Asbury Automotive Group (ABG)

APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and

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APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and assumptions and the effects of revisions are reflected in the financial statements in the period in which they are determined to be necessary. The accounting policies described below are those that most frequently require management to make estimates and judgments, and therefore are critical to understanding our results of operations. Senior management has discussed the development and selection of these accounting estimates and the related disclosures with the audit committee of our board of directors.

Inventories—

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the specific identification method to value our vehicle inventories and the “first-in, first-out” method (“FIFO”) to account for our parts inventories. We maintain a reserve for specific inventory vehicles where cost basis exceeds fair value and for parts that we believe are excess or obsolete. In assessing lower of cost or market for new vehicles, we primarily consider the aging of vehicles and loss histories, along with the timing of annual and model changeovers. The assessment of lower of cost or market for used vehicles considers recent data and trends such as loss histories, current aging of the inventory and current market conditions. The assessment of excess and obsolete parts considers the sales activity of specific parts over the last twelve months. These reserves were $4.4 million and $4.9 million as of June 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively.

Notes Receivable—Finance Contracts—

As of June 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004, we had outstanding notes receivable from finance contracts of $30.4 million and $30.9 million, respectively (net of an allowance for credit losses of $4.6 million and $6.2 million, respectively). These notes have initial terms ranging from 12 to 60 months, and are collateralized by the related vehicles. The assessment of our allowance for credit losses considers historical loss ratios and the performance of the current portfolio with respect to past due accounts. We continually analyze our current portfolio against our historical performance. In addition, we attribute minimal value to the underlying collateral in our assessment of the reserve.

F&I Chargeback Reserve—

We receive commissions from the sale of vehicle service contracts, credit life insurance and disability insurance to customers. In addition, we receive commissions from financing institutions for arranging customer financing. We may be charged back (“chargebacks”) for finance, insurance or vehicle service contract commissions in the event a contract is terminated. The revenues from financing fees and commissions are recorded at the time the vehicles are sold and a reserve for future chargebacks is established based on historical operating results and the termination provisions of the applicable contracts. This data is evaluated on a product-by-product basis. These reserves were $12.0 million as of June 30, 2005 and December 31, 2004.

Equity-Based Compensation—

We account for stock-based compensation issued to employees in accordance with Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees.” APB Opinion No. 25 requires the use of the intrinsic value method, which measures compensation cost as the excess, if any, of the quoted market price of the stock at the measurement date over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock. We have adopted the disclosure provisions of SFAS No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure-An amendment of FASB Statement No. 123.”  See also “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” below for a discussion of the impact on our financial statements from the adoption of SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-based Payment.”

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets—

In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” we do not amortize goodwill and other intangible assets that are deemed to have indefinite lives. We test these assets for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if any event occurs or circumstances change that indicate possible impairment. We have determined that manufacturer franchise rights have an indefinite life as there are no legal, contractual, economic or other factors that limit their useful lives and they are expected to generate cash flows indefinitely due to the historically long lives of the manufacturers’ brand names. Goodwill is allocated at the entity level and manufacturer franchise rights are allocated to each individual dealership franchise, respectively. Goodwill represents the excess cost of the businesses acquired over the fair market value

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APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and assumptions and the effects of revisions are reflected in the financial statements in the period in which they are determined to be necessary. The accounting policies described below are those that most frequently require management to make estimates and judgments, and therefore are critical to understanding our results of operations. Senior management has discussed the development and selection of these accounting estimates and the related disclosures with the audit committee of our board of directors.

Inventories—

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the specific identification method to value our vehicle inventories and the “first-in, first-out” method (“FIFO”) to account for our parts inventories. We maintain a reserve for specific inventory units where cost basis exceeds fair value. In assessing lower of cost or market for new vehicles, we primarily consider the aging of vehicles and loss histories, along with the timing of annual and model changeovers. The assessment of lower of cost or market for used vehicles considers recent data and trends such as loss histories, current aging of the inventory and current market conditions. These reserves were $4.9 million and $4.6 million as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Notes Receivable—Finance Contracts—

As of December 31, 2004 and 2003, we had outstanding notes receivable from finance contracts of $30.9 million and $32.0 million, respectively (net of an allowance for credit losses of $6.2 million and $4.7 million, respectively). These notes have initial terms ranging from 12 to 60 months, and are collateralized by the related vehicles. The assessment of our allowance for credit losses considers historical loss ratios and the performance of the current portfolio with respect to past due accounts. We continually analyze our current portfolio against our historical performance. In addition, we attribute minimal value to the underlying collateral in our assessment of the reserve.

F&I Chargeback Reserve—

We receive commissions from the sale of vehicle service contracts, credit life insurance and disability insurance to customers. In addition, we receive commissions from financing institutions for arranging customer financing. We may be charged back (“chargebacks”) for finance, insurance or vehicle service contract commissions in the event a contract is terminated. The revenues from financing fees and commissions are recorded at the time the vehicles are sold and a reserve for future chargebacks is established based on historical operating results and the termination provisions of the applicable contracts. This data is evaluated on a product-by-product basis. These reserves were $12.0 million and $11.8 million as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Equity-Based Compensation—

We account for stock-based compensation issued to employees in accordance with Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees.” APB Opinion No. 25 requires the use of the intrinsic value method, which measures compensation cost as the excess, if any, of the quoted market price of the stock at the measurement date over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock. We have adopted the disclosure provisions of SFAS No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure-An amendment of FASB Statement No. 123.”  See also “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” below for a discussion of the impact on our financial statements from the adoption of SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-based Payment.”

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APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and assumptions and the effects of revisions are reflected in the financial statements in the period in which they are determined to be necessary. The accounting policies described below are those that most frequently require management to make estimates and judgments, and therefore are critical to understanding our results of operations. Senior management has discussed the development and selection of these accounting estimates and the related disclosures with the audit committee of our board of directors.

Inventories—

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the specific identification method to value our vehicle inventories and the “first-in, first-out” method (“FIFO”) to account for our parts inventories. We maintain a reserve for specific inventory units where cost basis exceeds fair value. In assessing lower of cost or market for new vehicles, we primarily consider the aging of vehicles and loss histories, along with the timing of annual and model changeovers. The assessment of lower of cost or market for used vehicles considers recent data and trends such as loss histories, current aging of the inventory and current market conditions. These reserves were $4.8 million and $4.9 million as of March 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, respectively.

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Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. Actual amounts could differ from those estimates. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates and assumptions and the effects of revisions are reflected in the financial statements in the period in which they are determined to be necessary. The accounting policies described below are those that most frequently require management to make estimates and judgments, and therefore are critical to understanding our results of operations. Senior management has discussed the development and selection of these accounting estimates and the related disclosures with the audit committee of our board of directors.

Inventories—

Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market. We use the specific identification method to value our vehicle inventories and the “first-in, first-out” method (“FIFO”) to account for our parts inventories. We maintain a reserve for specific inventory units where cost basis exceeds fair value. In assessing lower of cost or market for new vehicles, we primarily consider the aging of vehicles and loss histories, along with the timing of annual and model changeovers. The assessment of lower of cost or market for used vehicles considers recent data and trends such as loss histories, current aging of the inventory and current market conditions. These reserves were $4.9 million and $4.6 million as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Notes Receivable—Finance Contracts—

As of December 31, 2004 and 2003, we had outstanding notes receivable from finance contracts of $30.9 million and $32.0 million, respectively (net of an allowance for credit losses of $6.3 million and $4.7 million, respectively). These notes have initial terms ranging from 12 to 60 months, and are collateralized by the related vehicles. The assessment of our allowance for credit losses considers historical loss ratios and the performance of the current portfolio with respect to past due accounts. We continually analyze our current portfolio against our historical performance. In addition, we attribute minimal value to the underlying collateral in our assessment of the reserve.

F&I Chargeback Reserve—

We receive commissions from the sale of vehicle service contracts, credit life insurance and disability insurance to customers. In addition, we receive commissions from financing institutions for arranging customer financing. We may be charged back (“chargebacks”) for finance, insurance or vehicle service contract commissions in the event a contract is terminated. The revenues from financing fees and commissions are recorded at the time the vehicles are sold and a reserve for future chargebacks is established based on historical operating results and the termination provisions of the applicable contracts. This data is evaluated on a product-by-product basis. These reserves were $12.0 million and $11.8 million as of December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

Equity-Based Compensation—

We account for stock-based compensation issued to employees in accordance with Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees.” APB Opinion No. 25 requires the use of the intrinsic value method, which measures compensation cost as the excess, if any, of the quoted market price of the stock at the measurement date over the amount an employee must pay to acquire the stock. We have adopted the disclosure provisions of SFAS No. 148, “Accounting for

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Stock-Based Compensation-Transition and Disclosure-An amendment of FASB Statement No. 123.”  See also “Recent Accounting Pronouncements” below for a discussion of the impact on our financial statements from the adoption of SFAS No. 123 (revised 2004), “Share-based Payment.”

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets—

In accordance with SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” we do not amortize goodwill and other intangible assets, that are deemed to have indefinite lives. We test these assets for impairment at least annually, or more frequently if any event occurs or circumstances change that indicate possible impairment. We have determined that manufacturer franchise rights have an indefinite life as there are no legal, contractual, economic or other factors that limit their useful lives and they are expected to generate cash flows indefinitely due to the historically long lives of the manufacturers’ brand names. Goodwill and manufacturer franchise rights are allocated to each reporting unit at the platform and dealership level, respectively. The fair market value of our manufacturer franchise rights is determined at the acquisition date through discounting the projected cash flows attributable to each franchise. Goodwill represents the excess cost of the businesses acquired over the fair market value of the identifiable net assets.

Upon adoption of SFAS No. 142 on January 1, 2002, we determined that each of our platforms qualified as a reporting unit as we operate in one segment, and our platforms are one level below our corporate level, discrete financial information existed for each platform and the management of each platform directly reviewed the platform’s performance. In late 2004, we began the process of reorganizing our platforms into four regions. Within this more streamlined structure, we will evaluate our operations and financial results by dealership, rather than by platform. The general managers, with direction from the regional CEOs, will continue to have the independence and flexibility to respond effectively to local market conditions. We anticipate that changes in our management, operational and reporting structure, which became effective in January 2005, and additional changes to be made in 2005 will ultimately lead us to the determination that goodwill will be evaluated at the operating segment level in the future.

We review goodwill and indefinite lived manufacturer franchise rights for impairment annually on October 1^st of each year, or more often if events or circumstances indicate that impairment may have occurred. We are subject to financial statement risk to the extent that intangible assets become impaired due to decreases in the related fair market value of our underlying businesses.

All other intangible assets are deemed to have definite lives and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the life of the asset ranging from 3 to 15 years and are tested for impairment when circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset might be impaired.

Accrued Expenses—

Payments owed to our various service providers are expensed during the month in which the applicable service is performed. The amount of these expenses is dependent upon information provided by our internal systems and processes. Due to the length of time necessary to receive accurate information, estimates of amounts due are necessary in order to record monthly expenses. In subsequent months, expenses are reconciled and adjusted where necessary. We continue to refine the estimation process based on an increased understanding of the time requirements and close working relationships with our service providers.