Sterling Auto Sales

What Sterling Auto Sales does

Sterling Auto Sales is a privately held, family-owned used car dealership headquartered at 2128 N State Highway #83 in Franktown, Colorado. Founded in 1959 by Gilbert Wagner in Sterling, Colorado, the business has been operated continuously for over 65 years across four generations of the Wagner family, with current sole owner Tyler Wagner (third generation) having assumed ownership in 2004. The company operates from a single physical showroom and serves individual consumers in the Franktown and broader Colorado market seeking used trucks, SUVs, and sedans from manufacturers including Ford, Ram, Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge, Nissan, Acura, Honda, and Lexus.

The core product is a curated used vehicle inventory, with vehicle prices individually listed on the dealership website (sterlingautosalesft.com) ranging from approximately $13,950 for a 2017 Nissan Maxima to $72,279 for a 2022 Ram 1500 TRX. Supporting services include in-house and partner-arranged vehicle financing (with a pre-approval application available online), a "Sell Us Your Car" trade-in acquisition channel, a Vehicle Finder tool for locating off-lot inventory, and a "What's My Buying Power" budget-assessment feature. The underlying technology is a standard dealership website and inventory management system provided by DataOne Software; there is no proprietary platform, no app, and no disclosed API or integration layer.

The business model is direct-to-consumer used vehicle retail with a transactional revenue stream: each vehicle sale is a discrete, one-time transaction priced individually based on condition, mileage, year, and market factors. Customers discover inventory through the website and complete purchases either online (via inquiry forms) or in person at the Franktown showroom, often supplemented by arranged financing. The company employs between 101 and 250 people, has no subsidiaries, has never raised institutional funding, and has no evidence of external investment, private equity backing, or acquisition activity — it operates as an independent, family-controlled small business.

Name

Sterling Auto Sales

Legal name

Sterling Auto Sales

Website

https://sterlingautosalesft.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sterling Auto Sales is a family-owned used car dealership in Franktown, Colorado, serving individual consumers in the local Colorado market with pre-owned trucks, SUVs, and sedans plus in-house financing and trade-in services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Franktown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Used Vehicle Sales: One-time transaction sales of used vehicles directly to consumers. Vehicles are priced individually based on condition, mileage, and market value. Each sale is a discrete transaction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Sterling Auto Sales is a family-owned used car dealership operating a physical showroom in Franktown, Colorado. The company sells pre-owned vehicles including trucks, SUVs, and sedans from manufacturers such as Ford, Ram, Chevrolet, GMC, Dodge, Nissan, Acura, Honda, and Lexus. The dealership also provides in-house vehicle financing, trade-in/buy-from-consumer services, and online tools for vehicle search and purchasing power assessment.

Product overview

Sterling Auto Sales operates as a traditional used car dealership offering a focused portfolio of pre-owned vehicles and related automotive services. The core offering is the used vehicle inventory system, supported by financing services for purchases. Additional customer-facing tools include the Vehicle Finder for locating off-market vehicles, What's My Buying Power for financial assessment, and Sell Us Your Car for trade-in transactions. The product portfolio is a single unified service model with no platform architecture, combining vehicle sales with ancillary services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Used Vehicle Inventory

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• DriveTime: DriveTime is a used car retailer specializing in in-house financing for subprime and credit-challenged buyers. It is directly comparable to Sterling because both finance their own deals and serve buyers who may not qualify at traditional lenders.
• CarMax: CarMax is the largest used car retailer in the United States, operating superstores and offering in-house financing. It is directly comparable to Sterling Auto Sales as both sell used vehicles directly to consumers with integrated financing, though at vastly greater scale.
• Carvana: Carvana is an online-first used car retailer offering home delivery and a streamlined digital buying experience. It competes for the same used vehicle buyers Sterling serves but with a fundamentally different (digital-native) delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• AutoNation: AutoNation is the largest automotive retailer in the U.S., operating new and used vehicle dealerships across multiple brands. It overlaps with Sterling in used vehicle sales and financing but at much greater scale and with a multi-brand, multi-location portfolio.
• Asbury Automotive Group: Asbury Automotive Group is a large automotive retailer with franchised dealerships and used vehicle operations including Clicklane digital platform. Comparable to Sterling as a broad incumbent in used vehicle retail with both physical and digital channels.
• Group 1 Automotive: Group 1 Automotive is a publicly traded automotive retailer with franchised dealerships and used vehicle operations in the U.S. and U.K. Comparable to Sterling as a broad incumbent competing in the same used vehicle retail market at much greater scale.
• Sonic Automotive: Sonic Automotive is a Fortune 500 automotive retailer operating franchised dealerships and used vehicle stores including EchoPark. It overlaps with Sterling in used car retail but with a much larger operational footprint and corporate infrastructure.
• Lithia Motors: Lithia Motors is a large publicly traded automotive retailer with extensive new and used vehicle operations. It competes for the same used vehicle demand Sterling addresses but operates at a national scale with significantly broader resources.
• Penske Automotive Group: Penske Automotive Group is a global automotive retailer with franchised dealerships and used vehicle operations. It is comparable as a broad incumbent in the same retail vehicle sales space, though it focuses more heavily on premium and luxury brands.

Emerging players

• Vroom: Vroom is an online used car retailer focused on home delivery and digital purchasing. Comparable to Sterling as a competitor for used vehicle buyers in Colorado but operating without physical showrooms and with a different cost structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sterlingautosls

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sterling Auto Sales