Reconditioning
The 72-hour recon target: measuring time-to-frontline stage by stage
· 5 min read
Every day a used vehicle spends in reconditioning is a day of holding cost and depreciation. Measuring each stage is how dealers find the day they can win back.
Why time-to-frontline matters
A used vehicle earns nothing until a customer can buy it. While it waits in reconditioning it carries holding cost and loses value, and it is invisible to buyers searching online. Shortening that time is one of the most direct levers a used-car department controls.
Most recon time is waiting time
When dealers measure each stage separately, the pattern is consistent: the work itself is a fraction of the elapsed time. Vehicles wait for an inspection slot, for approval of the recon spend, for parts, for a sublet panel shop, for the detailer, for the photographer.
A total-days number cannot show that. A stage-by-stage view can — and it turns a vague “recon is slow” into a specific conversation about the stage that is costing the most.
Making 72 hours a management tool
Treat 72 hours as a target to measure against, not a promise. Track every vehicle from Day 0, flag any that exceed their stage allowance, and review the bottleneck stage weekly. The target is useful precisely because it makes the delays visible.