CRM for car dealerships
The car dealership CRM that books the test drive before the buyer calls the next lot
Every inquiry on every vehicle, captured and answered day or night. Test drives booked, trade-ins logged and follow-ups sent while your salespeople are on the lot.
CRM included in every plan, from $39/month. AI manager included.
New inquiry
Contacted
Test drive booked
Negotiating
Quick answer
What is the best car dealership CRM for an independent lot?
The best car dealership CRM for an independent lot captures every call, text and chat about a vehicle, logs the buyer with the unit they want, books the test drive and keeps following up. Clientager does this with a built-in CRM and an AI manager that answers 24/7, so leads from after-hours browsing do not go cold before your team opens in the morning.
Built for independent car dealerships and used car lots
Your Car Dealership CRM comes set up with the stages and fields independent car dealerships and used car lots actually use. Change anything, add your own.
Pipeline stages
- New inquiry
- Contacted
- Test drive booked
- Negotiating
- Won
What each record holds
- Vehicle of interest (stock number)
- Budget and monthly payment target
- Trade-in year, make, model and mileage
- Financing needed (yes/no)
- Down payment available
- Lead source (website, marketplace, walk-in, referral)
- Assigned salesperson
- Purchase timeline
Vehicles in the catalog
Add your units with year, make, model, trim, mileage and price. The AI manager answers questions from the catalog, and quotes pull the vehicle straight in as a line item with doc fees and tax.
Sales pipeline by buyer
Each buyer sits in a stage from New inquiry to Won with a deal value. Drag cards as deals move, mark lost deals with a reason, and see what your lot has in play this week.
Test drive bookings
Test drives land on the calendar with the stock number, the buyer and the salesperson. Confirmations and reminders go out by SMS so fewer buyers forget the appointment.
Trade-in details on the record
Custom fields hold the trade-in year, mileage, condition notes and payoff. Your appraiser sees it before the buyer arrives instead of asking the same questions twice.
Buyer timeline
Every call transcript, text, chat and email sits on one timeline with notes and tasks. When a buyer comes back three weeks later, anyone on the team knows what was said.
Deposits by pay link
Send a deposit invoice to hold a unit and collect it through your own Stripe, Razorpay or PayPal account. It is marked paid automatically when the buyer pays.
Reports by lead source
See which sources bring inquiries, which convert to test drives and which close. Spend your listing budget on the sources that actually sell cars.
Included: Clientager AI manager
A CRM that fills itself in
Most CRMs wait for someone to type. Your AI manager answers calls, WhatsApp, SMS, website chat and email 24/7, then writes every contact, booking and next step into the CRM for you.
Answers vehicle questions 24/7
Is it still available, what is the mileage, do you take trades. Your AI manager answers by phone, WhatsApp, SMS, chat and email from your catalog, replying to messages in each customer's own language.
Logs the buyer with the unit
It creates the contact, fills budget, trade-in and financing fields it learns, and drops the lead into the right pipeline stage tied to the stock number.
Books the test drive
It offers open times, books the appointment, assigns it to the salesperson on shift and schedules the confirmation and reminder.
Hands hot buyers to a human
When a buyer is ready to talk numbers, it creates a callback task for a salesperson with a summary, so the right person calls back fast.
Scores and suggests the next step
Each record gets a short summary, a hot, warm or cold score and a suggested next best action, so your team works the buyers most likely to close.
How a car dealership runs on Clientager
- 01
A buyer texts about a truck at 10pm
Your AI manager answers that it is still on the lot, asks about the trade-in and budget, and logs everything on a new contact.
- 02
The test drive is booked
It offers Saturday morning, books the slot with the salesperson on shift and schedules a reminder text for Friday evening.
- 03
The salesperson walks in prepared
The record shows the unit, the trade-in details, the payment target and an AI summary of the conversation.
- 04
Numbers, deposit and paperwork
The salesperson sends a quote with the vehicle, doc fee and tax, then a deposit pay link to hold the unit.
- 05
Sold, reviewed and remembered
The deal moves to Won, a review request goes out and the buyer stays on a list for future trade-in outreach.
Automations ready to switch on
- When A new contact is created→ Send an SMS confirming the vehicle details and create a callback task for the assigned salesperson.
- When A test drive booking is completed→ Move the deal to Negotiating and send a thank-you text with the salesperson's direct line after 2 hours.
- When A deal moves to Contacted→ After 3 days, create a follow-up task and send a short SMS asking if the buyer still wants to see the vehicle.
- When A deal moves to Won→ Tag the buyer as Sold, send a review request after 3 days and add them to a service reminder list.
- When No visit for 365 days→ Send a check-in email asking about upgrading or trading in their current vehicle.
Spreadsheets vs. Clientager
Spreadsheets and generic CRMs
- Inquiries from marketplaces, texts and calls scattered across phones and inboxes
- After-hours leads wait until morning and buy somewhere else
- Trade-in details live on sticky notes or in one salesperson's head
- No clear view of which listing sources sell cars
- Follow-ups depend on who remembers
Clientager Car Dealership CRM
- Every inquiry logged on one record with the vehicle it is about
- Answered 24/7 with test drives booked on the spot
- Trade-in, budget and financing captured in custom fields
- Leads by source and win rate in plain reports
- Automated follow-ups and callback tasks for every open deal
Why independent dealers need a car dealership CRM built for speed
Car buyers shop several lots at once. The first dealer to answer with a clear yes, a price and a test drive time usually gets the visit. A car dealership CRM that only stores contacts does not solve that. You need something that answers the inquiry, captures the buyer and books the appointment, even when your sales team has gone home or is busy on the lot.
Clientager puts a CRM and an AI manager in the same place. The AI manager answers calls, texts, WhatsApp, web chat and email about any unit in your catalog. It writes the buyer straight into the CRM with the vehicle, budget, trade-in and timeline, then books the test drive on your calendar. Your team starts the day with booked appointments, not a pile of missed calls.
Track every trade-in, test drive and deposit in one record
Most used car dealer CRM software was built for big franchise stores with a desk manager and a BDC. A smaller lot needs the same discipline with less setup. In Clientager, each buyer has one record with their vehicle of interest, trade-in details, financing needs and every conversation on a timeline. Nothing depends on a salesperson remembering a phone call from last Tuesday.
When the buyer is ready, build a quote from your catalog with the vehicle, doc fee, tax and any discount. Send a deposit invoice by secure pay link through your own Stripe, Razorpay or PayPal account. The invoice marks itself paid when the buyer pays, and the deal moves forward without anyone updating a spreadsheet. Managers see every open deal and its value on the pipeline board at a glance.
- Stock number linked to each inquiry
- Trade-in year, mileage and payoff in custom fields
- Test drives on a shared week calendar
- Deposits collected by pay link
Follow up until the deal closes, then keep the customer
Most car sales are lost to silence, not to price. A buyer test drives, says they need to think, and nobody calls back. Clientager automations create follow-up tasks a few days after a deal changes stage and send short, friendly texts that keep the conversation alive. Your AI manager can draft replies your salespeople send from the buyer's record with one click.
After the sale, the relationship is worth keeping. Tag sold customers, send a review request a few days later and run a win-back message a year on asking about their next vehicle or a trade-in. Reports show leads by source, test drives booked, deals won and revenue collected, so you know which listings and channels actually move inventory. You also see how many conversations the AI handled after hours.
Questions about the CRM
What is the difference between a car dealership CRM and an AI manager?
A car dealership CRM stores your buyers, vehicles, deals and conversations. An AI manager does the front-line work: it answers inquiries 24/7, asks about trade-ins and budget, books test drives and writes all of it into the CRM. In Clientager both come together, so the CRM fills itself while your team sells.
Can the AI manager answer questions about specific vehicles?
Yes. Add your vehicles to the catalog with year, make, model, mileage and price. The AI manager uses that to answer availability and spec questions, then logs the buyer against that unit. When a car sells, update the catalog and it stops offering it.
Can I import my existing leads and past buyers?
Yes. Export your leads and sold customers from any spreadsheet or CRM as a CSV and import them. Clientager detects duplicates during import and lets you merge them, so past buyers and fresh leads land as clean records ready for follow-up.
Can my salespeople log in without seeing revenue?
Yes. Give salespeople the staff role. They can work their buyers, book test drives, send texts and add notes, but they do not see payments, billing or revenue. Owners and managers see everything. Starter includes 2 team logins, Growth 5 and Scale unlimited.
How do I take a deposit to hold a car?
Create an invoice from the buyer's record with the deposit amount and send it as a secure pay link. Payment goes to your own Stripe, Razorpay or PayPal account, and the invoice is marked paid automatically so the team knows the unit is held.
Does it help with after-hours leads?
That is where it helps most. Buyers browse listings at night and on Sundays. Your AI manager answers right away, books the test drive and creates a morning callback task, so the lead is warm when your team opens instead of already visiting another lot.
How much does the car dealership CRM cost?
The CRM is included in every Clientager plan, and plans start at $39 per month. You can see it working in a live demo first, and you get a refund if you change your mind before your AI agent goes live.
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