Circles Weekly · Jan 23 - Jan 29, 2026

Tekion setup fees were widely discussed. A single-point CDJR store (12-14 users, 350-400 units/year) was quoted $35,000. Meanwhile, a Mazda store selling around 1,400 units annually was quoted $40,000. This Mazda dealer was able to negotiate the Tekion fee down to half ($20,000) and include additional yearly training.

Reynolds & Reynolds (R&R) setup fees were reported to be just over $100,000 (first pencil).

Challenges exist with Tekion for Nissan stores using Route One for finance applications, as NMAC does not work with Route One, requiring a separate payment for the DT finance application.

Pinewood.ai DMS is rolling out in the U.S., primarily with Lithia as a direct competitor to Tekion.

DriveCentric AI agents can be set to fire independently, but staff are advised to slow down their response times to avoid competing with the AI.

Tecobi, a CRM, received mixed reviews; some dealers reported "nothing but success," while others couldn't attribute any increase in sales and found it too cost-prohibitive, with a reported price of $5,000.

Concerns were raised that Tecobi might not be “true AI,” but rather lead funnels and predetermined follow-up cadences.

FlickFusion is used by some dealer who report that text message delivery is viewed 70% more than email.

Covideo and Quickpage are also in use.

However, some users said that videos being sent as links instead of clickable thumbnails is potentially impacting watch rates. And some providers unable to track watch rates effectively.

An in-house data warehousing solution using CDK, DriveCentric, Segment CDP, and AWS for 7 rooftops reported AWS costs generally under $500/month.

DriveCentric assisted with direct exports to AWS storage free of charge.

CarCutter was quoted at $799/store, though some users reported paying $349.

CoWork and simular.ai are being explored for AI-enabled automation.

Macincloud offers virtual Mac machines for approximately $30/month for testing.

Numa users require separate video and MPI tools for Ford standards.

Podium's Jerry is being considered for website chat and voice AI options, including in service.

VizAuto is recommended for running more than 5 stores, despite a significant upfront investment, for managing inventory, fixed ops, P&L, sales logs, and schedules in one place.

Dealers are evaluating geo expansion and plan upgrades. One dealer achieved good results with 500-mile expansion in VA.

Expanding to 500 miles, then 1,000 miles, saw great results. A strategy of holding cost-per-lead (CPL) steady at $40 - $60 is recommended, negotiating with CarGurus if it exceeds $60.

CarGurus is cited as having the best sales attribution among third parties, according to Clarivoy.

Featured Priority packages are noted to significantly increase leads, especially with well-merchandised and correctly priced inventory.

One dealer reported lead activity concentrated on only a few vehicles, leading them to drop the platform.

Lotlinx is used on used inventory for close to a year, with moderate confidence in driving traffic. It costs $95 per slot per month via an OEM deal.

The older pricing model of $4/click for $0.25 Facebook clicks was mentioned.

Some believe similar goals can be achieved with Google Sheets and Meta AIA campaigns for a fraction of the cost.

Click Here Digital was recommended for Meta and Google Ads. Dealer Teamwork (Minnetonka, MN) was praised for customer service.

Autohub manages 1,600 repair orders (RO) monthly for a one dealership BDC.

Reynolds' "Heat Sheet" is used by some offices to track issues with deals, turn-in, funding, and notes, helping identify bottlenecks.