The publishers of Auto Dealer Today have announced the winners of the 2023 Dealers’ Choice Awards. Now in its 18th year, the program was designed to recognize the industry’s best vendors, suppliers, and finance partners by asking dealers and dealership personnel to complete a 30-category online survey.
Invitations to vote and a shareable link were sent to readers of ADT and F&I and Showroom; completed surveys were spot-checked for veracity. Voting was open throughout the month of June. Each voter was asked to manually enter their provider’s company name in at least five categories, then score that provider on quality, value, customer service, and whether they would recommend them to another dealer.
The top three companies that exceeded each category’s average score were awarded first-place Diamond, second-place Platinum, and third-place Gold honors.
“For the first time this year, we convened an advisory board of industry executives to weigh in on the categories, in an attempt to streamline and improve the voting process,” said David Gesudalo, president of Bobit’s Dealer Group. “And I am pleased to announce that our attempt was successful and the number of votes received increased from 4,521 in 2022 to over 5,300 this year.”
The winners of the 2023 Dealers’ Choice Awards are:
New Vehicle Leads
DIAMOND: Dealer Wizard by iA American Warranty Group
PLATINUM: Digital Air Strike
GOLD: Dealer.com
Used Vehicle Leads
DIAMOND: Digital Air Strike
PLATINUM: CarGurus
GOLD: CarsDirect
Digital Marketing
DIAMOND: Dealer Wizard by iA American Warranty Group
PLATINUM: Digital Air Strike
GOLD: Dealer.com
Digital Retailing
DIAMOND: Axiom
PLATINUM: AutoFi
GOLD: Darwin Automotive
Reputation Management
DIAMOND: Digital Air Strike
PLATINUM: Dealer Rater
GOLD: Dominion Dealer Services
Direct Marketing: Sales
DIAMOND: APC Integrated Services Group
PLATINUM: Strategic DX
GOLD: ProMax
Virtual BDC
DIAMOND: Digital Air Strike
PLATINUM: AllCall
GOLD: Dealer Rater
Direct Marketing: Service
DIAMOND: CarRx by by Connected Dealer Services
PLATINUM: APC Integrated Services Group
GOLD: Maximus Auto Group
Inventory Management
DIAMOND: CarRx by Connected Dealer Services
PLATINUM: VAuto
GOLD: DealerSocket
Hiring and Recruitment
DIAMOND: GSFSGroup
PLATINUM: AutoCareersOnline
GOLD: AutoPeople
Post-Sale Customer Retention
DIAMOND: APC Integarted Services Group
PLATINUM: Maximus Auto Group
GOLD: CarRx by Connected Dealer Services
Online Auction
DIAMOND: Ally SmartAuction
PLATINUM: Manheim
GOLD: eBayMotors
Traditional Auction
DIAMOND: Manheim
PLATINUM: America’s Auto Auction
GOLD: Adesa
Sales Training
DIAMOND: iA American Warranty Group
PLATINUM: Vanguard Dealer Services
GOLD: Assurant
F&I Training
DIAMOND: Brown & Brown Dealer Services
PLATINUM: Reahard & Associates
GOLD: iA American Warranty Group
Special Finance Training
DIAMOND: Vanguard Dealer Services
PLATINUM: iA American Warranty Group
GOLD: Assurant
Compliance Training
DIAMOND: Mosaic Compliance Services
PLATINUM: Reahard & Associates
GOLD: Vanguard Dealer Services
F&I Ancillary Products
DIAMOND: RoadVantage
PLATINUM: APCO Holdings (home to EasyCare, National Auto Care and GWC Warranty)
GOLD: ECP Inc
Vehicle Service Contracts
DIAMOND: RoadVantage
PLATINUM: Protective Asset Protection
GOLD: GSFSGroup
Appearance Protection
DIAMOND: ECP Inc
PLATINUM: Nobilis Group
PLATINUM: Portfolio
GOLD: CalTex
Reinsurance & Participation
DIAMOND: Portfolio
PLATINUM: DOWC
GOLD: iA American Warranty Group
F&I Menu Software
DIAMOND: Impact Group
PLATINUM: iA American Warranty Group
GOLD: StoneEagle
Vehicle Tracking
DIAMOND: Elo GPS by Connected Dealer Services
PLATINUM: Waypoint GPS
GOLD: LoJack
CRM
DIAMOND: DealerSocket
PLATINUM: ProMax
GOLD: Reynolds and Reynolds
DMS
DIAMOND: Dealertrack
PLATINUM: CDK Global
GOLD: Reynolds and Reynolds
Data Mining
DIAMOND: AutoAlert
PLATINUM: Dealer Wizard by iA American Warranty Group
GOLD: Digital Air Strike
Reporting Systems
DIAMOND: StoneEagle
PLATINUM: MaximTrak
GOLD: Dealertrack
Prime Non-Captive Finance Company
DIAMOND: Ally
PLATINUM: TD Financial
GOLD: Chase
Subprime Finance Company
DIAMOND: Santander
PLATINUM: Capital One
GOLD: Credit Acceptance
Biweekly Payments
DIAMOND: SMARTPAY
PLATINUM: AutoPayPlus
GOLD: PriorityPayPlus
F&I Product Financing
DIAMOND: Line\5
PLATINUM: Zero Plan by Universal Lenders
GOLD: PayLink