3 Min ReadFebruary 16, 2018

How a Top-Rated Dealer Uses CDK Drive to Protect Fixed Ops Gross Profit

How a Top-Rated Dealer Uses CDK Drive to Protect Fixed Ops Gross Profit

Take a quick look at the online ratings for Freehold Buick GMC — five out of five stars from Cars.com, 4.9 on DealerRater, and 4.5 stars on Google — and it’s clear that this central New Jersey dealership is doing something right.

“We strive for every sales and service customer to receive a VIP experience,” says Parts and Service Director William Marter. After all, happy customers lead to repeat business. But protecting profits is equally important.

To help Marter guard the bottom line, he relies on the CDK Drive Dealer Management System to ensure consistent pricing and accurate, justified discounts.

“Consistency and accuracy not only build trust between our customers and dealership, but a smooth checkout also saves the customer time — and time is everything. No one wants to stand around figuring out if the pricing is right,” he states. “We set the price in the system and we’re done. And if the customer is using coupons, they’re applied automatically to the correct line and are easily visible to the customer, so there are no questions,” explains Marter.

He adds that there’s also much less arguing between Parts and Service as to where the discount will occur. “Some coupons come off labor, some off advertising, some by sale amount of parts or gross profits of labor. We can split it however we want, but when it comes to the price, we set it and forget it,” says Marter. Our Drive DMS then runs the transaction according to the setup.

Discounts on Drive are extremely flexible in their setups and minimize mistakes, abuse and time. “Right from the Setup Discounts Option, we can define the discount type, fixed amount, fixed percent or target price, and apply discounts to labor and/or parts,” explains Marter. “We can also control the amount of a discount by setting up a maximum,” he says.

Managers can further define which labor type each discount is applied to, along with a warning for minimum profitability by dollar or percentage. Discounts can also be applied to Service Pricing codes automatically. Additionally, managers can control the general ledger accounts to which they’d like to post the discounts for labor and/or parts.

Drive also lets managers easily track discounts by discount type and advisor or by advisor, and all the discount types that they’ve used. The report displays all the necessary data to effectively track and manage how discounts are being applied. “We can drill down to the actual Repair Order if we need to, but we usually don’t because of the flexible controls that we’ve set up,” explains Marter.

In addition to protecting gross profits, the setups also help Marter determine the effectiveness of their Parts and Service advertising.

“Say we run a $20 oil change special and we spend $5,000 to advertise the sale. We can track how many people came in for an oil change as a result of that special. If we got only one, we know that may not have been the best use of our advertising dollars! Drive helps us keep track of where we get the biggest bang for our buck,” he notes.

After using the system for several years now, Marter can’t imagine going back to the old, arbitrary way of applying discounts or the bickering between Parts and Service.

“There are no manual adjustments needed in accounting. No back-and-forth between departments. Plus I have complete visibility — which means I have complete control,” he says. “And that means we’re more profitable.”

"I have complete visibility — which means I have complete control.”

— William Marter
Parts and Service Director
Freehold Buick GMC

 

Make sure that your DMS helps you manage your business better. We’re always here for questions and support.

Click on Service Connect from your Fast Lane anytime.

Share This

CDK Global
By CDK Global
Staff

Recent Insights

Are Dealers Moving to Where the Car Sales Are?

Are Dealers Moving to Where the Car Sales Are?

As we approach the midpoint of the 2020s, the U.S. auto retail landscape looks markedly different from just five years...
3 Min ReadAug 21CDK Global
Consultants Help Dealers Identify Improvements  to Increase Efficiency and Profit

Consultants Help Dealers Identify Improvements to Increase Efficiency and Profit

There is no denying the significant investment car dealers make with the software that runs their stores. But most dealerships...
4 Min ReadAug 19CDK Global
Leasing’s New Life as Monthly Payments Get Squeezed.

Leasing's New Life as Monthly Payments Get Squeezed

Leasing isn’t new. But as the market tightens and sale prices and MSRPs begin to rise there is renewed interest...
3 Min ReadAug 14CDK Global
C D K Research Uncovers the Truth About E V Ownership in 2025.

CDK Research Uncovers the Truth About EV Ownership in 2025

Electric vehicles have been a hot topic in the industry for nearly a decade. Today, the end of EV incentives...
2 Min ReadAug 7CDK Global
Four Requirements for Modern Dealer Appraisal Software in 2025.

4 Requirements for Modern Dealer Appraisal Software in 2025

Appraisals are an essential step in dealership processes. Even in today’s market where many dealers are offering top dollar for...
4 Min ReadAug 5CDK Global
Car Buying Process Rebounds in July

Car-Buying Process Rebounds in July

June saw the biggest drop and lowest score in the history of our Ease of Purchase scorecard. Luckily, there was...
3 Min ReadAug 4David Thomas
Three Ways Dealers Use Automotive Inventory Management Software.

3 Ways Dealers Use Automotive Inventory Management Software

Not too long ago, CDK conducted an informal survey of dealerships to see what inventory concerns plague them most. Some...
4 Min ReadJul 30CDK Global
How COVID 19 Strategies Can Help Dealers Pivot in 2025.

How COVID-19 Strategies Can Help Dealers Pivot in 2025

If the word of the year in 2020 was unprecedented, the word of 2025 may very well be tariff. Tariffs...
3 Min ReadJul 28CDK Global
The Evolving Role of the E V Salesperson in 2025.

The Evolving Role of the EV Salesperson in 2025

According to CDK data, vehicle satisfaction declined as electric vehicle buyers shifted from innovators and early adopters to the early...
4 Min ReadJul 23CDK Global
How Generations Like to Buy Electric Vehicles. Online versus In Person.

How Generations Like To Buy EVs: Online vs. In Person

Today, the automotive retail landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace, with vehicle technology, consumer preference and politics playing crucial...
3 Min ReadJul 17CDK Global