THE DATA POLICE HAVE ARRIVED
Most recently there has been a bold new wave washing over the automotive dealership landscape. Beginning with TrueCar, whose CEO bragged about using data to eliminate dealerships and lower profits below True Cost. He arrogantly taunted us with claims of "Transparency" which has become the "Buzz Word" of every vendor using our own data to virtually put us out of business, to steal our customers information, and sell it, pass it on to their affiliate companies, and otherwise resell it to third and fourth parties.
WELL, the revolution is here... and we, the dealers, managers, and industry loyalists are committed to locking down the DATA. Remember, cockroaches run when you shine a light on them.
We realize that vendors need access to SOME DATA to be able to perform their services BUT, virtually every vendor taking Data from the dealers- Data that ultimately shows up elsewhere being used against us - every vendor is taking far more Data than necessary and making dealers sign agreements that they can resell it, and pass it to affiliates, and that the VENDOR OWNS your customer data.
So many Dealers have signed contracts that THE VENDOR OWNS YOUR DATA.
THAT IS SO WRONG. By what right does any vendor you are paying have to claim to own your customers? That is total backwards crap and you know it. DEALERS-Your data is your BLUE SKY and you are signing contracts that allow vendors to own your customers and steal your legacy.
These vendors include, DMS Providers, CRM Companies, Lead Providers, Third Party Aggregators... and others, there are even OEMs (Manufacturers) stealing data from service and sales and even finance information on your customers and redistributing it.
The purpose of this BLOG is THE FIRST SHOT in the Data Reclamation Revolution.
We intend to educate Dealers as to what vendors are lifting your DATA... what they're doing with Your Data... Who they're selling it to or passing it along to.
Remember, the dealer is legally and liabilally responsible for the privacy and security of your data, not the vendor that contractually stole it and sold it.
AND we urge Dealers to responsibly call all of these vendors to task... either rewrite your contract or Cancel Them.
It is the purpose of this BLOG to expose those vendors and publish the offending parts of their agreements here. Remember, the vendor that screams loudest is probably the most guilty. JIM
Comment
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Comment by Thomas A. Kelly on January 15, 2012 at 11:53am
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" Following launch, TrueCar and HomeNet will add advanced analytical tools that combine automotive inventory, transaction, and production data to its IOL solution. Both companies will also explore ways through which IOL users can reach TrueCar’s vast audience of in-market buyers: more than 15,000 TrueCar Price Reports are generated daily on TrueCar.com and its network of syndication partners (such as Vehix and US News Autos). "
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Comment by David T. Gould on January 15, 2012 at 11:52am
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CarFax amazed me by their ability, initially, to get state Motor Vehicle registration information and insurance companies cooperation. Dealership data (DMS access authorization), to my knowledge, comes from a clause tucked within the dealership CarFax contract agreement. Interesting to note the possibility (probability) of the signer of the CarFax agreement for a dealership would likely be a sales manager (new or used)... not the dealer or executive manager I would expect to be responsible for data release (DMS access).
Moral to this post... dealers should be personally aware and responsible for of any data access included in a vendor contract. DMS access is definable and trackable. DMS providers should be able to get that information to dealers upon request. Upon review, dealers and their data decision makers can remove unacceptable access tomorrow.
Note: I do not see CarFax as dealer problem. Their service does bring transparency to a pre-owned vehicle purchase by providing a reasonable history of a submitted vehicle FOR THE DEALER prior to trade as it does for the consumer at the time of purchase. I see CarFax as a double edge sword that came back to cut the original car owner when they have an issue with their car that they most likely were not going to disclose to the dealer. Their advertising campaign could use a make over.
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@ JIM...Concerns me as well...but what would be the basis of an announced "partnership" between Homenet and TC if it is not data sharing?....that is what each does.
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Comment by James A. Ziegler on January 15, 2012 at 11:45am
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Okay Orest, those are the questions this Blog is addressing... I am asking the Group on this community and beyond to start researching vendor contracts and asking those questions and publishing all of it here.
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Comment by Orest D Serwylo on January 15, 2012 at 11:33am -
Let's start with CarFax and be specific on;
1. What data does the dealer think CarFax are capturing
2. What data does CarFax say they are capturing
3. What data IS actually being captured
Answering the above questions on a vendor basis should prove very enlightening!
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Comment by Scott Falcone on January 15, 2012 at 11:32am
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Jim,
On another unrelated "data" note, let's not forget Edmunds and their undercover salesperson story they loved to run showcasing how evil the industry is. This is old, old news for most of us, but for newbs this may be something they are unaware of. Don't lose sight of their attitude and opinons of us and consider alternatives to any vendor who is not truly dealer centric.
First story http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman-pg2...
Updated http://www.edmunds.com/car-buying/confessions-of-a-car-salesman-upd...
It's high time that the public and the vendors realized that the industry, is for the most part a changed environment from when these perceptions were created and any vendor who wants to pit consumer against dealer should not be welcomed into the stores to collect their checks.
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Thomas, I find the HomeNet Connection with TrueCar extremely troubling. I have been assured that even though DealerTrack has a 15% Stock ownership in TrueCar that they are sharing No Data.
All I can say is that when the dust settles all will be out in the open with everything about everybody. it is my intent to awaken a sleeping army of investigators.
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HOMENET Is in many of our DMS. And are partners with TrueCar and others that vend to dealers.
"TrueCar, Inc., the authority on new car pricing, and HomeNet Automotive, the leading automotive inventory online marketing solution, announced a partnership today...."
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Comment by Jim Kristoff on January 15, 2012 at 11:23am
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A Dealers date is "KING"......
Dealers need to protect it and "utilize and mine" it for their own ROI!!!
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I'll start it off, CarFax to me is the enemy within the gates. They run television commercials portraying Dealers as "Crooks" playing on stereotypical fears they perpetuate about us... The Cute Little Fox Rats Out the Crooked Dealer to the Customer. And then they Tell The Customer What to Pay for the Car.
By what right have they done this? Why are we paying them to do that? AND Manufacturers are climbing in bed with them.. These people do not appear to be our friends but somebody is feeding them the data they survive on... much of it appears to be from dealerships. I'd like somebody to research deeply not emotionally to Where 'Specifically' naming names, where does CarFax get their data? AND, if it's the dealers DMS or DMS Provider or manufacturer, let's see what can be done to shut that down. Turn off the Data...
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