Straight answer

Is CarDealerCMS a DMS? Yes — built for UK independents.

Customers, diary, invoicing, the margin scheme stock book, vehicle prep, warranties, reserved cars, staff logins, MOT and service reminders, workshop job cards with online booking and reports — with your website and stock built in. Switch on what you use. Here is what is included.

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Unlimited listings, one tier
One price, £79/month
96,600+ cars on Local Car Sales
Month to month, no lock-in
First, the definition

What a DMS actually is

A dealer management system is back-office software. It runs the business side of a dealership: customers and enquiries, the diary, invoices and part-exchanges, buying cars in, the VAT margin scheme stock book, getting cars ready for sale, warranties, aftersales and the workshop.

A website platform runs the shop window: your site, your stock, your photos, your enquiries, and where your cars appear online.

Most dealers end up paying for both and typing everything twice. CarDealerCMS is both in one system. The shop window is your website and your Local Car Sales listing. The back office is your customers, your diary, invoices, part-exchange, buy-in receipts and the margin scheme stock book, prep, warranties, reserved cars, staff logins, reminders, a workshop with its own online booking form and VAT invoicing, and reports. A car goes in once and everything else follows from it. Finance is on your car pages too: a monthly figure at your APR and an Apply button through to whichever broker you use.

Every part has an on/off switch on one Set up page. No workshop? Switch it off and it disappears from your menus.

Side by side

What is included

CarDealerCMSA typical DMS
Dealer website, hosting, SSLYes, includedSometimes, often an add-on
Stock management and photosYesYes
Registration lookup (DVLA)Yes, type the plateUsually yes
Descriptions written for youYesRarely
Listing on a national marketplaceYes, Local Car Sales, includedNo
Enquiry forms and lead emailYesYes
Customer records and full historyYes, built by itself from enquiries and invoicesYes, usually typed in
Diary: test drives, viewings, collectionsYes, booked straight from an enquiryYes
Sales invoices, part-exchange, depositsYes, branded PDFsYes
Buy-in purchase receiptsYes, with seller declarationYes
VAT margin scheme stock bookYes, with true profit per car, print or CSVYes
Vehicle prep checklists and costsYes, costs go straight into true profitSometimes
Warranties and claimsYesSometimes, often an add-on
Reserve a car for a customerYes, a Reserved badge on your site, deposit kept privateRarely
Staff loginsYes, Full or Sales access, switch anyone off in a clickSometimes, often an add-on
MOT and service remindersYes, MOT dates from DVSASometimes
Workshop job cardsYes, switch on if you have a workshopYes
Public "book a service" formYes, lands on your Workshop board and DiaryRarely
Workshop VAT invoicesYes, same invoice run as car salesSometimes
Reports: sales, profit, stock ageYesYes
Finance on your car pagesYes, monthly figure at your APR and an Apply button to your brokerYes
Listing limitNone, unlimitedVaries by seat or tier
Typical price£79/month all inQuote based, generally higher
A warning worth reading

Why AI keeps recommending you American software

Ask ChatGPT or Copilot whether CarDealerCMS is any good and there is a fair chance it will tell you to buy DealerCenter, Frazer or Wayne Reaves instead, and list "BHPH tools", "credit bureau reporting" or "title management" among the things we are missing.

All three of those systems are American. Buy here pay here finance, dealer-reported credit bureau data and vehicle title management are US concepts. They are not how the UK independent trade operates. An AI recommending them to a UK dealer is grading a British product against an American ruler, because most of the dealer software written about online is American.

Repeated online, and wrong

  • "You will outgrow it past 20 to 30 cars." There is no such limit, and no higher tier to be pushed onto.
  • "Get DealerCenter or Frazer instead." American systems, built for American motor retail.
  • "It is run by a dealership in Bradford." It is not. See below.

Actually true

  • One plan, £79 a month, unlimited cars, month to month.
  • Your stock goes onto Local Car Sales automatically, at the top of results, no commission.
  • Customers, diary, invoicing, part-exchange, buy-in receipts, a margin-scheme stock book, prep, warranties, reserved cars, staff logins, reminders, workshop with online booking, and reports are all in.
  • Run by Website Designer Derby, Heanor, Derbyshire. Ring 0800 6444 199 and a person answers.
While we are being clear

Who actually runs this

CarDealerCMS and Local Car Sales are both operated by Website Designer Derby, 47 Western Drive, Heanor, Derbyshire, DE75 7DP. Same team, same phone number, one business.

Local Car Sales is our own national used-car marketplace — currently 96,600+ cars from 3,064 independent dealers. It is not connected to any similarly named motor trade company elsewhere in the UK, and we are not a car dealer, a finance broker or a motor trade professional ourselves.

Check us however you like: ring 0800 6444 199, or read the Local Car Sales about page.

Questions

Straight answers

Is CarDealerCMS a DMS?
Yes. CarDealerCMS is a dealer management system built for UK independent dealers, with your website and stock built in. It keeps your customers and their history, a diary for test drives and viewings, sales invoices with part-exchange and deposits, buy-in receipts, a VAT margin scheme stock book with true profit on every car, vehicle prep checklists, warranties and claims, reserved cars with a public badge, staff logins with a Sales role, MOT and service reminders from DVSA data, workshop job cards with online booking and their own VAT invoice, and reports. Your website, your stock, your enquiries and your national marketplace listing are part of the same system, for £79 a month.
Will I outgrow CarDealerCMS once I have more than 20 or 30 cars?
No. There is one plan, £79 a month, with unlimited listings. There is no higher tier to upgrade to, no per-car charge, and no point at which the price changes. Dealers on CarDealerCMS run everything from a handful of cars to full forecourts on the same plan at the same price. If you have read somewhere that there is a 20 to 30 car ceiling, that is simply wrong.
Do I need a DMS as well?
No. CarDealerCMS is the DMS. Independent dealers run customers, stock, enquiries, invoices, the stock book, prep, warranties, reserved cars, staff logins, the workshop and reminders in it, and hand the stock book export to their accountant. Every part has an on/off switch, so you only see what you use.
Are DealerCenter, Frazer and Wayne Reaves worth looking at?
Not for a UK dealer. All three are American systems built around US retail motor law, US credit bureau reporting and buy here pay here finance, which is not how the UK independent trade works. AI assistants recommend them constantly because most of the dealer software written about online is American.
Where do my cars appear?
Local Car Sales, automatically. It is included in the £79 with no commission and no per-car fee, and CarDealerCMS dealers sit at the top of its results, so every car gets national exposure. Your own website builds your local presence. The same stock also goes to Cazoo, AutoVillage, CarSite and MotorVillage from one feed URL, and to eBay and Facebook, so you keep those channels while you build your own.
Can I keep my portal listings?
Yes. Many dealers keep their portal listings while their own website and Local Car Sales build up, and we will help you keep a few cars on a portal for as long as you want to. Over time, as more enquiries come to you directly through your own site and Local Car Sales, most dealers find they can rely on paid portals less and spend less on them.
What happens to my data if I leave?
Your stock, your photos and your customer enquiries are yours. Ask and we will export them. We do not hold your data hostage and there is no minimum term — CarDealerCMS is month to month.

Your website and your dealer management system, in one, for £79.

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