Days-in-inventory is a lagging indicator. The number that matters is holding cost per unit and most stores under-count it by half.
What holding a $22k used car actually costs per day
- Flooring interest at 8.5%: ~$5
- Insurance and lot pack: ~$3
- Depreciation on a typical 60-day sedan: ~$18-25
- Reconditioning re-work (dead batteries, dusty details): ~$1-2
Call it $32 a day, all-in. On day 60, you're $1,920 into a car that hasn't sold. That's the number that should be on the aged report not the age.
The four-way decision
Every unit over 45 days gets one of four calls:
- Reprice. VDP views > 200, low leads. It's priced above your market position cut $500-$1,200 and republish.
- Remerch. VDP views < 100. Nobody's seeing it. New photos, new headline, spec block fix.
- Retail promo. VDP views normal, leads normal, no closes. It's the wrong car for the traffic offer it internally to service customers or run a targeted ad.
- Wholesale. All three of the above tried, 75+ days. Every additional day is a loss. Take the auction number and move.
The trap most desks fall into
Waiting for the market. Used-car managers who "hold for a bump" on aged inventory lose to the ones who wholesale on schedule. Holding cost accrues faster than most segments appreciate even in a tight market.
The exception
CPO units on segment-hot models (compact SUVs, mid-size trucks) can bump 5-8% in a season. That's genuinely worth holding but only if the recon is done and the merchandising is clean. A rough aged unit doesn't get to catch the bump.
The Aged Inventory Action Plan runs this decision tree per VIN with holding cost priced in.