myCARFAX

Hello,

Since you're actively investigating a new management system, here are a couple resource lists with different software vendors to look into.

List of CARFAX-integrated partners:

https://service.carfax.com/csn/partners

List of Auto Repair Software programs with user reviews:

http://www.capterra.com/auto-repair-software/

You might also consider whether or not you plan to take advantage of other third party integrations, such as fellow ASO site sponsor Bolt On Technology's inspection solution, or your preferred labor rate provider like you mentioned.

If you call any of our partners for a demo, please tell them I say hello!

Good luck on the hunt.

Thanks,

Thomas

This is a very relevant post, as these recalls are a stop-sale issue for your customers. I recently attempted to sale a 2008 CR-V that was affected by this recall, and had numerous buyers walk away because there was no date commitment from Honda for a replacement part being available at the time (it was fixed back in July). The sooner you can let your customers know that they are affected, the sooner they can get an appointment to have it fixed for free. Honda will also provide a loaner vehicle if no part is available. Honda has another great resource set up here: http://hondaairbaginfo.com/

You can quickly check for Open Honda and Acura recalls using the CARFAX Service History feature in your shop management system. Honda reports open recalls directly to CARFAX, in addition to 42+ other manufacturers. This is a great way to build trust with your customers, as many of these recalls are safety issues.

Thanks,

Thomas

Hi SparkerAuto,

Since you're using the TABS AutoFluent SMS, you might be interested in watching a quick check in demonstration video we put together highlighting our various integrations.

You'll be able to make sure you're getting the most out of the myCarfax tools available in TABS - especially building trust by alerting customers to any open recalls on their vehicles, as well as having better conversations with brand new customers or vehicles where the car may have been previously serviced at a dealership or any of our 39,000+ reporting service locations.

Thanks,

Thomas

I use Mitchell. I know for a fact that car fax asked and is now using info to report what I was doing to my customers vehicles. They stated that after a Mitchell update, they had lost that ability wth my particular server.

Hi SMMotors,

Sorry I wasn't clear - yes, Mitchell is a compatible system with our program. A couple thousand shops who use Mitchell choose to participate. For Mitchell users, there is a separate add-on that facilitates the reporting to Carfax. It did previously happen through Mitchell itself, but no longer. See Mitchell support article here: http://mitchell1.com/knowledgebase/article.php?id=638

When I stated that Mitchell didn't currently have our products, I was referring to shop-facing products like our QuickVIN license plate to VIN, Service History Check, and myCarfax Customer Signup features. The license plate lookup in Mitchell 7.0 is not affiliated with Carfax.

im subscribing looking forward to the response from carfax rep. im interested to know others thoughts on car fax. some of my customers have mentioned they saw value in it.

Hey HandsOn - glad to hear your customers have been happy! We know that customers who try to trade or sell cars will have an easier time with it if their service history is available on the Carfax report!

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Thanks,

Thomas

Hey CAZM,

We're happy to have Pomp's Tire in our network of shops!

I wasn't involved in the Pomp's Tire roll out, but I imagine they've decided to start actively promoting the myCARFAX app to their customers as a way to help their customers keep up with their service history, and to let Carfax help keep customers coming back for their next preventative maintenance service.

AlfredAuto and Geez - you mentioned Mitchell in your post. We don't currently have any of our products integrated inside their SMS, but we do make the Carfax service and repair history available to any participating shop. For Mitchell users, they can login to a website, but for other management systems - the information is built in. We're always working with our partners to help myCarfax shops get the most from their membership, so here is an example from ALLDATA's new Manage Online product - take a look to see what their experience is like. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkLhatzlQf0)

I'm happy to answer any specific questions, but I don't want to hijack CAZM's post.

CAZM, how does the Appointment Plus product work? Is it a new lead form on your website? We can update your myCarfax Shop Listing with a link to this appointment page if you'd like. (http://www.pompstire.com/auto-repairs/schedule-a-repair.aspx)

Thanks,

Thomas

Just a thought.. Giving a fresh look to a waiting area isn't necessarily a big spend. A fresh coat of paint, and some other little details could go a long way. I would look for great condition office furniture on Craigslist if I wanted to furnish it better. Assuming you have internet at the shop, go ahead and turn on free WiFi for your customers, and if you don't have a beverage bar, maybe consider a Kuerig or similar. You can stock something like that pretty economically at CostCo or Sam's Club.

Just a couple ideas.

At one time carfax had partnered with Mitchell in order to use the vin decoder. As it were carfax was also gathering the customer data. I said no.

Hi Jeff,

You are correct. CARFAX did previously have a partnership with Mitchell1 for their management system. To clarify, at no time was an customer information reported to CARFAX. The only pieces of information shared with CARFAX were the VIN, what services were reported on that vehicle, and which shop performed the work. If you think about a CARFAX Vehicle History Report, we only receive information necessary to add a service record to that vehicle.

Since that time, we've continued to build out our program - adding more value and benefits for the 37,000+ participating service locations every day.

If you haven't taken a look at our mobile app, myCARFAX, take a look! You might find that this would be a great program that you can promote to your customer for FREE, where we promote your shop as the place for their next service appointment.

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to private message or reply.

Thanks,

Thomas

FYI: the Quickbooks Online integration was a feature announced for ALLDATA Manage Online in their November 2015 release.

http://support.alldata.com/article/whats-new-alldata-manage-online

ALLDATA Manage Online is one of our partner management systems that have our latest MyCARFAX tools directly integrated. Make sure check them out when you see the product!

Thanks,

Thomas

The myCARFAX Partner Development team is hitting the floor tomorrow and Wednesday! We'll be meeting with the 14 integrated partners exhibiting and catching up with friends throughout the show!

You should keep an eye out for the CAR FOX. If you see him in a booth, there's a $100 Visa Gift Card raffle to enter!

Thanks,

Thomas

Here are our partners (shout out to Bolt On! They'll be in many of these booths representing their management system integration along with our QuickVIN product)

• Fuse5 AAPEX 3868
• Navex DST AAPEX 4073
• Omnique Shop Management Software AAPEX 4081

• ALLDATA SEMA 10661
• ASA Automotive Systems SEMA 40013
• FreedomSoft SEMA 40120
• GEM-CAR SEMA 33243
• ISI/ModuLube SEMA 42218
• JMK SEMA 40079
• MaddenCo Inc. SEMA 40094
• MAM Software Inc. SEMA 40129
• R.O. Writer Shop Management Software SEMA 10503
• TCS, an ARI Company SEMA 43135
• Winworks AutoShop Management Software SEMA 32239

Got it. Was thinking there were some features we didn't have, but it looks like VAST is solid in this area.

 

Let me tell you, that quick VIN feature is awesome. Being able to pull a VIN from a license plate is so nice. When they demo'd the product to us, we just typed in a license plate number of a car driving by on the street, and sure enough, it grabbed the VIN and completely decoded it. Incredible.

 

Regarding the service history, it's a bit hit or miss. Most dealerships report history to Carfax, so we get that; however, many smaller shops do not, so there are big history gaps in many customer cars.

Totally understandable. Tell all your friends and we'll get those gaps filled in! We sign up more shops every day!

We have the CarFax mechanical history in VAST. Is this what you mean, or does myCarFax have more features?

Hope you're enjoying the features!

Does anyone currently use Mitchell Manager SE for their shop management software but use All Data Repair for their labor times/repair information? We are currently using All Data Manage and the program leaves a lot to be desired in terms of a complete automotive repair shop management program. I would like to maybe try Mitchell for shop management but our techs like and are used to All Data Repair for the labor times/repair information. Just wanted to find out if this would make it more difficult to use the shop management software in terms of importing labor times, etc.

Hey 5 Star,

You may want to check out their ALLDATA Manage Online edition - they've been doing lots of work on it recently, including, (cough) adding in myCARFAX shop tools.

What's New in Manage Online

Thanks,

Thomas

Hello Hands On,

I'd suggest downloading our myCARFAX app and taking a look around some of the features we offer your customers. It's free to you, and free to your customers. We automatically set your shop as the preferred shop when they sign up within 30 days of getting work performed at your shop, meaning that CARFAX will recommend your shop for their next due oil change, tire rotation, safety, or emissions inspection.

We also offer additional value-add features such as VIN-specific Recall alerts, access to the OEM maintenance schedule, and the opportunity to add DIY services they complete themselves.

I'm happy to answer specific questions about the program, and what other benefits come with our myCARFAX Service Shop program.

Available on:

• Apple App Store
• Google Play Store
• mycarfax.com

Feel free to login to my demo account "[email protected]", password: "Password" with a capital P.

Thanks,

Thomas

I have been using Baymaster for the past five years and I have been very satisfied. Integration with Identifix and major parts and tire suppliers. Ability to send text message when job is completed or when parts arrive (customers love that feature). Completed invoice looks professional. Customers are able to understand the invoice. Uses CarFax to obtain VIN, make, model, sub-model and engine size just by entering the plate. Support is excellent and they are open to suggestions as to what we need and they make changes accordingly.

Glad to hear our QuickVIN product integrated into Baymaster has been a big help to your shop!

You can find a complete list of shop management systems with CARFAX features built in on our website.

Thanks,

Thomas

On a personal note - can I recommend that you make sure it dims during the night time hours? There is nothing more annoying and unsafe than a blindingly bright LED sign at night right next to the highway!

Sounds like you're getting a good response to it though - good luck!

Thanks,

Thomas

www.Omnique.com does it by license plate number also! Much easier!

Another partner we're excited to be partnered with!

It's pretty simple - you work on their car, they sign up for myCARFAX within 30 days, and we'll always recommend your shop as recommended facility.

Thanks,

Thomas

Hi,

 

The CARFAX Quick VIN feature is part of our Mobile Manager Pro, our digital multi-point inspection software, which fully integrates with Mitchell1, RO Writer, NAPA TRACS, ALLDATA and Tasco.

Happy to be a part of your product, Mike! Whether you're taking a call or walking around the vehicle, we want shops to be able to have this feature (and more!) wherever they need it.

Hello everyone,

The CARFAX QuickVIN feature, which turns the license plate to a VIN with complete vin decode information, is available in the majority of shop management systems available today - including those mentioned above: TABS AutoFluent, RO Writer, SAGE. You can find out if the feature is available in your software at https://service.carfax.com/csn/partners

This product is one of the many benefits available to myCARFAX Service Shops - www.mycarfaxserviceshop.com

Thanks,

Thomas