Is Dealertrack truly an integrated DMS across all modules or is it a 'bolt on' concept where you choose an integration such as QuickBooks, etc?
Dealertrack Reviews?
- Thread starter ChrisB
- Start date
It is the old Arkona system that they have put a GUI on to make it look better. It is a full store DMS with Accounting/Sales/F&I/Service/Parts
It's a horrible system for parts and service. Server is constantly down and customer service is well below poor.
- Apr 27, 2016
- 4
- 3
- First Name
- Nathan
I helped a dealer migrate to Arkona several years before it became DealerTrack DMS and I have since made several custom applications that integrate with it. DealerTrack DMS is by no means perfect (the Parts functionality is particularly bad.. I mean what inventory system doesn't have a way to track "lost sales?"), but from an integration standpoint it is leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. They have built in functionality to automatically run data reports and have them sent to a file server every day. More recently, they have provided the OpenTrack initiative that allows authorized third party vendors to have real-time read and/or write access to data within your DMS.
The base DMS weak points I have witnessed closely resemble Shylani's experience:
...Oops, my "noob" is showing. I just realized this is an older thread, so this feedback may not matter any more for the original poster(s). Guess I'll pay more attention to that in the future.
The base DMS weak points I have witnessed closely resemble Shylani's experience:
- The Human Resources and Parts modules, especially inventory management, seem hacked together and not well planned out. This results in users having to work around the DMS and manually force the system to do things it should be able to automatically do.
- The server is not at the dealership and is shared by multiple dealers. When there is a problem, it generally impacts all users at multiple dealerships. They are generally reasonably quick to resolve the issue, but customer service seems to be unresponsive when they already know "the server is down."
...Oops, my "noob" is showing. I just realized this is an older thread, so this feedback may not matter any more for the original poster(s). Guess I'll pay more attention to that in the future.
Stay away! constantly logs you out, doesn't do as much as Reynolds does, if internet is slow good luck writing a repair order, seems do be designed like the old DOS systems... if you don't know the shortcuts your screwed. limited to what is shown on screen, constantly not placing our parts orders or only submits partial orders, tech support is horrendous. was supposed to intergrate with xtime, which is owned by Cox automotive also, and it doesn't. the only advice that they offer you is "when you get used to it you will like it".... been 3 months and nobody at our dealership likes it, we had 2 people from one of our dealerships quit because of this program.I am looking at other employment because of dealertrack.I have talked to other dealerships and they hate it also for the same reasons as I have listed. my advice is look elsewhere!
- Jun 25, 2021
- 2
- 2
- Awards
- 1
- First Name
- Tracy
I will give you my honest opinion. STAY AWAY FROM DEALERTRACK! What a horrid POS! Its like a DMS you would get if you ordered off of wish! Things I use to do in 1 step on CDK now take me 4+ steps. I could make this comment 25 pages long on how shitty dealertrack is but I will cut it down to a few major complaints. Now this is coming from a parts standpoint but make no mistake I'm a 35 year vet in this business and I can tell you without a doubt this is the worst system ever invented! I would rather go back to pulling cards then using this time wasting hunk of crap!
1) Every process when finished takes you back to the main screen. You will find yourself entering your work number more in one month then you did in the past 3 years
2) The simplest tasks are now a pain in the ass! No more is there a scrolling window to show you each line of an RO ohhh no no now dealertrack puts them into windows. So if you have 4 pages and you need to make a few changes on line 4? After each change it will take you back to page 1 and now you have to click the little button to go back to page 4 for each part you need to adjust. TIME WASTEING POS!
3) Invoices use to be simplistic now you have to jump thru 40 hoops just to make an invoice, The SOP section is a pain in the ass also., You cant fill it from the RO nooooooo you have to go into the SOP screen to do that.
4) Pray you never have to find a customers invoice that they lost because dealertrack makes it so you can pull up the customer number but then leaves all the info behind their stupid little window system. So if you click on one and thats not the right one? When you click out of it it takes you ALL THE WAY BACK to where you have to put in the customer number again.
5) The PO system is horseshit! When making a PO you need to have 3 questions answered, Who are you buying from? What are you buying? and Where is it going? Dealertracks system has where you are buying from and that's it. No place to put a part number or RO number. These are basic functions that a toddler understands you need but dealertrack says their system cant do that. So when you need to find an old purchase order for warranty purposes? Good luck!
6) Just the simple act of opening a screen to check part numbers is a pain in the ass because it constantly wants to create an invoice for everything you type in. It wants to track purchases from jobbers like Napa. I don't need to track that shit I don't stock it!
7) The system loves to make up its own pricing, Between parts and service we are constantly going in and changing pricing. Some parts it marks up anywhere from 180% to 300%. We have been on the phone with dealertrack countless times to resolve this issue and their programmers are just and dumb as the people who designed this junk.
8) X-time is made by the same company so it should work seamlessly but instead they work like oil and water! They don't communicate with each other, the messaging system is a pain in the ass, 1/2 the time you don't even get the messages. This system touts it as a great communication tool but the truth is it takes away communication and makes everything a pain in the ass and takes twice as long. Now you have to send messages to people instead of having them right there to answer your questions instantly. People aren't sitting in front of their PC's all day waiting for messages. The only thing this system does is change it from when the Tech use to come to the counter with a list and you could ask them questions and get answers instantly to now you have to either sit and wait OR go track down the tech to get your questions answered. A complete waste of time and energy!
This is just a few of the top gripes I have about this system. This post could be 10 times longer. after 35+ years of this business I can honestly say this system has me looking for a new job.
Save yourself and your employees the frustration of using a system designed by morons! Spend the money and go with the big names! Rey Rey or CDK! You get what you pay for. In the case of Dealertrack you actually get LESS then what you are paying for!
1) Every process when finished takes you back to the main screen. You will find yourself entering your work number more in one month then you did in the past 3 years
2) The simplest tasks are now a pain in the ass! No more is there a scrolling window to show you each line of an RO ohhh no no now dealertrack puts them into windows. So if you have 4 pages and you need to make a few changes on line 4? After each change it will take you back to page 1 and now you have to click the little button to go back to page 4 for each part you need to adjust. TIME WASTEING POS!
3) Invoices use to be simplistic now you have to jump thru 40 hoops just to make an invoice, The SOP section is a pain in the ass also., You cant fill it from the RO nooooooo you have to go into the SOP screen to do that.
4) Pray you never have to find a customers invoice that they lost because dealertrack makes it so you can pull up the customer number but then leaves all the info behind their stupid little window system. So if you click on one and thats not the right one? When you click out of it it takes you ALL THE WAY BACK to where you have to put in the customer number again.
5) The PO system is horseshit! When making a PO you need to have 3 questions answered, Who are you buying from? What are you buying? and Where is it going? Dealertracks system has where you are buying from and that's it. No place to put a part number or RO number. These are basic functions that a toddler understands you need but dealertrack says their system cant do that. So when you need to find an old purchase order for warranty purposes? Good luck!
6) Just the simple act of opening a screen to check part numbers is a pain in the ass because it constantly wants to create an invoice for everything you type in. It wants to track purchases from jobbers like Napa. I don't need to track that shit I don't stock it!
7) The system loves to make up its own pricing, Between parts and service we are constantly going in and changing pricing. Some parts it marks up anywhere from 180% to 300%. We have been on the phone with dealertrack countless times to resolve this issue and their programmers are just and dumb as the people who designed this junk.
8) X-time is made by the same company so it should work seamlessly but instead they work like oil and water! They don't communicate with each other, the messaging system is a pain in the ass, 1/2 the time you don't even get the messages. This system touts it as a great communication tool but the truth is it takes away communication and makes everything a pain in the ass and takes twice as long. Now you have to send messages to people instead of having them right there to answer your questions instantly. People aren't sitting in front of their PC's all day waiting for messages. The only thing this system does is change it from when the Tech use to come to the counter with a list and you could ask them questions and get answers instantly to now you have to either sit and wait OR go track down the tech to get your questions answered. A complete waste of time and energy!
This is just a few of the top gripes I have about this system. This post could be 10 times longer. after 35+ years of this business I can honestly say this system has me looking for a new job.
Save yourself and your employees the frustration of using a system designed by morons! Spend the money and go with the big names! Rey Rey or CDK! You get what you pay for. In the case of Dealertrack you actually get LESS then what you are paying for!
Last edited:
Hey Tracy, how's your day?
I am not a DealerTrack DMS user, so I do not share in your pain. I can however feel it in your post. Hope you find some relief.
- Jun 25, 2021
- 2
- 2
- Awards
- 1
- First Name
- Tracy
I will give you my honest opinion. STAY AWAY FROM DEALERTRACK! What a horrid POS! Its like a DMS you would get if you ordered off of wish! Things I use to do in 1 step on CDK now take me 4+ steps. I could make this comment 25 pages long on how shitty dealertrack is but I will cut it down to a few major complaints. Now this is coming from a parts standpoint but make no mistake I'm a 35 year vet in this business and I can tell you without a doubt this is the worst system ever invented! I would rather go back to pulling cards then using this time wasting hunk of crap!
1) Every process when finished takes you back to the main screen. You will find yourself entering your work number more in one month then you did in the past 3 years
2) The simplest tasks are now a pain in the ass! No more is there a scrolling window to show you each line of an RO ohhh no no now dealertrack puts them into windows. So if you have 4 pages and you need to make a few changes on line 4? After each change it will take you back to page 1 and now you have to click the little button to go back to page 4 for each part you need to adjust. TIME WASTEING POS!
3) Invoices use to be simplistic now you have to jump thru 40 hoops just to make an invoice, The SOP section is a pain in the ass also., You cant fill it from the RO nooooooo you have to go into the SOP screen to do that.
4) Pray you never have to find a customers invoice that they lost because dealertrack makes it so you can pull up the customer number but then leaves all the info behind their stupid little window system. So if you click on one and thats not the right one? When you click out of it it takes you ALL THE WAY BACK to where you have to put in the customer number again.
5) The PO system is horseshit! When making a PO you need to have 3 questions answered, Who are you buying from? What are you buying? and Where is it going? Dealertracks system has where you are buying from and that's it. No place to put a part number or RO number. These are basic functions that a toddler understands you need but dealertrack says their system cant do that. So when you need to find an old purchase order for warranty purposes? Good luck!
6) Just the simple act of opening a screen to check part numbers is a pain in the ass because it constantly wants to create an invoice for everything you type in. It wants to track purchases from jobbers like Napa. I don't need to track that shit I don't stock it!
7) The system loves to make up its own pricing, Between parts and service we are constantly going in and changing pricing. Some parts it marks up anywhere from 180% to 300%. We have been on the phone with dealertrack countless times to resolve this issue and their programmers are just and dumb as the people who designed this junk.
8) X-time is made by the same company so it should work seamlessly but instead they work like oil and water! They don't communicate with each other, the messaging system is a pain in the ass, 1/2 the time you don't even get the messages. This system touts it as a great communication tool but the truth is it takes away communication and makes everything a pain in the ass and takes twice as long. Now you have to send messages to people instead of having them right there to answer your questions instantly. People aren't sitting in front of their PC's all day waiting for messages. The only thing this system does is change it from when the Tech use to come to the counter with a list and you could ask them questions and get answers instantly to now you have to either sit and wait OR go track down the tech to get your questions answered. A complete waste of time and energy!
This is just a few of the top gripes I have about this system. This post could be 10 times longer. after 35+ years of this business I can honestly say this system has me looking for a new job.
Save yourself and your employees the frustration of using a system designed by morons! Spend the money and go with the big names! Rey Rey or CDK! You get what you pay for. In the case of Dealertrack you actually get LESS then what you are paying for!
1) Every process when finished takes you back to the main screen. You will find yourself entering your work number more in one month then you did in the past 3 years
2) The simplest tasks are now a pain in the ass! No more is there a scrolling window to show you each line of an RO ohhh no no now dealertrack puts them into windows. So if you have 4 pages and you need to make a few changes on line 4? After each change it will take you back to page 1 and now you have to click the little button to go back to page 4 for each part you need to adjust. TIME WASTEING POS!
3) Invoices use to be simplistic now you have to jump thru 40 hoops just to make an invoice, The SOP section is a pain in the ass also., You cant fill it from the RO nooooooo you have to go into the SOP screen to do that.
4) Pray you never have to find a customers invoice that they lost because dealertrack makes it so you can pull up the customer number but then leaves all the info behind their stupid little window system. So if you click on one and thats not the right one? When you click out of it it takes you ALL THE WAY BACK to where you have to put in the customer number again.
5) The PO system is horseshit! When making a PO you need to have 3 questions answered, Who are you buying from? What are you buying? and Where is it going? Dealertracks system has where you are buying from and that's it. No place to put a part number or RO number. These are basic functions that a toddler understands you need but dealertrack says their system cant do that. So when you need to find an old purchase order for warranty purposes? Good luck!
6) Just the simple act of opening a screen to check part numbers is a pain in the ass because it constantly wants to create an invoice for everything you type in. It wants to track purchases from jobbers like Napa. I don't need to track that shit I don't stock it!
7) The system loves to make up its own pricing, Between parts and service we are constantly going in and changing pricing. Some parts it marks up anywhere from 180% to 300%. We have been on the phone with dealertrack countless times to resolve this issue and their programmers are just and dumb as the people who designed this junk.
8) X-time is made by the same company so it should work seamlessly but instead they work like oil and water! They don't communicate with each other, the messaging system is a pain in the ass, 1/2 the time you don't even get the messages. This system touts it as a great communication tool but the truth is it takes away communication and makes everything a pain in the ass and takes twice as long. Now you have to send messages to people instead of having them right there to answer your questions instantly. People aren't sitting in front of their PC's all day waiting for messages. The only thing this system does is change it from when the Tech use to come to the counter with a list and you could ask them questions and get answers instantly to now you have to either sit and wait OR go track down the tech to get your questions answered. A complete waste of time and energy!
This is just a few of the top gripes I have about this system. This post could be 10 times longer. after 35+ years of this business I can honestly say this system has me looking for a new job.
Save yourself and your employees the frustration of using a system designed by morons! Spend the money and go with the big names! Rey Rey or CDK! You get what you pay for. In the case of Dealertrack you actually get LESS then what you are paying for!
