Websites made by a company that doesn't specialize in dealerships?

[Chris Leslie]

looks like usedcarking.com is a Dealer.com site.

My very late 2 Cents:

The only reason why you would want to go with a web dev other than an auto dealer solution is because you want to have code access. I will tell you though unless you have a basic knowledge of working with PHP or SQL databases. You are better off going with a provider.

 

[craigh]

The only reason why you would want to go with a web dev other than an auto dealer solution is because you want to have code access. I will tell you though unless you have a basic knowledge of working with PHP or SQL databases. You are better off going with a provider.

There are plenty of other reasons that have nothing to do with the dealership themselves needing code access. Having professional developers build your site custom for your dealership means that it's going to have all the features you want, the exact theme you want, the Google Goals integration you want, the A/B testing functionality you want, etc etc. You may never touch the code, but you'll get all these features from your non-automotive vendor.

I come from both sides of the coin because I offer out-of-the-box website solution with extensive customization but I also have clients who needed to be outside of the box and I consulted for them when they went to a non-automotive vendor to have their website built. There's certainly an expertise to be had in automotive (ie: what someone like Uncle Joe brings to the table), but not all automotive vendors even have that.

 

[Chris Leslie]

@craigh - Totally... Also, thats exactly what I mean by "Code Access" the only way to do those types of things in most cases is to add the code, scripts, pages, plugins yourself.

 

[craigh]

@craigh - Totally... Also, thats exactly what I mean by "Code Access" the only way to do those types of things in most cases is to add the code, scripts, pages, plugins yourself.

Ok correct, then we're on the same page.
I thought you were insinuating that someone at the dealership needed to know PHP - that's what you pay your vendor for, whether they're automotive or not.