The dealership
Bakkies, family business, run from a phone
Theo Loubser runs Theo's Bakkie Sales out of Kuilsriver in the Western Cape — a small independent dealership focused on what the name says. Hiluxes, Rangers, D-Maxes, the occasional Triton. The kind of inventory that turns over fast if you know what you're doing, and bleeds cash if you don't keep on top of recon costs.
Like most dealers his size, Theo wasn't running fancy software. Stock was tracked across a couple of WhatsApp groups, costs were recalled from memory or scribbled receipts, and end-of-month profit was whatever number felt about right. Good enough until it isn't.
Trial
Five weeks of free Pro
Theo started his free 30-day Pro trial on 12 May 2026. WhatsApp agent included, no card required. Within the first week he'd added his first 10 units, and by the end of the trial his floor was fully on the platform — 35 units, each one tagged with its photos, licence disc data, asking price, and a running stack of recon costs.
The thing that surprised him wasn't the dashboard. It was how much he ended up using WhatsApp. Mechanic does a clutch on the Hilux, sends Theo the invoice — Theo forwards the receipt photo with "add to white Hilux" and walks away. Done. AutoMargin asks for confirmation, Theo replies yes, the cost is against the right stock unit before he's back in the office.
By day 25 of his trial, Theo's tenant had logged 98 expenses via WhatsApp and the agent had handled over 100 conversations. He subscribed to Pro + Consignment on 17 June — a week before his trial expired.
What changed
Live profit per unit, in his pocket
The biggest shift wasn't the WhatsApp tricks — it was that Theo now opens his phone in the morning and sees, unit by unit, what each car on his floor has cost him so far and what the live margin would be if he sold it today. No spreadsheet, no calling the bookkeeper, no scratching for receipts.
And because the platform includes Consignment, his third-party stock is right there alongside the owned floor — each one with the deal structure attached, payout running for the consignor, and a clean net-to-owner number when he marks the sale.