How Fast Should Dealership Software Vendors Respond to Feature Requests?

• Dealers often tell Mike that their software vendors never respond to change requests, or push them to next year's product roadmap.

• A responsive vendor starts by asking questions and digging into the request right away, not by logging a ticket and going quiet.

• When MOTO(acquire) commits to building something, Mike says it is usually launched within a week.

• Mike sees this responsiveness as the difference between MOTO(acquire) and other software companies, especially in automotive.

• MOTO(acquire) integrates with all major DMS platforms and many others, and will build the integration if a dealer's DMS is not supported yet.

Every dealer has been there. You find a gap in a tool your store pays for, you send the request to your rep, and then nothing. Or you get the polite version: it is on the product roadmap for next year. If you have ever wondered how fast dealership software vendors should respond to feature requests, Mike Crothers, CEO of MOTO(acquire), has a clear answer based on what his dealers tell him.

What dealers keep hearing from software vendors

Mike says he hears the same story from dealers all the time: "We work with so-and-so company, we requested this change, we never heard back, or they said they'd put it on the product roadmap next year."

That answer costs a store more than it sounds. The used car market does not wait for a roadmap. A trade-in workflow that slows your appraisers down, a lead that does not land in the right place in your CRM, a report your used car manager has to build by hand: those problems keep costing you for as long as they sit unfixed.

Most dealers accept it because that is how automotive software has usually worked. Mike's point is that it does not have to be.

How fast should dealership software vendors respond to feature requests?

Mike's view is simple. The response should start right away, and it should start with questions. Here is how he describes what his dealers say about working with his team: "When we work with MOTO(acquire) and we ask them for help, they ask us questions right away, they dig into it."

Asking questions first matters. A dealer's request usually describes a symptom. A good vendor wants to know what the desk is actually trying to do, who touches the process, and where it breaks. That is how you end up with a fix that works in the store instead of a feature that just checks a box.

Then comes the commitment. According to Mike, when MOTO(acquire) commits to building something, "it's usually launched within a week." Not next quarter. Not next year. Within a week.

That is the bar he sets for his own team, and it is a fair question to put to any vendor you work with.

What to watch for with your current vendors

You do not need a formal scorecard to figure out whether a vendor is responsive. Pay attention to what happens the next time you ask for something:

• Do they respond at all? The most common complaint Mike hears is that dealers never heard back.

• Do they ask questions? A vendor who digs into your request understands your store better than one who just files a ticket.

• Do they commit? "We'll look at it" and "it's on the roadmap" are not commitments.

• Do they deliver? Speed only matters if the thing actually launches.

Mike calls this "the difference between MOTO(acquire) and other software companies, especially automotive software companies." The partners worth keeping are the ones who treat your feedback as work to be done, not a suggestion to be filed away.

How this shows up at MOTO(acquire)

MOTO(acquire) builds software that helps dealerships acquire used vehicles. That includes MOTO(convert) for website trade-ins with instant valuations and firm offer requests, MOTO(retain) for sending past sales and service customers their vehicle's value every month, MOTO(drive) for service drive acquisition using DMS data and automated texts, and MOTO(social), which gives each person posting on social their own link with leads attributed in the CRM.

The same approach applies to integrations. MOTO(acquire) integrates with all major DMS platforms and many others, including Tekion, Dealertrack, CDK, Reynolds, and Auto/Mate. If your store uses a DMS we do not integrate with yet, we will build the integration.

Mike's closing line sums up who this is for: "If your dealership wants to make things better, then we're the right partner for you." You can see more about how the team works on the Inside MOTO(acquire) page, or book a demo to see MOTO(acquire) on your own store's website.