I have seen the financial statements of dozens of dealerships and they absolutely turn a tidy profit. What you call the "front office" only loses money during

I have seen the financial statements of dozens of dealerships and they absolutely turn a tidy profit. What you call the "front office" only loses money during recessions and when WTI is above a hundred. The effect of the latter varies wildly based on product mix. Also, the service dept is not sufficient to save a struggling dealership during a bad economy. The main drivers of dealership economics are sales revenue relative to local and national peers and cost/availability of wholesale/retail financing. Not a top dealer for your market? You're screwed. Regional recession? Screwed. Lender pulled your flooring? Screwed. It's suddenly illegal to charge usurious interest rates (and fees!) for $4k used cars? Joe Schmo can't get cheap financing for a $40k brodozer? You get it.