TORRANCE, Calif. — The publishers of Auto Dealer Today have announced the winners of the 14th annual Dealers’ Choice Awards. The awards are based on a survey open to dealers and dealership personnel throughout the month of May. This year’s program includes a total of 100 first-place Diamond, second-place Platinum, and third-place Gold awards for 70 winners.
Each voter was tasked with entering a write-in vote in at least five of 34 categories and scoring their vendors, suppliers, and finance sources on quality, value, customer service, and whether they would recommend the company to another dealer.
Representatives of the winning companies will be invited to take part in a special awards ceremony at Industry Summit, which will be held Oct. 8–10, 2018, at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Orlando, Fla.
“We can’t thank the readers of Auto Dealer Today and F&I and Showroom enough for taking the time to cast their votes and rate their providers,” said the magazines’ publisher, David Gesualdo. “Congratulations to our winners, and we look forward to recognizing your efforts at Industry Summit.”
The winners of the 2018 Dealers’ Choice Awards are:
New-Vehicle Leads
Diamond: Dealer.com
Platinum: Autotrader
Gold: Cars.com
Used-Vehicle Leads
Diamond: Cars.com
Platinum: CarsDirect
Gold: Autotrader
Special Finance Leads
Diamond: CarsDirect
Platinum: Auto Credit Express
Digital Marketing
Diamond: Dealer.com
Platinum: eBizAutos
Gold: ELEAD1ONE
Digital Sales and F&I (NEW)
Diamond: Darwin Automotive
Platinum: Axiom
Gold: AutoFi
Website
Diamond: Dealer.com
Platinum: eBizAutos
Gold: Dealer eProcess
Mobile Media
Diamond: eBizAutos
Platinum: Dealer.com
Gold: Automotive Mobile Solutions
Social Media Management
Diamond: Naked Lime
Platinum: Ally
Gold: Cartifex
Reputation Management
Diamond: CDK Global
Platinum: AutoPoint
Gold: Dominion Dealer Solutions
Direct Mail
Diamond: ProMax
Platinum: Strategic Marketing
Gold: Action Integrated Marketing
Virtual BDC
Diamond: ELEAD1ONE
Platinum: AllCall Multi-Channel BDC
Gold: Dealer’s Greatest Assets
Inventory Management
Diamond: vAuto
Platinum: DealerSocket
Gold: MAXDigital
Hiring and Recruitment
Diamond: AutoCareersOnline
Platinum: GSFSGroup
Gold: Hireology
Sales Training
Diamond: American Financial & Automotive Services
Platinum: Joe Verde Group
Gold: Ziegler SuperSystems
F&I Training
Diamond: United Development Systems (UDS)
Platinum: American Financial & Automotive Services
Gold: Reahard & Associates
F&I Product Training (NEW)
Diamond: American Financial & Automotive Services
Platinum: National Automotive Experts (NAE)
Gold: RoadVantage
Special Finance Training
Diamond: DealerStrong
Platinum: American Financial & Automotive Services
Gold: NCM Associates
Compliance Training
Diamond: American Financial & Automotive Services
Platinum: United Development Systems (UDS)
Gold: Mosaic Compliance Services
Service Training
Diamond: DealerPro Service Solutions
Platinum: American Financial & Automotive Services
Gold: CDK Global
F&I Products
Diamond: RoadVantage
Platinum: National Auto Care (NAC)
Gold: ECP
Service Contract
Diamond: CNA National
Platinum: AUL
Gold: Protective Asset Protection
Service Contract Reinsurance
Diamond: Portfolio
Platinum: CNA National
Gold: SouthwestRe
F&I Desking Software
Diamond: ProMax
Platinum: Reynolds and Reynolds
Gold: CDK Global
F&I Technology
Diamond: StoneEagle
Platinum: MaximTrak
Gold: F&I Express
CRM
Diamond: Reynolds and Reynolds
Platinum: ProMax
Gold: ELEAD1ONE
DMS
Diamond: Reynolds and Reynolds
Platinum: CDK Global
Gold: Dealertrack
Data Mining
Diamond: ELEAD1ONE
Platinum: DealerSocket
Gold: Dominion Dealer Solutions
Online Auction
Diamond: Ally SmartAuction
Platinum: Manheim
Gold: eBay Motors
Traditional Auction
Diamond: Manheim
Platinum: ADESA
Gold: America’s Auto Auction
Prime Captive Finance Company
Diamond: GM Financial
Platinum: American Honda Finance
Gold: Ford Motor Credit
Prime Non-Captive Finance Company
Diamond: Ally
Platinum: Chase
Gold: U.S. Bank
Subprime Finance Company
Diamond: Capital One
Platinum: Wells Fargo
Gold: Regional Acceptance
Biweekly Payments
Diamond: US Equity Advantage
Platinum: SMART Payment Plan
F&I Financing (NEW)
Diamond: PayLink
Platinum: Line5
Gold: Universal Lenders
This year’s program saw the addition of three new categories — Digital Sales & F&I, F&I Product Training, and F&I Financing — and the deletion of the Chat, Internet Training, and Online Inventory Listing Management categories.
Detailed coverage of this year’s Dealers’ Choice Awards will appear in a Special Awards Section in the Q4 issue of Auto Dealer Today.
