Motors vs Leading Dealership Website Solutions: A Comparison

For auto dealerships, a website is more than an online presence, it’s a lead generation tool. It is a tool that helps boost leads, drive conversions, and maximize inventory visibility. However, choosing the wrong platform can result in high costs and limited flexibility. Poor performance might hurt your business.

Popular solutions like DealerOn and DealerSocket have extensive dealership management tools for large enterprises. They often come with high costs and complex setups that may not suit all businesses. 

If you’re looking for a cost-effective, personalized way to showcase vehicle listings and capture leads, Motors could be the better fit. It’s a WordPress-based dealership website solution that focuses on flexibility and ease of use.

In this blog, we’ll compare Motors with leading dealership platforms, breaking down their features and strengths. By the end of the article, you will be able to find out which one is the best for your business. 

Understanding the Two Types of Solutions

Dealer Management System (DMS) Platforms

DMS-based solutions are widely used in the automotive industry to manage dealership operations. These platforms integrate:

• Sales & finance
• Inventory management
• Customer relationship management (CRM)
• Service & parts management
• Accounting & reporting

This all-in-one approach helps large dealerships streamline processes and improve efficiency. These solutions also include advanced analytics, sales and lead management, and even outsourced marketing services. However, they tend to be more expensive and harder to manage. Examples of DMS and CRM based platforms include Dealer.com, DealerOn, and DealerSocket.

Dealership Website Solutions

Unlike DMS and CRM-based platforms, dealership website solutions are more lightweight, focused on website-building, and affordable. They are designed for small to mid-sized dealerships and independent dealers who need a cost-effective way to showcase vehicles and turn visitors into leads. 

These solutions offer:

• Greater customization & flexibility compared to DMS platforms.
• Lower costs while still providing essential marketing and lead generation features.

An example of a dealership website solution is Motors.

Motors: A Website Solution for Car Dealerships  

Motors is a WordPress-based tool designed for dealerships to build a high-converting, customizable, and cost-effective website. The plugin has essential features for listing creation and management. 

Vehicle Listing Features

• Item Listings: Showcase cars, motorcycles, boats, and other vehicles for sale.
• VIN Decoder: Automates vehicle data entry for faster inventory uploads.
• Listing Templates & Cards: Choose from various listing templates and cards and tailor the appearance to your brand.
• Search & Filters: Advanced search with custom fields like make and model, and filters like price and location.
• Inventory Management: Manage listing statuses such as available, sold, and pending, for better organization.

User Engagement & Lead Generation

• Test Drive & Inquiry Forms: Customers can request test drives and price quotes.
• Rating & Reviews: Dealers can receive customer feedback on their listings.
• Wishlist Feature: Users can save favorite vehicles for later reference.
• Listing Submission Forms: Accept listings from other sellers on your website to create an online marketplace.
• Social Sharing: Add social sharing buttons to boost visibility.

Customization & Marketing

• Multiple Skins & Templates: Includes a free website template and premium skins for different industries.
• Branding Elements: Customizable layouts, colors, and design options.
• SEO Optimization: Helps dealerships rank higher in search results.
• DMS Integration: Works with dealer management systems for added functionality.

Check out the Motors demo and explore all the features in action.

You don’t have to worry about coding because Motors is super user-friendly. The detailed documentation and video tutorials guide you through every step of the setup.

You can control your auto dealership website and inventory from a centralized WordPress dashboard. There are options to grant listing manager roles to your team members and change them. 

Motors is an ideal solution for small dealerships looking to build a professional online presence without the big expenses of DMS platforms. By presenting your inventory with high-quality listings to users, you will drive leads to your site and eventually boost sales.

Dealer.com, DealerOn & DealerSocket: Features & Differences

Dealer.com

A dealer management system (DMS) used by numerous auto dealerships for website creation and engagement growth. The platform has a range of services like digital marketing, website development, advertising, and more. 

It lets you manage car sales and create campaigns, landing pages, and marketing strategies to advertise vehicles. You can manage search engine performance and monitor your website performance with certain solutions.

Pros:

• All-in-one solution with CRM, DMS integration, and marketing tools.
• Features SEO, content creation, digital retailing, and analytics.

Cons:

• High costs with separate charges for each service.
• Locked-in ecosystem with complex onboarding.
• Slow loading speeds and outdated design.

This option is mostly suitable for large dealerships that want to scale and have a bigger inventory and number of clients. 

DealerOn

DealerOn specializes in automotive website templates and is well known for serving franchise and international dealerships, including dealerships that sell Ford and Nissan vehicles. Its main advantage is fast loading speeds on both mobile and desktop, making it highly optimized for the retail automotive industry. 

The platform has a library of ready-made templates, so it’s easy for dealerships to set up their websites with minimal effort. Additionally, it offers SEO optimization services for generating more leads.

Pros:

• SEO-optimized dealership websites.
• Strong lead generation and conversion tools.

Cons:

• Expensive with limited flexibility.
• Primarily for large dealers focused on online marketing.

DealerOn is the perfect choice for bigger dealerships that want to prioritize high-performance SEO-driven websites and increase brand awareness.

DealerSocket

It is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform specifically for automotive businesses. DealerSocket has a suite of tools that help dealerships streamline their sales process and build custom workflows. 

Your team will be able to generate leads and communicate with clients efficiently. The software also supports Facebook Ads integration, which means dealers can run targeted marketing campaigns. You can attract potential buyers and reach a new audience on social media platforms.

Pros:

• Advanced lead management and workflow automation.
• Integrates with Facebook Ads and digital marketing tools.

Cons:

• Not a website builder.
• Focuses on sales and customer management, does not specialize in dealership websites.

We recommend DealerSocket for dealerships and sellers who need advanced CRM and lead management tools.

Comparison Table: Motors vs. Other Dealership Software

Dealership Website Use Case

MM Carz, a small independent dealership, built its website using Motors. The company needed an affordable tool with design customization options and lead generation tools. Their goal was to find a cost-effective way to list vehicles. Motors helped them with:

• A responsive, personalized website with a modern layout.
• Lead capture forms for test drives and financing.
• A VIN decoder for quick inventory uploads.

Compared to this project, South Tacoma Auto, a larger dealership, initially used Dealer.com for DMS and inventory management. The high costs and long setup process led them to switch to a different provider.

Which One Fits Your Business Needs?

If your main goal is to showcase vehicle listings, attract leads, and have a customizable dealership website without high costs, Motors is a great choice. It gives you the flexibility to create a unique site while keeping things simple and affordable.

Bigger platforms like Dealer.com, DealerOn, and DealerSocket are designed for large dealerships that need full CRM, DMS, and marketing tools, but they come with higher costs and less customization.

Looking for a dealership website solution that’s cost-effective and easy to customize? Explore Motors today and see how it can help scale your business!