A dealership in Phoenix is handwriting paper contracts and gauging creditworthiness with guesswork. A Jeep owner in Alabama keeps calling about when a replacement part will be in stock. A family in New Jersey is waiting for word on when they can take delivery of their new Audi.
There are only a handful of DMS providers for dealers to choose from after decades of consolidation. That’s left thousands of retailers highly reliant on each of the select few software companies that enable them to line up financing and insurance, manage vehicle and parts inventory, and complete sales and repairs.
This week, he called his dealership to check if the final part needed to fix his vehicle had arrived, as expected. The service center was unsure, saying it was impossible to know because of the hack. Lanni and his wife re-installed the car seats for their children – ages 3, 5 and 8 – and said they hadn’t heard more from the dealer as of Thursday afternoon.