dealers:
CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com
Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
For industry vendors:
Advertise with Car Dealership Guy ➤ http://www.cdgpartner.com
Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com
Request to be a podcast guest ➤ http://www.cdgguest.com
Car Dealership Guy Socials:
X ➤ x.com/GuyDealership
Instagram ➤ instagram.com/cardealershipguy/
TikTok ➤ tiktok.com/@guydealership
LinkedIn ➤ linkedin.com/company/cardealershipguy
Threads ➤ threads.net/@cardealershipguy
Facebook ➤ facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077402857683
Everything else ➤ dealershipguy.com
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About Car Dealership Guy Podcast
The Car Dealership Guy Podcast Network is your front-row seat to the people, companies, and trends shaping the future of automotive retail—delivered across three focused formats:
The Car Dealership Guy Podcast (Tuesdays & Thursdays)
Hosted by Yossi Levi, these deep-dive interviews feature top dealers, operators, and innovators driving the industry forward.
Daily Dealer Live (Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays)
Our live-streamed show, also released here in audio format, brings real-time news, sharp takes, and high-impact guests—think CNBC for car dealers.
Industry Spotlight
Hosted by Sam D’Arc, this segment highlights standout dealerships and vendors with tactical insights and stories from the front lines.
Follow us on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for highlights and behind-the-scenes content from every episode.
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