Episode
Why Dealers are Paying Ransom for their Own Customer Data | Matt Leone, CEO at DriveCentric
- Podcast
- Car Dealership Guy Podcast
- Published
- Jul 16, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2303
- Processing state
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Summary
Today I'm joined by Matt Leone, CEO at DriveCentric. Matt breaks down why one dealer group ditched a $100,000 Salesforce contract they were barely using, why building your own software rarely pays off the way it promises, and why the next fight in the industry is over who actually owns the customer relationship. Topics: 06:00 The Referee Analogy For Software. 11:50 Consolidation Isn't Happening. 18:30 You're Replacing 7 Vendors. 24:50 Why They Sell You A Car Post-Purchase. 35:10 Auto Is Still A Handshake Industry. This episode is brought to you by: 1. Digital Dealer - At Digital Dealer 2026, every session is built around the problems your dealership is actually facing. No theory, just real strategies that move your numbers. September 22-23 in Detroit. Register @ here. 2. Openlane - During DealerFest 2026, you’ll earn points for every vehicle you buy, sell and transport through OPENLANE in July. The more points you earn, the bigger prizes you can win. Learn more @ here. 3. DriveCentric - DriveCentric puts dealerships in the Fast Lane to the Customer with a modern engagement platform built to move faster. Visit @ here for more info. Check out Car Dealership Guy’s stuff: For dealers: CDG Circles ➤ https://cdgcircles.com/ Industry job board ➤ http://jobs.dealershipguy.com Dealership recruiting ➤ http://www.cdgrecruiting.com Fix your dealership’s social media ➤ http://www.trynomad.co…