NIADA BHPH Dealer Forum 2026 | November 1–3

02 — All New for 2026 ★

Offsite visits to real dealerships.

This year we're adding in-person dealership site visits. Monday morning, tour working Austin-area BHPH operations and see exactly how top dealers run their stores — the sales floor, recon, collections and everything in between.

It's the kind of behind-the-scenes access you can't get anywhere else — walk the lot, ask the hard questions, and take home what actually works.

Agenda:

Dealership brand appearance and merchandising
Sales operations that include lead management, inventory presentation and delivery process
Finance & collections strategies with down payment, credit interview and qualifications, and compliance and documentation
Service department efficiency through organization, repair order processes and the overall customer experience

Visits to include: Texas Auto Center · Third Coast Auto Group · Discovery Auto Sales · Chacon Autos

Dealers touring a dealership during an in-person site visit

Monday morningOff-site dealership tours

The Signature Format

The dealer-led roundtables.

The heart of Dealer Forum. Three hours, seated with dealers who run stores like yours — no pitching, no sales, no underlying messages. Just operators comparing what actually works.

Matched by size & model

You're seated with dealers of similar volume and business model, so every comparison is apples to apples.

You set the topics

Tables work through lead gen, underwriting, collections, reconditioning, capital — and the hot topics the room brings.

Three hours, dealer-moderated

Three full hours broken into focused 45-minute sessions, led by fellow dealers and NIADA 20 Group moderators. As one 2025 attendee put it: "We could've stayed in there another nine hours."

Claim Your Seat

45 min per session

Lead Generation

Underwriting & Capital

Collections

Service & Recon

Inventory

05 — Agenda

Three days, wall to wall.

From the opening session Sunday afternoon to the closing session Tuesday morning — every hour is built to be worth the trip.

Sunday, November 1

Kickoff, breakout education and an evening with exhibitors.

2:00 – 2:50 PM

Opening General Session The Forum kicks off — the state of the BHPH market and what's ahead for the next three days.

JW Grand Salon 5–6

3:00 – 3:30 PM

Networking with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

3:30 – 4:40 PM

Breakout Sessions I Education Hands-on learning with dealers and industry experts.

JW Grand Salons 1–4

4:50 – 6:00 PM

Breakout Sessions II Education

JW Grand Salons 1–4

6:00 – 7:00 PM

Happy Hour with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

7:00 – 9:00 PM

Evening Event with Signature & Premium Exhibitors Social

Location TBD

Monday, November 2

Inside real dealerships in the morning, the signature roundtables all afternoon.

8:00 – 9:00 AM

Breakfast with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

9:00 – 11:30 AM

Dealership Site Visits Off-Site Get inside working Austin-area operations and see how other dealers run their stores.

Off-Site

12:00 – 2:00 PM

Lunch with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

2:15 – 5:15 PM

Dealer-Led Roundtables The signature three hours — matched with dealers of similar size and business model, on the topics you pick.

JW Grand Salons 1–4, 401–409

5:30 – 7:00 PM

Happy Hour with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

Tuesday, November 3

One last breakfast, then the closing session sends you home with the best ideas.

8:00 – 9:30 AM

Breakfast with Exhibitors Networking

JW Grand Salon 5–6

9:30 – 11:30 AM

Closing General Session Double Header

JW Grand Salon 5–6

9:30 – 10:15 AM

Different Animal, Same Opportunity: TikTok for BHPH Ryan Copacia · Principal, TikTok Automotive

BHPH dealers run a different playbook than the retail stores, but a couple things are the same: your customers are already on TikTok, and your competitors mostly aren’t.

Ryan kicks off the closing session with a straight look at why a platform better known for viral dances than sales leads has quietly become one of the most powerful—and underused—tools in the BHPH dealer’s toolbox.

10:15 – 11:30 AM

Best Idea Contest — And the Winner Is… Brent Carmichael · Director of Education, NIADA

That’s right, Brent Carmichael will lead attendees through a full explanation of each one of the winning Best Ideas that emerged from Monday’s Dealer-Led Roundtables. The anticipation builds, then everyone votes and the winner is crowned! AND, you go home with a nice little batch of Best Ideas.

06 — Education

Eight breakout sessions. Pick your two.

Two rounds of concurrent breakouts Sunday afternoon, four rooms each round — bring the team and cover more ground.

Breakout Sessions I

Sunday, Nov. 1 · 3:30 – 4:40 PM

JW Grand Salon 1

How to Steal a Vehicle with Just a Pen

Darren SchlosserRetired Detective

Criminals are using different forms of fraud to steal vehicles from dealerships. This session will show what fraud schemes are happening across the globe. A detailed explanation of how vehicle finance fraud is done using document fraud, identity theft, and synthetic identity will be shared along with case study examples. It will discuss how the Vehicle Fraud Initiative worked with the dealership industry, finance companies, and law enforcement to battle this growing trend.

JW Grand Salon 2

Asset Management: Managing Inventory as an Investment

Tim Bullock & Jason SheltonExecutive Franchise Consultants, Byrider

From acquisition and reconditioning through pricing, turn and disposition, learn how to put the right vehicles on the lot at the right cost. This session will focus on managing inventory as an investment, balancing customer needs, underwriting requirements and the cash tied up in every vehicle.

JW Grand Salon 3

Underwrite to Collect: Managing Risk Before the First Payment

Brad White20 Group Moderator & Consultant, NIADA

This session will focus on the importance of identifying and managing risk throughout your BHPH operations. It will examine why collections performance is often determined before a customer ever makes their first payment. The discussion will connect underwriting, deal structure, vehicle selection, payment affordability, early-stage collections, and overall portfolio performance into one integrated operating strategy designed to improve both customer outcomes and portfolio profitability.

JW Grand Salon 4

The BHPH Social Media & Marketing Playbook

Meg & Ryan JonesAce Auto Sales · Fyffe, AL

In this high-energy session, learn how to market your BHPH program, create content that connects with credit-challenged shoppers, and grow your social media with more than just followers—grow it with actual buyers. This session will provide real-world strategies, unconventional lead sources, and follow-up that turns attention into customers. Come ready to leave with ideas you can actually use on your lot.

Breakout Sessions II

Sunday, Nov. 1 · 4:50 – 6:00 PM

JW Grand Salon 1

Unlock Your Team’s Superpowers: How AI Makes Great BHPH Dealers Even Better

Mark FuerbacherUniversal Imports · Rochester, NY

Uncover practical AI “superpowers” for underwriting and deal analysis, collections and customer communication, inventory/reconditioning decisions, and marketing and advertising while showing where the human hero still needs to make the call. You won’t leave with just ideas. Every attendee will walk away with a personal AI Supercharge Plan, a step-by-step blueprint for training and powering up their own AI model so it understands their dealership, their processes, and their people.

JW Grand Salon 2

Building A Better Business Model & Pro Forma

Ben Goodman & Jeff AndersonVP of Franchising Operations & VP of Finance, Byrider

Build a business model that connects capital needs, sales volume, operating expenses, credit performance and profitability. Attendees will work through the assumptions that drive a sustainable BHPH pro forma and learn how changes in those assumptions impact cash flow and long-term results.

JW Grand Salon 3

What Your Vintages Already Know: Reading BHPH Portfolio Data Two Years Early

Alan KeateCEO and Co-Founder, High Gear Data

Most BHPH dealers don’t notice their loans are going bad until it’s too late to fix the problem. This session will use anonymous loan data from hundreds of dealers to show how growing the number of new loans can hide rising losses—and explain why those losses are getting worse. The session will also look at early delinquency patterns and what they can tell you about how a group of loans will perform over time. Attendees leave with three simple metrics they can pull from their own system, plus the warning signs to watch.

JW Grand Salon 4

Every Step Sells: Mastering the BHPH Path to Sale

Luke GodwinGodwin Motors

In this session, attendees will walk through the complete BHPH “Path to the Sale” and identify the critical steps that move customers forward—or cause them to walk away. Dealers will leave with practical strategies for improving lead response, customer engagement, needs assessment, vehicle selection, deal structure, follow-up, and closing. Because in BHPH sales, every interaction matters—and every step sells.

07 — Registration

Lock in your seat.

Bring the whole leadership team — save $50 per registrant when you register 2 or more from the same dealership.

Early Bird pricing ends Oct. 9 at midnight PST

Every registration includes:

Dealer-led roundtables, matched to your size and business model
Hands-on, customized BHPH education
Dealership site visits at working Austin-area stores
Breakfasts, lunch and happy hours with exhibitors
Networking with thought-leading vendors and sponsors

Group discount: Save $50 on every registrant when you register at least 2 people from the same dealership. Cancellation policyNo refunds will be issued for cancellations after October 2, 2026.

NIADA Member Best Value

$695per person · Regular rate

$495per person · Early Bird rate

$695

Early Bird ends Oct. 9 · +$200 each phase after

Regular $695 (Oct. 10–30) · On-Site $895

Regular rate through Oct. 30

On-Site $895

Non-Member

$895per person · Regular rate

$695per person · Early Bird rate

$895

Early Bird ends Oct. 9 · +$200 each phase after

Regular $895 (Oct. 10–30) · On-Site $1,095

Regular rate through Oct. 30

On-Site $1,095

NIADA members save hundreds on event admission every year. Join NIADA and save $200 today →

The nation's top operators. One event. Three days in Austin.

Hands-on education, built for the people running the store.

Offsite visits to real dealerships.

Three days that pay for themselves.

Dealer-Led Roundtables

Education

Networking

Ever wanted to know what the industry's best BHPH dealers are doing to strengthen their service departments?underwriting?

The dealer-led roundtables.

Matched by size & model

You set the topics

Three hours, dealer-moderated

Conversations that spill out into the halls.

Three days, wall to wall.

Sunday, November 1

Monday, November 2

Tuesday, November 3

Eight breakout sessions. Pick your two.

Breakout Sessions I

How to Steal a Vehicle with Just a Pen

Asset Management: Managing Inventory as an Investment

Underwrite to Collect: Managing Risk Before the First Payment

The BHPH Social Media & Marketing Playbook

Breakout Sessions II

Unlock Your Team’s Superpowers: How AI Makes Great BHPH Dealers Even Better

Building A Better Business Model & Pro Forma

What Your Vintages Already Know: Reading BHPH Portfolio Data Two Years Early

Every Step Sells: Mastering the BHPH Path to Sale

Lock in your seat.

Every registration includes:

JW Marriott Austin

See you in Austin!