Definition
Inventory aging
Inventory aging is how long a vehicle has sat unsold on a dealer's lot, usually measured in days since it was acquired or first listed.
Every day a used car sits is a day it costs the dealer money: floor-plan interest, lot space, and depreciation all keep running while the car does not sell. That is why aging is the first thing a smart lot watches. A vehicle is not just idle, it is getting more expensive to own.
Aging is also the clearest signal of where marketing should go next. A car that has aged past the lot's average is rarely a pricing problem alone. More often its listing went stale or was never marketed well, which makes it the highest-return place to refresh photos, rewrite the ad, and repost.
Related terms
- Days on lotDays on lot (DOL) is the number of days a specific vehicle has been in a dealer's inventory, from acquisition to sale.
- Aged unitAn aged unit is a vehicle that has been in inventory longer than a dealer's target, often 60 days or more, and needs attention to sell.
- Floor planA floor plan is a revolving line of credit dealers use to finance their inventory, paying interest or fees for each vehicle for as long as it stays unsold.
- Marketing opportunityA marketing opportunity is a specific, timely reason to promote a particular vehicle now, such as an aging unit, a recent price drop, or a seasonal fit.
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