How Lakeway Scaled from 40 to 112 Acquisitions per Month with VAN

Most dealerships know they should be acquiring vehicles from consumers. Few have figured out how to do it at scale.

Lakeway did.

The Starting Point

When Lakeway partnered with VAN in January 2025, their buy center was producing around 40 vehicles per month. Solid, but they knew the ceiling was higher. The challenge was familiar: how do you scale acquisition without scaling headcount at the same rate?

What Changed

Within months of launching with VAN, Lakeway's acquisition volume began to climb. By August 2025, they hit a peak of 112 vehicles in a single month — with just two buyers on the team.

That's not a typo. Two people. 112 acquisitions.

By the end of 2025, Lakeway had purchased over 850 vehicles directly from private-party sellers. Their total unit sales jumped 75% year-over-year, from 80 units per month in 2024 to 140 per month in 2025.

The System Behind the Results

Scaling from 40 to 112 doesn't happen by working harder. It happens by working within a system.

VAN COO David Long — a 42-year automotive veteran who has helped launch more than 100 buy centers — coaches teams on the fundamentals that make this kind of growth repeatable: consistency, discipline, and a relentless focus on activity metrics.

Lakeway is one of the dealerships that put David's coaching into practice. They didn't just adopt the VAN platform — they built an acquisition department with structure, accountability, and clear KPIs. The platform gave them clean data, organized lead tracking, and the ability to manage performance at a high level. The coaching gave them the playbook.

As Corey Allen Mendez at Lakeway put it in a recent review:

“VAN gave us a CRM built specifically for acquisition, which was something we couldn't find anywhere else. We were lost trying to force acquisition into a traditional sales CRM, and VAN eliminated the messy lead tracking — giving us clean data, clear KPIs, and the ability to actually manage performance at a high level.”

What Really Separates VAN

Corey's review highlights something that matters more than features: partnership.

“What really separates VAN, though, is the people. From top leadership to our guy Tyler Bejarano, the support is consistent and impactful — and our goal of scaling to 200+ purchases per month simply doesn't exist without VAN.”

That last line bears repeating. Their goal is 200+ vehicles per month. And they don't see a path to get there without VAN.

This is what a real acquisition partnership looks like. Not a software vendor. Not a lead provider. A partner that helps you build the department, coach the team, and scale the results.

“VAN isn't just a tool — it's a competitive advantage — quickly becoming the foundation for modern acquisition. And if you're trying to run a buy center without it, good luck.”

The Numbers

What This Means for Your Dealership

Lakeway didn't have a secret. They had a system, a platform built for acquisition, and coaching from someone who's done it more than 100 times.

If you're running a buy center today — or thinking about starting one — the question isn't whether consumer acquisition works. The question is whether you have the right infrastructure to do it at scale.

Ready to see what's possible? Book a strategy call with your Acquisition Coach.

Want VAN to handle it for you? Learn about our Managed Buyer program — a fully dedicated buyer, trained by David Long's team, working your market every day.

All results cited are from a public Google review by Corey Allen Mendez. Individual results may vary based on market conditions, staffing, and operational commitment.