IDMS brings the pieces together for Coast to Coast

Coast to Coast Motors, which operates seven buy-here, pay-here (BHPH) locations in the Houston, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa areas, was a Finance Express (FEX) holdover until making the switch to DealerSocket’s IDMS three years ago. In May, the 30-year-old, family-owned operation recorded one of its best months ever.

As CFO of Coast to Coast, Travis Allison leans heavily on IDMS’s reporting capabilities to accurately assess the group’s performance and month-to-date collections. He says the ability to delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes aspects of the multi-rooftop operation is IDMS’s biggest advantage.

“I rely on IDMS’s API to transfer a massive amount of data from IDMS to our third-party data software, so the ability to tap into IDMS remotely behind the scenes has been a huge benefit to me,” Allison notes.

Coast to Coast’s employees especially benefit from the system’s ease of use, robust training, and dependability. Allison also credits DealerSocket’s exemplary customer service and personal touch for the group’s strong partnership with the software provider.

“Having a great product is one thing, but I also need customer service when it comes to my software vendors,” Allison says. “I work with our Customer Success Manager, Anthony Wright, all the time, and he’s always willing to pick up the phone when we need assistance and help us move the needle when it comes to the level of integration and connectivity we need.”

Allison wasn’t around during the FEX days, but he says his team considers IDMS a huge upgrade. That’s why he encourages other independent and BHPH dealers on FEX DMS to consider making the same switch.

“For dealers looking for a dealership management system that coordinates their service, their collections, and their sales all in one area, IDMS is definitely the way to go,” Allison says. “It allows us to have an omnichannel approach to our business, and if your DMS can’t provide that, you ought to look at IDMS.”