Most recently there has been a bold new wave washing over the automotive dealership landscape. Beginning with TrueCar, whose CEO bragged about using data to eliminate dealerships and  lower profits below True Cost. He arrogantly taunted us with claims of "Transparency" which has become the "Buzz Word" of every vendor using our own data to virtually put us out of business, to steal our customers information, and sell it, pass it on to their affiliate companies, and otherwise resell it to third and fourth parties. 

WELL, the revolution is here... and we, the dealers, managers, and industry loyalists are committed to locking down the DATA. Remember, cockroaches run when you shine a light on them. 

We realize that vendors need access to SOME DATA to be able to perform their services BUT, virtually every vendor taking Data from the dealers- Data that ultimately shows up elsewhere being used against us - every vendor is taking far more Data than necessary and making dealers sign agreements that they can resell it, and pass it to affiliates, and that the VENDOR OWNS your customer data. 

So many Dealers have signed contracts that THE VENDOR OWNS YOUR DATA.

THAT IS SO WRONG. By what right does any vendor you are paying have to claim to own your customers? That is total backwards crap and you know it. DEALERS-Your data is your BLUE SKY and you are signing contracts that allow vendors to own your customers and steal your legacy. 

These vendors include, DMS Providers, CRM Companies, Lead Providers, Third Party Aggregators... and others, there are even OEMs (Manufacturers) stealing data from service and sales and even finance information on your customers and redistributing it.

The purpose of this BLOG is THE FIRST SHOT in the Data Reclamation Revolution. 

We intend to educate Dealers as to what vendors are lifting your DATA... what they're doing with Your Data... Who they're selling it to or passing it along to. 

Remember, the dealer is legally and liabilally responsible for the privacy and security of your data, not the vendor that contractually stole it and sold it. 

AND we urge Dealers to responsibly call all of these vendors to task... either rewrite your contract or Cancel Them.

It is the purpose of this BLOG to expose those vendors and publish the offending parts of their agreements here. Remember, the vendor that screams loudest is probably the most guilty. JIM