From a Small Family Lot to Car Dealership Guy: How Yossi Levi is Transforming Auto Retail
At NADA Show 2025, Yossi Levi—better known as Car Dealership Guy (CDG)—went from an anonymous voice in automotive retail to one of the industry’s most influential names. His platform is now the go-to source for automotive insights, featuring leaders like Carvana CEO Ernie Garcia and Group 1 Automotive CEO Daryl Kenningham.
Live at the show, Dealer Image Pro CEO Peter Duffy sat down with Yossi for a candid conversation. They talked about how he got started, how he built his brand, and how a single idea turned his family’s small used car lot into an automotive powerhouse. Watch the full interview by clicking the YouTube link below:
I’m not a car guy by any means. To me, cars are just nuts and bolts—or a line on a balance sheet. But I knew I could connect with people, and little did I know that would serve me well in the car business.
Before 'going viral' was a thing.
Before Car Dealership Guy, before Gettacar, Yossi Levi was just a teenager working at his dad’s used car lot, Danny’s Auto, in Philadelphia. It wasn’t glamorous—30 cars on the lot, no flashy showroom, no big marketing budget. Yossi never considered himself a “car guy,” but he was drawn to the business side and saw an opportunity. One night over dinner, a friend in retail tossed out a simple idea:
“What if you gave gifts to customers?”
That was it. The next day, Yossi called an electronics supplier and bought two pallets of random closeout items—microwaves, PlayStations, toaster ovens, headphones. Then, he pitched a wild new idea to his team:
🔹 Every customer gets a surprise gift.
🔹 It’s placed in the trunk before delivery.
🔹 At pickup, the whole dealership gathers, chants, and ‘pops the trunk’ for the reveal.
It worked. Customers loved it and the dealership blew up. Videos of the celebrations went viral, catching the attention of Snoop Dogg and Pharrell. Within 90 days, they were selling out of inventory. That’s when Yossi had his first real breakthrough: “Our product wasn’t different. Our financing wasn’t different. But the experience we created was.” And that experience changed everything.
Get pro-quality shots every time.
“If the internet is this powerful, why do I need to be limited by physical locations?”
This mindset led Yossi to his next big venture—Gettacar, an online car-buying platform built to make purchasing a vehicle as seamless as ordering anything else online. No dealerships. No in-person visits. Just a frictionless, digital-first experience. From 2018 to 2023, Gettacar grew fast—$80M+ in annual sales, a team of 200 employees, and $50M in venture funding. But with rapid growth came challenges. As capital markets tightened, the hypergrowth model became unsustainable. Yossi had to make a tough call: “We still had millions on the balance sheet, but I knew we weren’t best positioned to compete anymore.” Walking away wasn’t easy—but it opened the door to something even bigger.
What started as an anonymous Twitter account soon became the go-to source for unfiltered automotive insights. Today, Car Dealership Guy is more than a social presence—it’s a media platform, a podcast, and a community where dealers, investors, and insiders get real industry knowledge.
And Yossi? He’s just getting started.
>> WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW <<
