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Your Car Count Might Be Lying to You

Confession No. 125 · Coaching Call # 22 · November 3, 2026 · 54 min.

Listen Now · No. 125

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Mike thought Carfix had a car-count problem. Then Matt Lofton started digging into the numbers and uncovered something much more interesting: a huge chunk of the shop’s volume was coming from state inspections that created almost no opportunity.

In this coaching call, Mike and Matt break down ARO, gross profit per hour, state-inspection-only tickets, customer retention and why simply getting more cars through the door doesn't necessarily make your shop healthier. They also get deep into pre-booking appointments, including why Matt believes it's one of the highest-return strategies a repair shop can implement without spending another dollar on marketing.

Plus: North Carolina State Fair economics, Mike's questionable relationship with fried food, SEMA/APEX, Matt's early days running what was basically a glorified lube shop, and why the piano tuner apparently has automotive repair shops beat at customer retention.

If your shop is busy but the numbers still aren't where you want them, this episode might make you look at your car count very differently.

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