Division: Business Advisory

Gifting Strategies for Auto Dealers: Practical Mechanics, Tax Efficiency, and OEM Realities

In my recent article, we explored why auto dealers should regularly review and update their estate plans. Now, we move from strategy to execution and address a more complex—but critically important—topic: how gifting works in practice for dealership owners, particularly when navigating tax minimization, OEM requirements, real estate structures, and future sale considerations. For most […]

Do Not Let Your Estate Plan Stall Out –Why Dealers Need a Tune-Up Before 2026

Auto retail is fast-moving, capital-intensive, and unlike any other privately held business. Franchise rules, OEM approvals, lending covenants, and family dynamics make estate planning for dealer principals far more complex than a “standard” business owner’s plan. Yet many dealer families’ estate documents, buy-sells, and trusts were drafted years ago—often before major regulations and market changes. […]

Four Strategies to Make the Most of Your Retirement Lifestyle

What will your days look like once your career ends? At first, you may enjoy relaxing and traveling—but what comes next? Do you know how to begin planning for the decades ahead? In this session, we’ll explore four key areas to consider when shaping your retirement lifestyle and provide guidance on where to start. We’ll […]

Update Your Buy-Sell Now – The Dealer’s Airbag Against the Five Ds

As advisors focused on the auto retail industry, we see the same pattern over and over: a dealership has a buy-sell agreement or “succession plan” that looked fine years ago—until life happens. In auto retail, succession is not just a family or shareholder matter; it is wrapped in franchise law, OEM approval, lender covenants, related […]

Driving Success with Pooled Employer Plans

In today’s competitive auto retail industry, attracting and retaining top talent is just as important as moving vehicles off the lot. Dealerships invest heavily in marketing, inventory management, and customer experience, but an equally powerful – and often overlooked – tool for long-term success is the Pooled Employer Plan (PEP). A PEP is a retirement […]

Supercharge Your Retirement – Cash Balance Plans for Dealer Principals

As a successful automotive dealer principal, you have fine-tuned every part of your operation — from inventory management to customer satisfaction, marketing to manufacturer relationships. But one critical system might still be under optimized: your retirement plan. Many dealer principals hit a wall once they max out their 401(k) and profit-sharing contributions. If you are […]