Dealership Operations: Key Vehicle Information

● A stock number is an internal identification number used by dealerships to track and  manage their inventory. 

● Most dealerships follow a stock numbering system or internal coding structure that  can indicate whether a vehicle is new or used, how it was acquired, and in some  cases, approximately when it entered inventory.  

● Stock numbers can provide valuable information that helps determine whether a  vehicle should already be on-site or if it is still in transit to the dealership.  Understanding how to interpret stock numbers can make locating vehicles easier  and improve communication with dealership staff. 

● Stock numbers can also show what dealer a vehicle belongs to if they are part of a  multi-brand dealership or part of a dealer group. 

Vehicles that were traded in toward the purchase of a new or pre-owned vehicle  will usually have an identifier in the stock number that will help our team quickly  identify that the vehicle was traded in.  

The most common stock numbers for trades:  

● New or used stock number with the letters “A”, “B”, “C”, or a “T” at the end 

● T in front of the stock number

There are many ways dealers purchase vehicles but they will typically have a  general letter in the stock number that will show the vehicle was bought and not  traded in. These vehicles could be purchased from auction, 3rd party sites such as  KBB, or just off the street.  

Common purchased vehicle stock numbers: 

● P in front or back of the stock number 

● U in front or back of the stock number 

● A unique stock number without any letters

Many dealers also use an identifier for vehicles that were previous daily rentals or  retired loaners.  

Common Rental or Loaner Stock Numbers: 

● L in the front or back of the stock number 

● R in the front or back of the stock number

When doing notes, it’s important to review the following information above so we can properly communicate the units.

Month – If we see a previous month, we should always push to find out when the unit will be ready. The older the month, the more urgent the photos are.

How the vehicle was acquired – I’ve seen a lot of recent status updates where trade-in stock numbers are being marked as in transit. This throws up a red flag for the dealer and corporate team when we have an incorrect status.

Last 3 digits of the stock number:

• 0xx – The vehicle was traded in and should be on the lot.

• 5XX, 6XX, 7XX, 8XX, and 9XX – The vehicle was purchased from auction or traded with another Victory Automotive Group store.

57C05052

Orange= Store #

Green= Year the vehicle was aquired

Blue= Month the vehicle was aquired

Red= How the vehicle was aquired

Yellow= Vehicle #

Sonic uses the last 8 digits of the VIN with a letter in front that identifies how the  vehicle was acquired.  

● B - Purchased by their buyer 

● G - Service drive purchase 

● I - KBB purchase 

● M - Street purchase 

● N - Retired loaner 

● P - Auction purchase 

● S - Sister store trade 

● T - Trade in 

● Y - Customer request, usually a sister store trade

● Accuracy in notes which will preserve credibility in the ReconIQ reports 

● Ability to question dealer statuses if they tell us vehicles are in-transit when  they have trade in stock numbers 

● Dealer and Work History reviews - You can tell if someone is accurately  updating notes by the status associated with the stock numbering system the  dealer uses 

● Ability to quickly identify a unit that was transferred to another store due to an  inconsistent stock number at the dealership 

● Ability to better communicate the inventory with dealership management 

● Ability to follow up on vehicles that should be at the dealership for pre-recon  photos