Advertising
Which ad spend is actually selling cars?
Enter each source’s monthly spend, leads and cars sold. See cost per lead, close rate and cost per car sold side by side, and what your most expensive source would save at your average.
How we work it out
Cost per lead is spend divided by leads. Close rate is cars sold divided by leads. Cost per car sold is spend divided by cars sold, and your average divides total spend by total cars.
Sources that cost more than one and a half times your average per car are highlighted. The savings figure asks what your most expensive source would cost if it sold cars at your average.
What moves the number
- Count the callsIn one Dealer eProcess dataset, 67% of Google Ads hard conversions were phone calls (Pasch Group, Google SEM report, 2021). If calls aren’t in your lead counts, search looks worse than it is.Read the report
- Use one source of truthTake cars sold from the CRM’s sold source, and set up GA4 to Automotive Standards Council events so every vendor reports the same way.What ASC standards are
- Ask streaming TV for proof98% of dealers in Pasch Group’s streaming research said display or online video swapped in for streaming TV is a different product.Read the streaming report
Questions
Should I judge sources on cost per lead or cost per sale?
Cost per car sold. Cheap leads that don’t buy cost more in the end, and some sources produce fewer leads that close at a much higher rate.
What counts as a lead?
Any shopper who contacts you: forms, calls, chats and texts. Leaving calls out makes search and listing sites look worse than they are.
Why doesn’t this match my agency’s report?
Agencies often count platform conversions or leads, not cars sold, and several sources can claim the same sale. Use the CRM’s sold source for one consistent answer.
Sources
- Google SEM Report, Pasch Group (2021), citing InteractiveTel and Dealer eProcess data
- Defining Key Events for Google Analytics 4, Pasch Group (2024)
- The Streaming Accountability Gap, Pasch Group (2026)
Updated October 11, 2026
Go deeper
More tools
- PhonesMissed-call revenue calculatorThe sales gross and service revenue lost to unanswered calls, and what each point of answer rate is worth.Open the tool
- TechnologyDealer tech stack cost calculatorAdd up your software, see the cost per car retailed, and find where you pay twice for the same job.Open the tool
- Benchmarks2026 Dealership BenchmarksThe figures from Pasch Group research dealers quote most, from answer rates to CRM use, each with its source.See the benchmarks
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