How Smart Dealers Are Beating the Used Car Shortage (Without the Auction) with Dom Pope

The David Spisak Show

The David Spisak Show
How Smart Dealers Are Beating the Used Car Shortage (Without the Auction) with Dom Pope
Feb 05, 2026 David Spisak

What happens when a guy from Manchester flies across the pond, challenges how dealerships think about inventory, and casually drops 40% conversion rates into the conversation?

You sit him down in the studio, and press record.

This episode is different. For the first time, I’m not behind the desk. I’m sitting face-to-face with Dom Pope, founder and CEO of Sell My Ride, who’s been on a mission to help dealers solve one of the most stubborn problems in our industry: vehicle acquisition.

Dom didn’t just wake up one day and decide to “try the U.S. market.” He spent five years in the UK helping dealers go direct-to-consumer, scaling acquisition from zero to thousands of vehicles a month, then brought those hard-earned lessons stateside. And what he shares in this conversation will challenge how you think about auctions, marketing spend, competition with Carvana and CarMax, and what it really takes to win locally.

We also get into:

  • Why belief is the first competitive advantage most dealers are missing
  • How smaller dealerships can compete with giants without trying to play their game
  • What successful dealers do differently when it comes to acquisition focus and discipline
  • Why stacking acquisition channels beats hunting for a “silver bullet”
  • How direct-to-consumer strategies can dramatically outperform traditional lead models
  • The difference between optimizing for efficiency and maximizing for absolute returns
  • Real dealer stories, like why acquisition managers are becoming the highest-paid people in the store

And yes… we also talk about Vegas hangovers, Manchester vs. America, why Orlando airport carpets spark joy, and whether good fish and chips actually exist in the U.S. (jury’s still out).

If you’re a dealer, operator, or leader who’s tired of feeling boxed in by auctions, squeezed margins, and “that’s just how it is,” this conversation will expand your thinking. It’s not about one solution. It’s about building a system that lets you win, on your terms.

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