In today's 20 group meetings, in circles, while attending a new car showing, and just about anywhere you go, dealers are talking about their DMS provider. Even DMS providers seem to be talking about each other, sometimes benignly, other times with soft-malice. And finally, it seems DMS providers today, as I read the litany of articles, want to offer advice on…

Instead of spending this year wondering how many people will be buying cars, we need to invest our mindshare in competing for those that WILL!

We do not know the full impact tariffs, rising interest rates, autonomous vehicles, ridesharing and digital retailing will have on our dealerships.  We do know that even if the number of people shopping for a car holds steady in 2019, the competition to turn those shoppers into buyers is ratcheting up every day. So how do we…

Connectiv Prospect update doubles social media impressions & decreases Cost Per Vehicle Sold,

at no additional cost to dealers

Chicago, IL- January 7, 2018- Affinitiv has added Instagram social ads to Connectiv Prospect, its conquest campaign marketing solution for auto dealerships. In a 30-day pilot at…

End-Of-Year Seasonality Causes Index To Decline Ahead of Spring Selling Season

Black Book, a division of Hearst that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for December (116.3), dipping slightly from the previous month (116.5). December showed the first decline in the Index dating back to May.…

New features allow auto dealers to collect and store digitally signed documents, streamlining F&I and fixed ops processes

Albany, N.Y. – January 7, 2018 – Auto/Mate Dealership Systems has released its eDEAL™ Signature Capture feature, a digital contracting tool that allows F&I managers to easily capture signatures, store electronically signed documents and email digital deal jackets to customers. In conjunction with eDEAL™, Auto/Mate has also…

New Solution builds a "Human Firewall" that Reduces Risk of Phishing Attacks from 27% to 2%

Timonium, MD –­ January 7, 2019 –­ Helion Automotive Technologies is offering a new security awareness training program for auto dealership employees. The solution is designed to build a "human firewall" that reduces the risk of data breaches from…

If you are getting into the business of auto repair, you might need to know a few things to keep it run effectively. First of all, you register your company and provide with high-quality repairs to build up your reputation in the market.

Whatever auto repair industry you get into, here are a few tips which you consider to ensure that your investment doesn’t go wasted.…

The word “transparency” gets floated around the automotive industry quite often – especially in the last few years. The days of “the invoice is locked in a safe at the corporate office” are gone and consumers have all of the access to data that they need. Yet some Dealerships are still trying to play the game.

I understand that dealerships need…

For car dealers, the opportunity to create loyal customers might start with a sale, but true loyalty is created in the service department. According to a 2017 IHS Markit study, the average length of car ownership is nearly seven years. That's a long time to maintain a relationship with someone until the next sales cycle.

So, the focus must be…

Are you in the market for a new vehicle and have little or no credit?

There are more than 45 million Americans with little to no credit history at all. This lack of credit history can make it a challenge to secure financing for a new or used vehicle. But just because you have no credit does not mean you cannot find the vehicle you…

On the off chance that you are searching for an ideal mix of style, usefulness and innovation, at that point the new Cadillac Escalade, offered at INKAS, is the best decision. Including a roomy inside with hand-completed plan contacts, triple-fixed inset entryways and Bose Active Noise Cancellation, the lodge of this SUV is incredibly peaceful and quiet. Possess the new Cadillac Escalade and be all the rage in INKAS. The specialists at our dealership are at your administration, and will…

How confident are you that your dealership can withstand a cyber attack? In my experience, most dealers underestimate the threat of attack and overestimate their ability to withstand an attack.

When looking at your internal information technology (IT) strategy, it's important to understand where cyber attacks originate.

 …

When it comes to working conferences, there are many different thought processes. The first, of course, is that a lot of money is spent between the cost of renting the booth space, sponsorship, the actual booth itself, staffing, swag, prizes and travel expenses. Conferences are indeed a considerable investment, and everyone wants to see a return on their…

Albany, N.Y. – January 2, 2018 – In today's age of social media, Weinstein and the #MeToo movement, dealers can't afford to be passive about workplace harassment. At the upcoming NADA Convention & Expo, Auto/Mate's Chief People Officer Dave Druzynski will present the legal and monetary repercussions of a harassment claim, and offer best practices and training recommendations to prevent a claim from happening in the first place.

"Nowadays, harassment…

Attribution? Some Dealers Still Don’t Even Track Leads and Sales!

There’s been a push for over a year among some automotive digital marketers to shift dealers’ focus away from traditional return-on-investment measurements (like leads, calls and sales) toward something called multi-touch attribution.

While this isn’t an…

We have built Margin Plus from the ground up with only one purpose in mind. That purpose is to file Warranty Reimbursement Increases for new car dealerships! Start the year off right with more gross in your pocket!

New Year’s…

-by Sally Whitesell for Dealer Service Magazine

Every time I do a seminar I am reminded about how confused advisors, and even managers, can be about the true responsibilities of a service advisor’s position. We simply need look at the title “Service Advisor” to get a clear understanding that this job is…

Read the headlines and you see it everywhere: online used vehicle sales are booming.

Carvana is expanding into dozens of new markets and although it has yet to turn a profit, its vehicle unit sales more than doubled and gross profit nearly tripled in Q3 2018. The retailer just announced $2 billion in financing from Ally…

As the current year is winding down it’s a common practice for people to set goals for the upcoming Year. Everyone calls these goals New Year’s resolutions. It’s the time of year people evaluate what they desire to accomplish and write them down as a New Year’s resolution to tackle on January 1st. Although I love…

Have you ever eagerly awaited the release of a great new movie? Anticipation mounts as release day approaches. Then you go and see it, only to leave disappointed. I’m sure I can name plenty of box office bombs which were initially hyped up and expected to be box office blockbusters. If you look at the factors involved in what makes a “bomb” versus a…