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Dealer.com — DealerRefresh Vendor Library
Dealership website platform and digital marketing solution owned by Cox Automotive.
About suggest a correction →
Dealership website platform and digital marketing solution owned by Cox Automotive.
What you do with it
improve their website's search engine visibility and ranking for local market keywords, so they can capture more organic traffic and inbound leads without paid media spend
When a dealer needs to attract in-market shoppers through organic search
deploy and manage a dealership website with inventory display, promotional content, and lead capture, so they can convert more site visitors into actionable sales leads
When a dealer needs a primary digital storefront to showcase inventory and generate leads
make real-time updates to site content, inventory pricing, and digital advertising from a unified platform, so they can maintain an accurate, on-brand web presence without dependence on vendor support for routine changes
When a dealer or dealer group needs to control website content, pricing rules, and advertising across locations
Community evidence → Stable
The DealerRefresh community presents a sharply divided picture of Dealer.com. On the positive side, specific SEO wins are cited — one dealer reports jumping from position 40 to position 3 in weeks — and the platform is frequently named as a preferred primary website vendor over alternatives like Cobalt. However, persistent and serious negatives dominate the thread volume: dealers report paying premium prices ($599–$1,600+/month, sometimes OEM-mandated with no opt-out) while encountering extra fees for basic content changes, poor support responsiveness, widespread site outages, a critical meta-data cross-contamination bug affecting multiple clients' Google listings, and a URL vulnerability raising SEO and brand integrity concerns. Canadian dealers describe a particularly degraded experience following Auto Trader Canada's involvement. The overall community sentiment is that Dealer.com has strong platform potential but is undermined by reliability, pricing transparency, and service execution failures.
Pricing and fee transparency5 mentions
Support quality and responsiveness6 mentions
SEO performance4 mentions
Platform reliability and uptime3 mentions
Technical bugs and data integrity3 mentions
Dealer control over website content4 mentions
OEM-mandated vendor lock-in2 mentions
Canadian market / Auto Trader Canada degradation2 mentions
Platform preference vs. competitors (Cobalt, DealerOn, Clickmotive)4 mentions
Inventory video and multimedia capabilities2 mentions
Multi-store / group-level access and management1 mention
210 mentions · 42 positive · 42 negative · Scored from 20+ years of candid DealerRefresh discussion. Scores shift as new conversations happen.
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"Dealer.com exports to Google base for free and has so for a year or two but I can't recall if I have ever had someone mention finding it on Google base."
Google Base →
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"Rick plans to work with his website provider (Dealer.com/DDC) to integrate the stickers into vehicle detail pages"
Quick question for the Toyota Guys in the Room. →
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"Dealer.com has a video editing toolkit that we use so we can eliminate hosting on another site so I haven't done that much with You Tube lately."
Video Question →
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"one Dealer.com representative recommending dealers measure baseline yield before making changes"
Question for Dealer.com guys →
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"the Dealer.com template is solid, execution needs improvement in branding, photography, navigation clarity, and responsiveness to changes"
Review my website? →
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"A dealer inquires about switching to Dealer.com for website and inventory management, prompting recommendations for competing platforms like DealerFire and eBizAutos"
Thinking about Getting Dealer.com →
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"managing dealership websites and digital platforms, particularly on Dealer.com systems"
Digital Marketing Specialist Available for Hire, Chicago or Remotely →
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"leverage training resources like Dealer.com's weekly sessions"
New to the job (and field!) →
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"one suggesting contacting Dealer.com about server-level automation"
Branding Your Photo's with an Overlay →
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"Automotive dealers discuss whether to handle SEO in-house or outsource to vendors like Dealer.com"
Outsourcing SEO →
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"A dealer seeking graphic design help for promotional content on their Dealer.com website asks the community for referrals to outside designers."
Graphic Artist / Web Design →
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"Contributors discuss tools like Dealer.com's payment calculators and squeeze pages as strategies to drive traffic while maintaining a "we sell credit" messaging focus."
Sub-Prime Sites & Inventory →
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"An Internet Director for a multi-store dealership group seeks recommendations on website providers to replace Cobalt, listing several options (Dealer.com, Dealerskins, Dealeron, Dealerfire, TK Carsites, BZ)."
Searching for a new website provider →
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"experienced dealers noting they supplement CRM reporting with their website platform's backend analytics tools (like Dealer.com's Form Submissions and Interactive reports) to maintain data integrity across their dealerships"
CRM Sales ROI Report →
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"One dealer shares they manually manage this by using GM Lead Management in Dealerworld and then transferring leads to dealer.com since their dealership lacks an integrated CRM/ILM system."
Spam Mail →
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"Several solutions are mentioned including Auto Web Engine, Pasch Consulting's CarPortApp, and forthcoming Dealer.com capabilities, though Joe emphasizes the need for robust, mistake-tested solutions rather than custom builds."
Tools to Post inventory to WordPress (or similar) →
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"suggestions for both established platforms (Dealer.com, BZ, Dealerfire, DealerPeak, eCarList)"
The usual suspects? →
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"maintaining separate website vendors for different OEM franchises (e.g., Cobalt for GM, Dealer.com for Ford)"
Multiple Website Vendors →
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"responses suggesting several budget-friendly options including DealerSocket, Dealer.com's Lead Machine, AVV Webcontrol, and VIN Solutions—most priced under $400/month"
ILM on a limited budget →
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"dealers using different mobile platforms (eBizAutos, Dealer.com, VinSolutions, custom solutions) reported varying engagement metrics"
What are your MOBILE WEBSITE numbers? And Prediction for 2013! →
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"A community member advises against rushing the decision and recommends evaluating Dealer.com's newly developed CRM while noting that major CRMs generally integrate well with those platforms."
Contact Management Nightmare →
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"Other recommended providers include Dealer.com, eBizAutos, TK Connect, Dealer eProcess, and DealerFire, each with specific strengths around inventory search UX and specials page functionality."
Website provider recommendations →
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"responses highlighting real-world setups using DealerSocket, myEmma, and Dealer.com CRM"
Data mining and Email Marketing →
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"Joe Pistell from Dealer.com announces upcoming beta tests for new payment calculation and split-testing tools designed to address these gaps."
Anyone know of a good online payment calculator →
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