June 13, 2025

Right Size Your Shop To Stay Ahead of Tariffs with Joe Castelino

10 minutes

In this dynamic ASOTU CON 2025 session, Austin Conroy sits down with Joe Castelino of American Motors Group to unpack a bold and strategic approach to rethinking service operations in response to changing market forces—including tariffs, EV adoption, and used car surges. Joe outlines how his team is right-sizing their fixed ops strategy by looking at every process from technician dispatching to digital parts ordering, and from internship-based technician development to a dedicated EV service center. The session dives into much more than technician hiring—this is about systemic efficiency and positioning dealerships for long-term resiliency.

Joe shares how American Motors Group is anticipating and preparing for the influx of used car sales, doubling down on reconditioning capacity, optimizing parts logistics, and even launching e-commerce for DIYers. Most striking is the group’s commitment to the future of EV servicing, including the radical move of converting an entire dealership into a 20-bay EV-only facility. This episode offers a masterclass in operational foresight and shows how innovation in fixed ops can be both proactive and profitable.

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⏱️ Timestamped Takeaways

0:00 Intro

0:11 Joe Castelino joins to discuss optimizing service for tariff-era challenges

0:37 Used car growth drives massive reconditioning demands

1:16 Oil change efficiency improvements enhance overall shop capacity

2:29 Parts e-commerce targets DIYers and off-dealer service customers

2:36 Strategy goes beyond hiring—includes BDC and extended hours

3:20 Planning begins with reaction but quickly moves to proactive design

4:20 Data-driven parts stocking boosts reconditioning speed

5:01 Recon center includes fully siloed team and processes

5:53 Intern program turns part-time students into full-time techs