Dealership Marketing Budget Calculator

Set your monthly and yearly marketing budget from the units you plan to sell, then see a starting split across channels.

The calculator above works in four steps:

1. Enter the new and used units you plan to sell in a typical month.
2. Enter what you plan to spend on marketing for each new unit and each used unit.
3. Set the share of the budget for digital advertising and lead generation.
4. Read the monthly budget, the yearly total, the spend per unit sold and the channel split.

Every number changes as you type, so try a few versions. Run the month you have today, then the month you want, and look at the gap. If the budget your goal needs is far above what you spend now, you need more money, a lower cost per sold unit, or a smaller goal. All three are decisions worth making on purpose rather than by default.

The starting values, 40 new and 60 used units at 600 dollars per new unit and 450 dollars per used unit with 70 percent digital, are placeholders that show the math. They are not a benchmark. Replace them with your own numbers before you read anything into the result.

New units you plan to sell per month

Use your monthly sales goal for new vehicles, not the most recent month's result, unless you intend to hold steady. Independent and used car stores, brokers and salespeople who sell only used vehicles enter zero here. RV and boat dealers with seasonal swings should run the calculator once for a peak month and once for a slow month.

Used units you plan to sell per month

Count retail used units only. Wholesale units sold at auction rarely need marketing spend, so leaving them out keeps the per unit figure accurate.

Marketing spend per new unit

The total you plan to spend on marketing for each new vehicle sold, with every cost included: media, agency fees, creative, tracking, landing pages, lead programs and listings. The best source is your own history: total marketing cost for the past twelve months divided by new units sold in the same period. Many franchise stores plan this figure in the several hundred dollar range per new vehicle retailed. Franchise stores can net out co-op reimbursement if they want the store's true cost.

Marketing spend per used unit

Used units often run lower per unit because listings and your own customer list do more of the work, though stores that lean on used volume or special finance sometimes spend more. Use your history here too, and enter zero if you sell only new.

Share for digital and lead generation

The percentage of the budget that goes to digital ads, lead programs, inventory listings and marketplaces, and texting, email and voicemail campaigns. Everything else, such as radio, TV, print, direct mail, outdoor and events, counts as traditional. Enter the share you spend today, then test a higher or lower one and watch how the split moves.

Leave your number and a lead specialist calls you back to answer your questions about pricing, coverage, and setup. Mon - Sat, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM Pacific.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.

• Monthly marketing budget: new units times spend per new unit, plus used units times spend per used unit.
• Yearly budget: the monthly figure times twelve. Real months vary, so use it to plan the total you manage against, not any single month.
• Spend per unit sold: the monthly budget divided by all units. This is your blended target, the number to compare with your actual cost per sold unit each month.
• Channel split: the digital share divided 60 percent to digital ads and lead generation, 25 percent to inventory listings and marketplaces, and 15 percent to texting, email and voicemail campaigns, with the rest of the budget going to traditional media, events and print.

The split is a starting draft, not a rule. After two or three months, move money toward the lines that sell cars at the lowest cost per sold unit, then copy your own split into the budget sheet below so the calculator's draft becomes your store's plan.

From your history

Add every marketing invoice from the past twelve months and divide by the units sold in those months. This is the most reliable starting point because it reflects your market, your inventory and your team.

From your gross

Decide what share of front gross per unit you are willing to spend to sell a car. An illustrative example: if a used unit averages 2,500 dollars of front gross and you budget 15 percent of it for marketing, your spend per used unit is 375 dollars.

From your goal

If you are growing, start from the units you want and the cost per sold unit your best sources deliver today. A store adding volume often spends more per unit at first, while new sources are tested, and less as the winners scale. Run the calculator with both numbers so the growth month and the steady month are both on paper.

Both examples are illustrative and use round numbers.

An independent used car store. Zero new and 45 used units, 400 dollars per used unit, 85 percent digital. The calculator returns 18,000 dollars a month, 216,000 dollars a year and 400 dollars per unit sold. The split: 9,180 dollars to digital ads and lead generation, 3,825 to listings and marketplaces, 2,295 to texting, email and voicemail campaigns, and 2,700 to traditional media and events.

A franchise store at the starting values. 40 new units at 600 dollars and 60 used at 450 dollars, 70 percent digital: 51,000 dollars a month, 612,000 dollars a year and 510 dollars per unit sold. Digital ads and lead generation get 21,420 dollars, listings and marketplaces 8,925, texting, email and voicemail campaigns 5,355, and traditional media 15,300.

Same calculator, very different plans. The independent store leans almost entirely on digital, while the franchise store keeps a larger share for traditional media and manufacturer events. Neither is right for your store until your own units and history go in.

• Budgeting from old invoices. Vendor bills tell you what you spent, not what you need. Start from the units you want to sell.
• Holding the budget flat while inventory swings. A thin lot needs less advertising and more acquisition. A full lot needs more advertising.
• Counting only media. Agency fees, creative, tracking and landing pages belong in the per unit figure.
• Spreading money evenly. Sources that sell at a lower cost per sold unit should get more of the next month's budget.
• Leaving no test money. Hold back about a tenth of the budget to test one new source at a time.
• Judging too early. Give a new source a full buying cycle, often 60 to 90 days, before you cut it.

A sound automotive marketing budget is a living number. Set it from goals, check it against results every month, and move it toward what works.

Run the dealership marketing budget calculator again whenever one of its inputs moves, not only at budget time:

• Your sales goal changes. A new used car manager, a second lot or a staffing change resets the units you can sell.
• Inventory shifts. A wave of fresh trades or a thin month of new allocation changes how much advertising the lot can support.
• A source wins or loses. When one source sells at a clearly lower cost per sold unit for two or three months, raise its share and trim the others.
• The season turns. Tax refund season, model year changeover and holiday sales weekends each deserve their own run.
• A vendor changes its price or terms. Recalculate your spend per unit so the plan matches the invoice.

Each run takes a minute. Save the result in the budget sheet with a short note about what changed, and the monthly review keeps a record of why the budget moved.

The dealership marketing budget template in Excel does the same math as the calculator and keeps your numbers. It has four tabs:

• Budget: your units, spend per unit and digital share, with the monthly, yearly and per unit totals calculated for you.
• Channel split: the starting split, with percentages you can change to match your own results.
• Monthly plan: twelve months of target units, budget, actual spend and units sold, with cost per sold unit calculated.
• Source tracking: spend, leads, appointments and sold units by source, with cost per lead and cost per sold unit.

Fill in the Budget tab once, then add actuals to the Monthly plan and Source tracking tabs at the end of each month. Bring the file to the monthly marketing review.

A budget is only useful when you can see what it produced. In LeadLocate CRM every lead carries its source, each lead source can carry its own tracking phone number so calls are credited too, and the Reports dashboard shows leads by source and status, appointments and deals for any date range. See tracking numbers per lead source and lead source attribution for how it works.

LeadLocate also delivers leads. You make your selections in Leads Manager, our team builds and runs the campaigns, and every lead in your zone comes to your store only. To plan that line of the budget, compare plans on the pricing page, and read the car dealership advertising guide for the channels. To check the return on any single source, use the auto lead ROI calculator, and see how much dealerships pay per lead for lead pricing across the industry.

What is a good marketing budget per car sold?

The right number is the one your own history and goals support. Divide the past twelve months of total marketing cost by units sold to find your current figure. Many franchise stores plan on several hundred dollars per new vehicle retailed, with used units usually lower.

Should new and used units have different budgets?

Usually, yes. New units often carry manufacturer events and brand advertising, while used units lean on listings and your own customer list. Separate figures show you which side of the store is getting its money's worth.

What counts toward the digital share?

Digital ads, lead programs, inventory listings and marketplaces, and texting, email and voicemail campaigns to your own customers. Radio, TV, print, direct mail, outdoor and events count as traditional, even when they send shoppers to your website.

Does the calculator include manufacturer co-op money?

The calculator plans gross spend. If your store receives co-op reimbursement, enter your spend per unit after co-op to see the net cost, or plan the gross figure and track reimbursements in the budget sheet.

Should the budget change from month to month?

Yes. Raise it when you have fresh inventory to move or a sales event, and lower it when the lot is thin. Use the yearly figure as the total you manage against, and run the calculator for peak and slow months separately.

How do I keep my numbers from month to month?

Copy them into the free dealership marketing budget template. It is an Excel file with the same math, a twelve month plan and a source tracking tab, so you can compare budget and actual spend every month.

Watch the demo or call 844-376-2274. We will show how LeadLocate ties leads, calls and deals to their sources so your budget follows what sells.

Prefer to talk right now? Call or text 844-376-2274.