Prep is where a used car's margin is made or lost before a customer ever sees it. Every day a car sits waiting for a valet, a part or a bodyshop slot costs money — and in most independents, the only record of where it is lives in someone's head. Vehicle prep software makes the pipeline visible: one stage per car, an owner for the next step, and costs recorded as they happen.
Where prep time actually goes
Rarely in the work itself. Prep time is lost between jobs: the car that finished its MOT on Tuesday but was not booked for a valet until Friday, the bodyshop job nobody chased, the photos that waited for a sunny day.
The fix is a shared pipeline where each car is in exactly one stage, with an owner and a visible blocker.
How DealerPilot runs prep
Add a car from its registration and DealerPilot fills in the DVLA details, MOT history and recall status. The car starts in Incoming, moves to In prep with its tasks and checklists, and to Ready when it is fit for sale.
Valeters get a valet view, prep staff see their tasks in My Tasks on the web or the app, and outside-workshop jobs show the garage and expected return date so sales can promise realistic dates.
Costs on the car, not in a drawer
Record MOT, service, parts and outside work against the car as it happens, linked to the garage or vendor, with purchase invoices alongside. The car's true cost — and so its margin — is known before it is priced, and you can hide cost prices from roles that do not need them.
Standing stock: batteries and MOTs
Cars that sit for weeks develop their own problems. Battery rotation shows which cars are due a charge and logs each one. MOT and service due dates are flagged on every car, and anything under your minimum MOT is highlighted before it is sold.