Independent Used Car Dealer: Irs Audit Techniques Guide

The used car industry, as with any industry has certain business practices that are used throughout the industry. A key to a successful examination of a used car dealer is an understanding of these basic common practices. Certain jargon is widely used in the industry. The terms defined in Exhibit 1-1 are the most commonly found terms. However, even these terms may vary from region to region. Nevertheless, the list may be useful in understanding how the industry operates. Become familiar with these terms as many of the terms listed here are used throughout the Audit Technique Guide. The used car industry is comprised of two major segments. The first segment is made up of the new car dealers who accept trade-ins on the sale of new automobiles; or purchase used cars from customers, used car dealers, or wholesale auto auctions. The new car dealers then sell the used cars either to wholesalers, directly to used car dealers, through auctions, or to other miscellaneous customers.