Stock age is the whole business. A car standing for ninety days has consumed money every week it sat there, and knowing which vehicles are ageing is what turns a discount into a decision rather than a panic.
Preparation has to be costed per car. Tyres, a service, paintwork and valeting vary enormously between vehicles, and averaging them across the forecourt hides which purchases were actually mistakes.
Enquiries die in silence. Most lost sales are not lost on price but on nobody following up on Thursday, and a simple record of who asked about what fixes more margin than any advertising.
The paperwork follows the car. Finance agreement, part-exchange settlement, service history and the checks carried out all belong to that vehicle, and reassembling them at handover is how delivery dates slip.