Is the Franchise Dealership Model on Life Support?

They Played the Dealership for the Fool.

It’s cruel, but since no one else is going to say it, I will.

The scandal isn’t that they played the dealership. The scandal is that the dealership trusted them, they trusted that these companies actually had their best interests in mind.

But these aren’t competent partners. They’re some of the dumbest, most self-serving businesses ever to hold power over a dealer.

And they’re not just betting you’re uninformed… they’re betting you’ll stay that way.

And they’re winning. The entire ecosystem is designed to prioritize their profits over your performance, trapping you in a cycle of wasted spend and broken promises.

Here’s how the system is rigged against you:

• The Data Illusion: Your CRM vendor claims you own your customer data, only to lock it in a vault, share it with the OEM, and hold it hostage with exorbitant fees and impossible export processes if you ever try to leave.
• The Cookie-Cutter Con: From ad vendors to website providers, you’re sold generic, "one-size-fits-all" solutions. You get the same slow, bloated website and the same ineffective campaigns as every other dealer in your market, guaranteeing you never stand out.
• The Lead Shell Game: Third-party marketplaces sell you "exclusive" leads while selling the same customer inquiry to your direct competitors. They profit by creating a bidding war, working directly against your goal of efficient customer acquisition.
• Co-op Handcuffs: OEMs dangle reimbursement dollars, but only if you spend with their preferred and often underperforming vendors. This stifles true innovation and keeps you locked in a cycle of mediocrity.
• Contractual Entrapment: Long-term, auto-renewing contracts are used as a weapon. Even when a service fails to deliver, the cost and hassle of breaking free are so high that you’re forced to accept the status quo.

The consequences are a cascade of failures that silently kill your business:

• Fragmented Data Silos: Your CRM, DMS, and marketing platforms don’t communicate, creating a patchwork of disconnected systems. This leads to manual errors, a fractured view of the customer, and an inability to measure true ROI.
• Vendor-Induced Apathy: The system is designed to make complex problems seem unsolvable without external "saviors." This erodes internal innovation and creates a dependency on vendors who have never sold a car.
• A Disjointed Customer Experience: This web of poor technology and siloed data creates friction at every touchpoint. The resulting broken experience destroys conversions and customer trust, while you’re left blaming market conditions.

The greatest trick the system plays is making you feel grateful for the privilege of being bled dry. You’re told these services are essential, when in reality, they are often the very things holding you back.

The scandal isn't the deception, it's the acceptance.

Then they deny it. Lie about it … Engineered for Speed. Accessibility First. Inclusive by Design. And the dealerships blame Google, Facebook, and all the other platforms for leads not converting but never, the developer.

And they want you to believe it isn’t a big deal.

But it is!

This wasn’t a mistake, this was a top down decision to put their profits over yours. And the dealership can’t replace them because they’re protected. Because neither the OEMs or the website providers are looking out for what’s in your best interest.

The same vendors and website providers you use has how many dealerships signed up for their services?

Go look at your competitor’s website and see whose hosting it. Are you both using the same vendor? Do you really think the vendor is going to put your interests over everyone else? No.

Their plan is to provide an even level of exposure and leads for everyone.

And if you found something that worked well for your dealership, they certainly wouldn’t keep it exclusive to you, it would be spread to everyone overnight along with an email explaining how lucky everyone is to have this new feature.

But poor vendors are just the tip of the iceberg.

Your struggles are compounded by a fractured relationship with manufacturers.

It’s especially important to understand this concept when you are evaluating the relationship you have with the manufacturer.

To an even greater degree your interests and the OEM’s do not align.

Yes, they want you to make more sales and move more inventory, but they don’t want you to swallow the other fish in the pond because it is not beneficial to them.

Which is better for a manufacturer, to have one dealer in a large DMA who is #1 in the U.S. or 4 average dealers doing the same volume as the one?

They make more money, have a bigger footprint, more diversity, and more control over four smaller dealership than one big dealership, especially if that dealership runs into financial difficulty.