This is a long shot probably, but are there any dealers interested in taking a look at the CRM we just launched. I know that sounds super salesy but we are honestly looking for some feedback. We take all input and bring it to our development team and some of our best upgrades to our websites and other software have been suggestions on demo calls!
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- Thread starter Brad Burlingham
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- May 1, 2006
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I would take them up on this. Interesting things Space Auto is doing by combining advertising, websites, and CRM. @Jeff Kershner and I got a sneak peak.
If you or anyone had the misfortune of using CDK CRM, you will understand what I am going to say next. ELeads WAS a good CRM, then CDK bought it. Enough said.
- Oct 2, 2023
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- Jordan
Good afternoon, everyone!
I'm Jordan, and I'm here representing AutoAlert, a company many of you are familiar with. We've recently launched an all-in-one CXM platform that includes CRM, Desking, Data Mining, and more - all accessible with a single login. Essentially, we're simplifying the process by eliminating the need for multiple front-end vendors, which can lead to significant cost savings for your dealership.
I'm reaching out to see if I can have just 15-20 minutes of your time for an online presentation. We'd love to show you what we've got and, more importantly, hear your thoughts. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we're committed to continuously improving our platform based on the input we receive from dealers.
I'm Jordan, and I'm here representing AutoAlert, a company many of you are familiar with. We've recently launched an all-in-one CXM platform that includes CRM, Desking, Data Mining, and more - all accessible with a single login. Essentially, we're simplifying the process by eliminating the need for multiple front-end vendors, which can lead to significant cost savings for your dealership.
I'm reaching out to see if I can have just 15-20 minutes of your time for an online presentation. We'd love to show you what we've got and, more importantly, hear your thoughts. Your feedback is invaluable to us as we're committed to continuously improving our platform based on the input we receive from dealers.
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@Brad Burlingham This is still a relevant question in 2026. For 12 stores on Elead, the switching cost isn't just the software — it's the 6-12 months of retraining your BDC and losing institutional knowledge baked into your templates and workflows.
VinSolutions has the widest adoption so finding staff who already know it is easier. DriveCentric has a genuinely better UI but thinner support infrastructure for larger groups. DealerSocket has struggled with stability post-merger.
For a 12-store group the real question is whether your variable ops leadership can enforce a consistent process across all stores in the new system — most CRM migrations fail on adoption, not technology.
VinSolutions has the widest adoption so finding staff who already know it is easier. DriveCentric has a genuinely better UI but thinner support infrastructure for larger groups. DealerSocket has struggled with stability post-merger.
For a 12-store group the real question is whether your variable ops leadership can enforce a consistent process across all stores in the new system — most CRM migrations fail on adoption, not technology.
- Feb 15, 2016
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- Steve
@DealerInt Saw your post and thought I'd comment not to commercialize but hope the group does appreciate the evolution of CRMs. All CRMs are "DataBase Platforms" and the transition should be to Engagement.
The "Legacy CRMs" are just integrating in with everyone they can vs "building". That just create more problems and more windows to manage from. It's proven not to work as technology continues to evolve very quickly.
DriveCentric is an "Engagement Platform" for the last 8 years or so. Now, 3rd party integrations with companies like Mastermind, Polk and Carfax(examples) will power the Agentic AI. Data / AI is the new "All in one" solution vs CRM/DMS. @Dan Sayer has seen the evolution.
If you want to see this tech in action, happy to just show you what we are doing. Also, Brian Pasch just published in Jan a study evaluation all CRMs. The results are attached for a reference.
The "Legacy CRMs" are just integrating in with everyone they can vs "building". That just create more problems and more windows to manage from. It's proven not to work as technology continues to evolve very quickly.
DriveCentric is an "Engagement Platform" for the last 8 years or so. Now, 3rd party integrations with companies like Mastermind, Polk and Carfax(examples) will power the Agentic AI. Data / AI is the new "All in one" solution vs CRM/DMS. @Dan Sayer has seen the evolution.
If you want to see this tech in action, happy to just show you what we are doing. Also, Brian Pasch just published in Jan a study evaluation all CRMs. The results are attached for a reference.
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@Steve Roessler , the database vs engagement framing is a useful distinction. The integration sprawl problem is real; every "legacy CRM" adding more windows and more vendor connections without solving the underlying data quality issue is just complexity tax.
The Agentic AI angle is interesting but it raises the same question I keep coming back to — the AI is only as good as the data it's working with. If the underlying deal data is incomplete (which it usually is at the DMS level), the engagement layer is working with a partial picture.
Would be curious to see how DriveCentric handles data fidelity on closed deals, not just the engagement side.
- Feb 15, 2016
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Happy to discuss as it's probably more a conversation. What's the best way to connect?
@DealerInt don't take this the wrong way, but that is a very narrow world-view of CRM changes in today's automotive retail world. We went from VinSolutions to DriveCentric years ago because I knew we NEEDED TO LOSE INSTITUTIONAL KNOWLEDGE, TEMPLATES, and WORKFLOWS. They have a completely different view of what automotive CRM and process look like, and it's refreshing. We only have 7 rooftops but the change was great, adoption from all was the fastest thing we'd ever seen and accountability for all, even those that were hanging on to the "comfortable" previous system, was key is a smooth transition. DriveCentric is by far our best adopted and engaged tool within our dealership software and tools lineup. New hires take to it immediately whereas it did take someone 6 months or more to get used to VinSolutions, eLead, and before that DealerSocket.
Your comment of "...but thinner support infrastructure for larger groups." is based off what? They have the best and most responsive support team and channel we have ever seen. Basic users have direct and immediate access to their support team in St. Louis for issues.
Oh, and your comment here is spot on. Drive's adoption is crazy high with sales teams. Like I said, best I've ever seen in my 25 years in auto.
Our only issue is the Tekion pairing is limited with the DMS integration compared to if we still had a CDK, Reynolds, etc. They're working on expanding that so we can get our Service integrations and desking push perfected. More than happy to give you a tour from a dealer view if you want.
Dan — fair pushback, and I appreciate the correction from someone who's actually run it across multi rooftops. The support comment was a generalisation that clearly doesn't hold for your experience, and 25 years in auto carries more weight than my assumption.
The Tekion DMS integration gap is the interesting part for me. That's exactly where adoption wins can quietly erode — the CRM is working great, the team loves it, but if the desking push and deal data aren't flowing cleanly into Tekion, you're reconciling manually somewhere downstream.
Is that gap mostly on the service side for you, or are you seeing it on variable ops deal data too?
The Tekion DMS integration gap is the interesting part for me. That's exactly where adoption wins can quietly erode — the CRM is working great, the team loves it, but if the desking push and deal data aren't flowing cleanly into Tekion, you're reconciling manually somewhere downstream.
Is that gap mostly on the service side for you, or are you seeing it on variable ops deal data too?