After watching some controversial calls unfold this past weekend during the NFL playoffs, I couldn’t help but draw the correlation between throwing the challenge flag and looking for a third appraiser. Overtime in a playoff game, win or go home, the situation is as intense as it gets. Similarly, when a buy-sell agreement calls for a third appraiser, the stakes are high and it is fairly late in the game.

The U.S. auto industry closed 2025 with modest sequential improvement, surpassing 16 million units for the first time since 2019. While volumes stabilized late in the year, continued year-over-year declines, rising incentives, and uneven inventory levels across brands highlight a market that is normalizing rather than accelerating. As the industry moves into 2026, disciplined inventory management and margin preservation will be critical drivers of dealer performance and franchise value.

Mercer Capital Vice President David Harkins was recently featured on the podcast Beyond the Lot: Understanding Dealership Valuations, hosted by Kevin Timson, for a wide-ranging conversation on the factors that truly drive value in automotive dealerships. Drawing from his experience advising auto dealers nationwide, David discusses how elements such as brand strength, real estate, fixed operations, and local market dynamics influence dealership valuations.