automate

[jasperkatko]

I am investigating automate as a replacement to reynolds and reynolds. Does anyone have any feedback that would help? I could save a lot of money.

[calgm988]

Our dealership has been on Automate now for about five years and although it has saved us money from ADP it's not nearly as user friendly. A lot of applications are unavailable as they have zero working connectivity with outside vendors and don't appear to want to. A few of our accounting issues have created additional problems that they cannot fix despite a number of attempts.

My response is you pay for what you get. The cost is right, the support okay but the applications are below that of the competitions.

[texaslp]

I don't have any experience with Automate, but I too am a firm believer that you get what you pay for.

Someone else(it may have been on here) once described the difference between the big DMS co's and the smaller ones as this.

It's the difference between riding my bicycle to work or driving my truck. Either way I'll get to work, but driving my truck is a lot faster and easier.

It never hurts to look, but have every department look very closely.

[jp116393]

Especially check the features offered for the Parts department.

I was in charge of researching DMS companies this past year and narrowed it down between staying with ADP and moving to Auto/Mate. The functionality in the parts department was the one issue that kept us from moving.

We ended up re-negotiating with ADP and purchasing our own Dell PC's through Chrysler's MarketCenter and reduced our expenses by 50%. It made for a much smoother transition.

[partsman103]

We use ACS (Automotive Computer Services) and they are based out of Mobile Al. if memory serves correctly.
Good system and comparable to ADP.....just a little harder to grasp in the beginning.