In this episode, I sit down with Joel Bassam, President of Easterns Automotive Group—a leader who doesn’t just “talk shop” but lives and breathes the used car business at scale.

If you’ve been feeling the squeeze—from inventory pressures to margin compression, rising recon costs, to the endless tariff noise—this episode will feel uncomfortably relevant.

Joel and I unpack what’s really happening behind the scenes in 2025. Why affordability has become the greatest roadblock to vehicle ownership. Why more consumers want cars but literally can’t get into them. And why, despite all the tech in the world, dealers are being forced back to one thing: discipline.

We talk:

• Why used car margins are getting thinner even as prices rise
• The death of the $9,000 “starter” car (and what that means for your lot)
• How chargebacks are quietly destroying dealer profitability
• Why the future of F&I compensation needs a serious overhaul
• And the uncomfortable truth about AI: it’s not your savior unless you own the data

Plus, Joel drops a hard truth that every used car operator needs to hear: "Front-end margin is a reflection of discipline, not luck."

If you’re in retail auto, especially used, you can’t afford to miss this one. Not if you care about staying relevant—and profitable—through the rest of this year and beyond.

Connect with David Spisak to Achieve Exponential Growth:

• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidspisak/
• Website: https://www.davidspisak.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone: +1 (510) 604-0308
• Visit https://linktr.ee/spisakd for all our links

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