Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for used car dealers.
A checklist built from how used car dealers work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Vehicle file from purchase
- Inspection and reconditioning jobs
- Stock ageing and pricing
- Enquiries, test drives and reservations
- Sale, finance and handover papers
- Trade-in appraisal
- Salesperson commission
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- Dealer principals
- Sales staff
- Buyers and appraisers
- Workshop and valet staff
- Office and accounts
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Stock by days on the lot and total cost per car
- Margin per car after purchase, reconditioning and selling costs
- Reconditioning jobs open, with cost against the estimate
- Enquiries by source, salesperson and cars sold
- Test drives booked against cars sold
- Trade-in appraisals offered and accepted
- Handovers with documents still pending
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- Vehicle listing sites
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Lender and finance partner forms
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Does each car keep its own repair costs?
- Can we see which cars have sat too long?
- Can the system hold a car while a buyer arranges finance?
- How are trade-ins recorded?
- What about the ownership papers?
- Can it update our listing sites?
- Can several forecourts share one stock list?
- How do we get a quotation and a first look?
- Can our stock records be exported?
- What could the sales floor and workshop use ahead of the rest?
- Which stock lists and checklists should the dealer principal bring?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Reconditioning cost is never added to the car
- Old stock hides on the forecourt
- Papers are missing at handover
- Listing sites and the lot disagree
- Part-exchange values are guessed
Prefer to talk it through? See the used car dealers page.