Off Topic & Everything Else

# Summary Rick Buffkin argues that OEMs collect vast amounts of data from dealer websites and manufacturer sites but fail to share actionable insights back with dealers, questioning what value they're creating with this information. He proposes that OEMs should leverage their data aggregation capabilities to provide dealers with competitive benchmarking tools—such as market days supply metrics by vehicle type—similar to what third-party providers like VAuto already offer. The core frustration is that dealers are generating the raw data but receiving no tangible benefit or transparency from the OEM's data collection efforts.

Rick Buffkin shared a YouTube video titled "Anyone familiar with Albert???" in the Off Topic section, apparently seeking other members' familiarity with whatever the video depicts. The only reply came from mikesayre, who confirmed the video is humorous but provided no additional context or explanation about its content. The thread offers no substantive discussion or resolution beyond the initial video share and a brief acknowledgment that it's entertaining.

A member asks for recommended resources to learn about the automotive industry. The one response suggests three practical approaches: attending industry conferences like NADA, staying current with industry news, and utilizing YouTube educational content. The thread implies that DealerRefresh itself is a valuable learning community alongside these external resources.

# Summary A dealer asks about StringDPS Dashboard from String Automotive, a unified analytics platform that consolidates SEM stats, vendor data, leads, texts, and calls into a single view. Respondents suggest alternative solutions including Google Data Studio with Supermetrics plugin and Clarivoy's automotive sales attribution tool, indicating that while StringDPS appears solid, dealers have multiple options depending on their specific needs.

# Sticky Website Headers The thread discusses whether website headers should remain fixed ("sticky") at the top as users scroll, versus disappearing off-screen. Participants strongly favor sticky headers for usability, with specific design recommendations: keep the sticky nav bar compact even if the full header is larger, avoid duplicating navigation in footers, and allow larger headers to collapse while maintaining the nav—one user humorously notes a vendor's sticky footer placement of legal links may be accidentally optimizing for lawyer conversions.

Rick Buffkin describes experiencing server downtime without receiving any alerts from his VPS provider, prompting a discussion about monitoring solutions. Experienced forum members recommend tools like Nagios, Zappix, Pingdom, and Uptime Robot to continuously monitor website availability and send immediate notifications via email, SMS, or Slack when issues occur. The key insight is that proactive monitoring with automated alerts is essential for website operators to catch downtime quickly rather than learning about it from frustrated clients.

The thread discusses the United Airlines overbooking scandal where a passenger was forcibly removed from a flight, focusing on CEO Oscar Munoz's poor crisis management and public relations missteps, including insensitive initial statements and admissions that overbooking removal is standard policy. Participants suggest the incident will likely hurt United's stock and customer base despite the broader market impact being limited. The thread reflects automotive industry professionals applying their own PR expertise to critique corporate mishandling of a major public relations crisis.

A job seeker with a finance background and bachelor's degree asks for advice about transitioning from a part-time minimum-wage job (~$2,600/month) into car sales, noting that dealerships seem eager to hire due to high turnover. A former car salesman replies with encouragement, acknowledging the job's demanding hours and retail schedule but arguing that someone with decent interpersonal skills can easily double their current income through commission-based compensation, and that helping customers fairly and profitably aren't mutually exclusive.

# Summary Josh Deweerd, new to the business, seeks leads on dealerships willing to sell new cars for export after encountering refusals despite learning from customs that exporting is legal. Ryan Everson provides a reference article suggesting that while automakers oppose the practice, the legality of vehicle export sales remains a key question that dealership partners should research before engaging in this business.

A user alerts the DealerRefresh community to a major internet security breach affecting hundreds of websites, providing a list of compromised sites and specifically highlighting platforms commonly used by dealers like Yelp, Zendesk, Zoho, and Uber. The post recommends affected users reset their passwords immediately as a precautionary measure. The thread appears to be informational, with minimal discussion beyond the initial security warning.

Rick seeks recommendations for secondary finance lead providers to explore subprime lending, and ChrisR shares his experience with Auto Credit Express, noting they provided decent volume but faced challenges with buyer expectations (many believed they qualified for zero down payment) and low closing rates at his dealership. While ChrisR's stores didn't find good ROI with ACE, he acknowledges that other dealerships in his group continued using them, suggesting the provider's viability depends heavily on individual dealership execution and realistic buyer qualification management.

DealerRefresh members discussed a movie trailer called "Car Dogs" featuring George Lopez, with reactions ranging from curiosity to skepticism about its content and impact. A key concern emerged that the film could reinforce negative stereotypes about car dealers and increase customer distrust of the industry, though one member noted the limited theatrical release (Phoenix-area Harkins theaters only) would likely minimize any widespread damage to dealership reputations.

A user jokingly threatens to sue the site's owner Jeff over login technical difficulties, sparking a humorous thread where members playfully escalate the absurd lawsuit concept by suggesting class-action angles, involving the government and corporate sponsors, and eventually naming nearly everyone involved in creating the internet as co-defendants. The thread is entirely tongue-in-cheek, with members riffing on frivolous litigation culture and the ridiculousness of suing a free service over minor technical issues.

Automotive dealers discuss an increasing trend of adult customers' parents influencing or derailing vehicle purchase decisions, even when the young adults are financing independently. The conversation identifies key factors like parents controlling down payments, failure to identify the actual decision-maker during sales, and a broader "helicopter parent" cultural phenomenon that may be extending into adult children's financial decisions. The consensus suggests salespeople need to recognize and engage with parental influence early in the process, while also respecting the buyer's autonomy to create a positive first-car purchase experience.

# Summary Jake L. calls out Marc McGurren for copying content and staff page formatting from another dealership's website, raising concerns about negative SEO effects and unethical practices. Marc quickly responds to clarify he was experimenting with a staff showcase concept and forgot to remove the test page, apologizes, and takes it down. The thread concludes positively with community members affirming that the incident was resolved appropriately and suggesting that dealers should focus on creating original, high-quality content rather than copying competitors' formats.

• Locked

# Summary Jeff Kershner initiated a lighthearted discussion about the difficulty of terminating vendor relationships, particularly when the vendor representative is personable and skilled ("good phone"), which complicates the business decision. The thread took a controversial turn when Chandra Dickson called out the original post as inappropriate and unprofessional, citing concerns about sexism and garnering disapproval from multiple companies, while other members defended the post as typical industry humor and suggested the criticism was overreacting. The key insight is that good vendor relationships—built on personality and rapport—create genuine emotional difficulty when business needs require ending them, though the thread itself devolved into a broader debate about workplace appropriateness in automotive sales culture.

# Summary A vendor new to the auto dealership industry seeks advice on understanding dealership operations and customer pain points before selling. Respondents recommend shadowing at dealerships to learn firsthand, but caution that dealer personnel vary widely in their progressiveness and receptiveness—and advise not to be discouraged by encountering old-school operators. The key insight is that direct observation combined with selective learning from diverse dealer perspectives, while maintaining focus on your core value proposition, is the best approach to building genuine industry knowledge.

# Summary ChristyChris seeks advice on marketing a new GPS tracking company, specifically inquiring about obtaining 3D chalk art advertising similar to examples from grassroots campaigns and whether advertising agencies can provide innovative campaign ideas cost-effectively. The post presents a newcomer's question about creative advertising options and agency engagement without detailed responses shown in the provided content.

Amelia Meijer asks for recommendations on trusted online platforms to purchase used and new cars in the Netherlands. The thread seeks vendor and dealer suggestions for reliable automotive marketplaces in that region. As an off-topic post in a professional dealer community, responses would likely provide industry-specific insights on Dutch car sales channels rather than typical consumer-focused recommendations.

# Summary The thread examines why car customers behave irrationally during the buying and service process, with participants attributing this to deep-seated psychological needs for fairness and respect rather than simple greed. A key insight emerges that dealerships fundamentally misunderstand customer psychology—they treat customers as transactions rather than people deserving professional treatment, fair pricing transparency, and dignity, which drives the "crazy" behavior the industry complains about. The broader conclusion is that industry staffing, training, and customer service approaches are misaligned with what actually motivates customer satisfaction.

# Summary Ryan Gerardi asks dealers what they actually need from the industry beyond the constant stream of advice, training, and vendor pitches. Chris Leslie responds that the real bottleneck isn't information or consulting—it's staffing, specifically a shortage of talented marketing professionals willing to work for dealership wages, which prevents dealers from executing strategies they already understand. The core insight is that dealers are oversaturated with content and solutions but under-resourced with skilled people to implement them.

• Locked

# Summary A new website owner asks for traffic generation advice, but receives mostly humorous and sarcastic responses rather than substantive guidance. GLouvis provides the only serious answer, recommending PPC advertising, SEO optimization, YouTube videos, and social media presence before the thread devolves into jokes about spam tactics and gets locked. The key takeaway is that legitimate traffic strategies require investment in paid ads, search engine optimization, content creation, and consistent social media engagement.