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Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

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Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#271

Post by jrs235 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #197
gwbas1c wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As in, the car listed on the web site does not exist. It's merely a gimmick to get you in the door and convince you to buy something else. (And probably illegal, too.) Happened to me the first time I went to buy a car. I just walked out and went to a different dealer.

> the car listed on the web site does not exist Sure. And I get that some of the walking around is probably a ruse. But we're talking about their internal records.

>And I get that some of the walking around is probably a ruse

I don't doubt that on a slow day a salesperson and the entire process will be slowed down... nothing like tapping into the sunk cost fallacy (as a buyer I spent 3 hours here today, I'm not walking out now and doing THIS again)!

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#272

Post by josefresco »

Wingman4l7 wrote: post #242
josefresco wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My last car purchase took 14 hours total. 2 separate days, was buying new, no trade-in. I tracked my time because it was a work week! Despite telling them after the first day to "have everything ready" for my second visit, I still spent the majority of the day inside the dealership, twiddling my thumbs.

It's a major tactic of car salesmen to delay the selling process repeatedly; it physically and mentally wears down the customer and they are more likely to accept aspects of a deal they don't like, to get it over with and completed.

It seems a lot of the process is slowed by "someone has to run to the registry" type stuff which has to be done in a specific order and during "normal" business hours. Typically the sales guy is eager to finish (just wants to sell his next car) but the paperwork is where things get really slow.

The entire time I was thinking how much of a "waste of time" this all was for the sales guy. He really didn't do much after the initial 2 hours of sales time, just "held our hands" while the paperwork was processed.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#273

Post by sjf »

parpfish wrote: post #255
lolinder wrote: post #214

I'm reminded of the opening line of the second Mistborn novel: > I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted. The digital world feels increasingly dangerous and ephemeral. If I have something written with ink on paper I have certain guarantees: I know that it's accessible even if the power is completely out. I know that it won't randomly get deleted if my hard drive suddenly dies. I…

thats why i always print my airlines tickets instead of trusting eTickets on my phone

Find me a printer that’s more reliable than a phone.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#274

Post by astura »

imchillyb wrote: post #219
astura wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I already answered in the comment you are replying to - "my mind was already made up based on price/features" and "I'm more-or-less just looking for something that gets me where I need to go safely." I know that "car guys" can't fathom this but I've driven a LOT of car models (as I've rented a LOT) and they are (mostly) the same to me; I consider cars almost a commodity. I wouldn't even know how to compare vehicle "h…

You’ve driven a lot of car models yet you wouldn’t know how to compare handling? That claim seems disingenuous, in order to serve up a point. You most certainly would be able to differentiate and compare. Your point wouldn’t stand though would it?

>You’ve driven a lot of car models yet you wouldn’t know how to compare handling?

Correct. I've also been driving for a quarter of a century.

>That claim seems disingenuous, in order to serve up a point.

>You most certainly would be able to differentiate and compare

No I wouldn't. I swear to you I'm not lying. A car is a car to me. There are different sizes and some are a bit more comfortable than others but they are mostly the same to me. I don't even know what "handling" even means, I've never had a car behave unexpectedly when turning the wheel.

In sure I would notice a difference if I was racing or something, but I'm not, I'm just going to the god damn grocery store.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#275

Post by josefresco »

imroot wrote: post #218
josefresco wrote: post #5

For those looking for close coverage of this issue, "GuyDealership" is a good source. https://x.com/GuyDealership https://www.dealershipguy.com *not affiliated

He's def a good source, but, he said that "cybersecurity" is the new buzzword of the year, replacing "AI" and "Digital Retailing"[0]. When you talk security to most dealerships, it's about protecting the assets that are on their floor plan -- the vehicles -- not necessarily anything else. Most places have tried to take steps that prevent their sales folks from walking out with their customer book, but, that's the ext…

I feel like GuyDealership is running about 4-5 years ahead of most dealerships. His guests, often successful dealership owners and related service providers are all pushing cutting-edge tools but yet the majority of the industry is creaking along using tactics that are at best decades old.

All that being said, I will call him out on Twitter for some of the things he says that are quite ridiculous. He's a sales guy after all.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#276

Post by jrs235 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #11
lylejantzi3rd wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why don't they have any competition?

My hot take is auto dealers are a notoriously painful enterprise sales cycle due to network effects aka "good 'ol boys" club (anecdotally from folks in tech who have to deal in this industry).

It's still very much a dinosaur industry. I suspect the names (i.e. Tony Jone's Toyota) in dealerships and dealership gorups are typically 70+ years or older by now. Children might be taking over and running things now but dad is still likely "chairman of the board" and makes final expense decisions.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#277

Post by wormius »

I know it's not directly related to this, but I remember one time I went to a dealership in my area that was apparently known for being particularly skeezy (unbeknownst to me before I went in). They got sued for some sort of fraud.

Anyways, I remember going in, and the guy pulling up a car in their system when the (too good to be true) car listed wasn't in stock.

He turned the computer screen around, and there was one of those (I think) fake "you have a virus" pop ups in the IE window. It was either that or a real alert. Either way - clearly incompetent with tech, and once I saw that I noped out of there fast.

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#278

Post by cibyr »

sjf wrote: post #273
parpfish wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats why i always print my airlines tickets instead of trusting eTickets on my phone

Find me a printer that’s more reliable than a phone.

https://www.theverge.com/23642073/best-printer-2023-brother-...

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#279

Post by riddlemethat »

bee_rider wrote: post #209
SoftTalker wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A smart intern would take photos of the window stickers, OCR them, put them in a Google drive folder, and salespeople could then search them. Could be done as fast as walking from car to car.

It started last Wednesday, and the estimate for the fix is “several days” according to the AP. I think it will be difficult even to get somebody hired in time.

The paid internship... The true unicorn...

Re: Car dealerships revert to pens and paper after cyberattacks on software provider

#280

Post by Cerium »

sjf wrote: post #273
parpfish wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

thats why i always print my airlines tickets instead of trusting eTickets on my phone

Find me a printer that’s more reliable than a phone.

The reliability of the printer versus the phone is not at discussion. The reason to go with paper tickets is that they have significantly better availability and partition tolerance than phone based tickets. Using a paper ticket requires that the ticket be available at an exact future moment in time (when you board). The hassle of potentially using multiple unreliable printers ahead of time to prepare the paper ticket is an engineering trade off in providing a system with excellent time of use properties.

In the event that your personal printer is not functioning, the airport has many publicly accessible printers for your ticket printing convenience.

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