I can offer you a couple of options that maybe you have or have not thought about. I have personally been a part of both of these so I know that they work.

1. Find an Independent Repair Shop in your area that wants some work. I looked and it seems that there are quite a few shops in Rolla. You supply the parts. This will potentially upset your existing shop because of course you are going to sub out the less complex stuff. On the other hand, they may not care.

2. Run a 2nd shift. This one can be tricky since your store closes at 6:00. When I did this, the sales department was open until 9:00.

I don't know if the second one is really an option for you. You want to improve efficiency, not make it worse. Pushing half done vehicles out so the 2nd shift has a hoist might run you backward.

Aimee said:

You can use it to analyze numbers by salesperson: walk-ins, phone-ups, internet leads, etc., to see where the salesman is strongest and where you may have training opportunities. Then, you can have it compare it month over month or three/ six months to see if there are trends.

Click to expand...

Remember what I said, the more complex the task, the more prone it is to 'hallucinations'. Amiee's example is complex.

AI struggles with complex MATH calculations. ALWAYS VERIFY.

I should add that I have been paying for the unlimited report account for years with no issues, so what changed?

An over 400% increase is absolutely insane (right after 15% increase last year as well). I won't pay it and I suspect a lot of smaller dealers won't either. They really have a monopoly in the auto industry. Autocheck is not good enough to be any real competition. I hope enough dealers complain and close their accounts.

I use stockwave and carbly (for their google plug in tool).

Comment Gen Prompt:

You (chatgpt) are a video marketing and merchandising expert in automotive retail. I want you to create compelling and engaging product descriptions for used cars displayed on vehicle detail pages of automotive websites.
`
You will follow the following process: 1) Your first response will be to ask me what Year, Make, Model, Trim and Miles are. Based on my input, you will identify the vehicle segment this vehicle belongs to. You will use the vehicle segment to guide the context narrative of the product description you are building.

You will wait for this information. 2) Once you have it, you will ask: “please provide all the installed key features of the vehicle. Based on my input, you will categorize and group these features into safety, seating, technology, exterior, and other categories to enhance the product description."
3) Once you have this information, ask for "the Unique Selling Proposition of your dealership.”


Once you have all 3 segments of information, The narrative of the Vehicle segment should be used in all sections of this work. The description you are creating should be structured into sections: a) Opening Paragraph: A witty intro of 300 characters or less that speaks to a few key features of the vehicle, b) Create Paragraphs that have more information: Create Colorful Product Feature Description with features. You will need to categorize and present features in this order: 1). safety, 2). seating, 3). technology, 4) exterior, and 5) all remaining categories, and c) Dealer's Unique Selling Proposition, which will be a fixed block of text created separately and added at the end of the product description. The tone should speak to both the practical and emotional enjoyment of the features and the car itself.

AI Personal Car Shopping Assistant is here

PREPARE FOR YOUR MIND TO BE BLOWN UP​

Yes, I am talking about that slow site. There is something much larger in the works. We have something massive in the pipes

It isn't just a website redesign.

Tomorrow on RefreshFriday, @joe.pistell is on to dive into the AI solutions we use daily. This is something for everyone as we will talk about stuff anyone can use. This will vary from browsers to writing solutions to full-on examples of how problems can be solved quickly.

Controversial threads generate good conversations. I'm one to roll into a meeting and tell everyone we are going to do this giant outlandish thing or that they're all wrong and watch the fireworks. By the end of the meeting, everyone has had a chance to speak their mind, and we end up working together in the same direction (maybe a totally different direction).

I do know that Ben's website solution is on the pricier side. And there are 500 ways to measure the same stat: "There are lies, then there are damn lies, and then there are stats."

Keep posting! Keep pushing the bar here, @DjSec. I'm glad you found DealerRefresh

My main company is about to start a complete website overhaul, and you've done an excellent job of reminding me of the importance of page speed and SEO.

OMG, we're all busy, but I just realized my used car insurance payment is super high!!!

Helping car buyers factor in insurance and offering a lower payments Time to explore this space!!!
DISC? Hell yea.

DjSec said:

The problem is the OEM's have the dealerships hands tied behind their back so it is hard to test, with that being said Koons.com did test it and said that they saw a 800% increases in conversion two weeks in and 60 days in it jumped to a 1400% increase in conversion.

Click to expand...

I like what you're saying and agree with you. However, I want to point out that there are very few dealerships on that platform for some reason. Ben Hadley is a friend (he lives down the street from me), and I know him to be incredibly aggressive when the blood of opportunity drips in the water. Something is a little off on this one.

Not saying they are fudging the numbers, but if that kind of lead increase is consistent it wouldn't matter how much they charged. Dealers would be lined up to buy it.

With that said, it has been a while since we last hosted Ben on RefreshFriday. It may be time to revisit things!

I want to thank @MotoAcquireMike and @jon.berna and announce a partnership between LVL UP Auto and DealerRefresh. Mike is the first to experience this partnership!

Vendors: LVL UP Auto showcases dealership solutions in many ways. You can see just one with the video posted above. Then, DealerRefresh helps to highlight these brands through banner ads, forum content, and other options. If you are curious about seeing what LVL UP Auto can do for your solution, hit @jon.berna up or visit LVL Up Auto - Dealership Vendor Platform

Dealers: after watching the video above, give @MotoAcquireMike a hollar if you're interested. You'll see his banners branded on DealerRefresh, and clicking those is also a good way to go ....as Steve Stauning says "Ad click Friday," but you can click any day of the week.

dude, easy on the AI gen content.

+Matt Watson - the old CTO of VinSolutions. He is the reason why our rules about solicitations are almost double all other rules:

General Rules said:

General Rules include:

• While debating and discussion is fine, we will not tolerate rudeness, insulting posts, personal attacks or purposeless inflammatory posts. Our decision is final in these matters.
• Please refrain from posting meaningless threads, one word (or short) non-sense posts, or the such.
• Multiple or repeated posting in order to increase your post count is not allowed.
• Advertising, spamming and trolling is not allowed. This includes using the forum, email, visitor messages, blog comments, picture comments and private message or conversation features to spam and promote your services without invitation to do so to other members.
• Please wait a reasonable amount of time before bumping posts. 12 hours is a reasonable time to wait.
• We also do not allow posts or links to sites that are sexual, racial, or religious in nature. The moderating team shall be the sole arbitrator of what does and what does not violate community standards.
• Discussion of illegal activities such as software and music piracy and other intellectual property violations are not allowed.
• Each member is allowed one login account. Registering with multiple accounts is not allowed.
• We reserve the right to remove offensive posts without notice.
• English is the preferred language here. If you must post in a different language, please post an English translation in that same posting.
• Also while these rules cover most common situations, they cannot anticipate everything. Consequently we reserve the right to take any actions we deem appropriate to ensure these forums are not disrupted or abused in any way.
• Vendors: Blatant advertising, promoting or solicitation is NOT allowed! Discretion over what is an advertisement is left to the moderators, so ask one before you post. If you don’t ask, it will be deleted and your username will be flagged.
• We also reserve the right to ban anyone who wilfully violates the forum rules, as access to our support forums are a privilege and not a right.

Advertising Services and Solicitation

We recognize the need for a vendor to offer a solution to any user who is struggling with something. There are tactful ways to do this so that you are not in violation of the forum rules. If you need help constructing a post or thread that does not violate the DealerRefresh rules, feel free to ask me for assistance. Moderators have discretion in determining what is a helpful posting and what is purely a solicitation. Please respect their decisions.

Here is a simple way to look at it: Before you post, ask yourself if your post is being made solely for Promotional Reasons. If so, don't post.

Take advantage of your Profile Page. Everyone has the availability to utilize their Profile Page by filling the corresponding fields for Company/Dealer Name, Homepage URL, Services, and you Signature line(s). Don't go overboard and have your signature looking all SPAMY with images, over using BOLD text and links to every feature page on your company website. Be tasteful.

If someone (dealership) *genuinely* starts a thread about your product and/or services, feel free to take the opportunity to respond with class. Answer any questions while providing help or advice if and when needed.

Members are encouraged to use the reporting feature when they come across a posting or a thread they feel is an outright solicitation. Members are also encouraged to forward solicitations Jeff Kershner or Alex Snyder.

Click to expand...

Ryan Everson said:

In memoriam @kcar @Alexander Lau

Click to expand...

...and don't forget "lightnup" from the the old blog comment section.

joe.pistell said:

@Jeff Kershner and @Alex Snyder, I'm about 20 yrs older than you two, and, 20 yrs ago you thought I was old 'Uncle Joe' .

You are now surrounded by youngsters... how's it feel being Uncle Jeff and Uncle Alex

Click to expand...

Well sheeeeeeeeeit.... I hadn't thought of that before

@Jeff Kershner and @Alex Snyder, I'm about 20 yrs older than you two, and, 20 yrs ago you thought I was old 'Uncle Joe' .

You are now surrounded by youngsters... how's it feel being Uncle Jeff and Uncle Alex

I've learned so much here, TY both!

Proud to be DR's #1 troll
-Uncle Joe
Joe Pistell
Founder, AutoMagic Labs
https://www.automagiclabs.ai/

Smart move for Nissan. And if you’re a Jeep or RAM dealer you should advertise your entire inventory as “Pre-tariff vehicles ready to go!” …in September

Okay, funny - not funny.

Zack_AF said:

Quite the milestone! Might've joined the party a little late but glad it's still here and hope its around for 20 more! I know people have sort of migrated away from forums over the last 10-15 years in favor of social platforms but they fortunately/unfortunately lack the organization of topics/information.

Click to expand...

We did see the move to Facebook Groups not too long ago. However, there has been a recent surge of visitors and new members who claim they found us through AI searches. Facebook isn’t giving access to other AIs, so that’s a win for us!

Speaking of Facebook Groups, I had to turn off the Life in a Car Dealership Group with all the tariff hysteria. I’ll jump back in after people calm down and things go back to normal in 60 days.

That doesn't feel like 20 years ago. Are you sure this isn't an April Fool's gag?

I wish I could remember my "handle" for the old blog comments section. I was active, but my participation wasn't, um, sanctioned by the marketing team at the company I worked for. I retract my earlier statement... that DOES feel like 20 yrs ago. ha!