Harry Browns Chevrolet
Harry Brown's Chevrolet in Faribault, Minnesota went from auction-only to 15–20 private-party purchases a month, buying their first car in under two weeks and hitting 19 units this March alone.
Problem
Harry Brown's Chevrolet was buying a lot of cars at auction. That meant fees, transport delays, and margins that were already thin before a vehicle hit the front line. Keith Kramer, GM, knew there had to be a better source in their own backyard, he just needed a system to go get those cars.
Strategy
Keith connected with Jason Tiani, Senior Dealer Consultant at VETTX, and saw immediately that private-party buying solved a real problem. They committed fully: dedicated a buyer, built a daily workflow inside the platform, and were live in under two weeks. By month two they were already buying 18–20 cars off the street a month.
Results
Harry Brown's now runs a consistent 15–20 private-party purchases per month. They hit 18–20 in their second month. March alone was 19 cars. Beyond the volume, they're generating more fixed ops revenue per unit, accessing vehicle inventory the auction can't provide, and turning every street purchase into a new customer relationship. The North Star is getting off the auction entirely.
Key Metrics
15–20
Consistent Purchases Per Month
2 Weeks
Time from Launch to Buying Cars
The Pivot: From the Lane to the Driveway
Harry Brown's wasn't struggling. They were a high-volume store that bought heavily at auction. But Keith was honest about what the lane actually delivered:
"There's not a lot of new ideas in this space... hooking up with Jason, it's been a really fun process for solving a lot of that problem. Not quite all of it so far, but really putting a good dent into just going to the auction and buying for not much gross."
The math wasn't working. Auction units came with fees, transport, and thin margins baked in before recon even started. Private-party buying flipped the equation, and VETTX gave them the system to do it at scale.
"The North Star would be we don't have to purchase at auction anymore. That would be completely the best thing, not taking up your manager's time buying at those auctions. Better mix of vehicles. That'd be the bag, the North Star."
Keith Kramer, GM
Speed, New Customers, and Deals That Compound
One of the first things Keith noticed was how much faster the whole process moved, and what came with it.
Auction units took 3 to 5 days just to arrive. Private-party cars came from driveways, often the same day. But the bigger surprise was what happened after the buy.
"It solves speed for us, because if we're going to buy at auction, it's taken us anywhere from 3 to 5 days to get that vehicle in. And then sometimes it works a car deal out of it. You'll buy somebody's car, but that will turn into a car deal. Getting to meet someone you probably have never met before, potentially bringing in another trade off that vehicle you bought. The list of reasons to buy privately just keeps growing."
Every street purchase became a touchpoint with a real person in their market. Those touchpoints became customers. Those customers became repeat business.
The Right Cars at the Right Age
Keith also noticed something specific about the inventory mix coming off the street versus what they were chasing at the lane.
"The first thing is actually higher recon, and we like that from the store. We keep about 50% of that money that comes into fixed ops. And then we get a lot of cars that are around 5 or 6 years old, as opposed to auction where we're hitting a lot of 2 or 3 year old cars. The age of the car is probably the other thing we just can't get at auction."
More fixed ops revenue. A vehicle age range their market actually wants. Cars that fit their lot instead of whatever happened to run through the lane that week.
Up and Running in Two Weeks
Most private-party programs take months to find their footing. Harry Brown's was buying cars in under two weeks.
The ramp was fast because the system was clean. One platform to manage every listing, every conversation, every follow-up. No scattered emails. No pinning down who talked to who on Facebook. A daily workflow that kept the team focused on real opportunities and moving on them fast.
By month two, they had already hit 18–20 units off the street. That kind of output doesn't happen by accident, it happens when a GM is bought in and the process is built to run.
Trust Is the Foundation
Keith had something specific to say about why he was comfortable sitting down for this testimonial, and what keeps dealers like him talking about VETTX in their networks.
"I have trust in VETTX. They won't saturate the market. That's the number one thing. Even sitting here doing this testimonial today, you've got to have trust in the team. You guys won't allow too many vendors within a specific area. So there's that trust there. You're going to do good by us. There is enough for everybody."
That trust is also how Harry Brown's found VETTX in the first place, through word of mouth at a dealer meeting. It's the same reason Keith is happy to pass it on.
Elite Dealer Group
Harry Brown's Chevrolet is a member of VETTX's Elite Dealer Group, a mastermind of top-performing dealerships that meet regularly to share strategy and sharpen their private-party operations. Keith's results have made Harry Brown's one of the standout examples in the group.
Results: What Harry Brown's Chevrolet Built
- Live and buying cars in under two weeks from launch
- 18–20 units purchased in month two
- Consistent 15–20 street purchases per month since launch
- 19 cars purchased in March alone
- Higher fixed ops revenue per unit versus auction inventory
- Access to a 5–6 year vehicle age range unavailable at the lane
- New customer relationships with every street purchase
- A direct path toward eliminating auction dependency entirely
The Road Ahead
Keith's vision is clear. Stop buying at auction. Get the manager's time back. Get a better mix of vehicles. Build the kind of acquisition channel that comes from the community, not the lane.
Harry Brown's Chevrolet is already well on their way.
"For sure I'd recommend VETTX. That's really how we found out about it, word of mouth. I have trust in the team."
Keith Kramer, General Manager, Harry Brown's Chevrolet, Faribault, Minnesota
Future Automotive Group
0 -> 115
Street-purchased units/mo
