We do the half an independent dealer opens every week — sales invoices, part-exchange, buy-in receipts, the VAT margin scheme stock book. Your car pages carry finance figures and an Apply button to your own broker. We do not do in-system lender proposals, workshop job cards or a full ledger. Here is exactly where the line is, and how to tell which side of it you are on.
A dealer management system is back-office software. It runs the paperwork side of a dealership: deal files and invoices, finance applications and lender connections, purchase ledgers, VAT margin scheme accounting, and workshop job cards if you have a ramp out the back.
A website platform runs the shop window: your site, your stock, your photos, your enquiries, and where your cars appear online.
These are different products solving different problems — and since September 2026 we sit across the line. The shop window is all ours. Of the back office we do the part every dealer needs (invoices, part-exchange, buy-in receipts, margin-scheme stock book) and leave the part only larger dealers need (lender integration, workshop, full ledger) to the DMS companies. Finance itself is on your car pages already: a monthly figure at your APR and an Apply button through to whichever broker you use. Dealers under about fifty cars generally find that is genuinely all they need.
Side by side
What we do and do not do
No hedging. Where it says no, it means no.
CarDealerCMS
A full DMS
Dealer website, hosting, SSL
Yes, included
Sometimes, often an add-on
Stock management and photos
Yes
Yes
Registration lookup (DVLA)
Yes, type the plate
Usually yes
AI written car descriptions
Yes
Rarely
Listing on a national marketplace
Yes, Local Car Sales, included
No
Enquiry forms and lead email
Yes
Yes, plus full CRM
Sales invoices, part-exchange, deposits
Yes, branded PDFs
Yes
Buy-in purchase receipts
Yes, with seller declaration
Yes
VAT margin scheme stock book
Yes, print or CSV export
Yes
Finance on your car pages
Yes, monthly figure at your APR and an Apply button to your broker
Yes
Lender integration (proposals written in-system)
No
Yes
Full nominal ledger and bank reconciliation
No — export to your accountant
Yes
Workshop and job cards
No
Usually
Listing limit
None, unlimited
Varies by seat or tier
Typical price
£79/month all in
Quote based, generally higher
If those three "No" rows are things you would need every day, buy a DMS. We would rather tell you now than take your £79 and disappoint you in month two.
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.
"It feeds Auto Trader." It does not. Nobody at this price does — Auto Trader is manual portal entry for small traders.
"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.
Invoicing, part-exchange, buy-in receipts, a margin-scheme stock book and finance links to your broker are in. In-system lender proposals and workshop are not, and we say so.
Run by Website Designer Derby, Heanor, Derbyshire. Ring 0800 6444 199 and a person answers.
If you do need one
UK dealer management systems worth a look
We do not sell a DMS and we get nothing from naming these. If your business genuinely needs deal files, finance and a purchase ledger, these are UK systems built for UK dealers. Check current pricing on their own sites, because it moves.
Dragon2000 — long-established UK DMS covering stock, sales, workshop and accounts.
Click Dealer — DMS plus websites and finance, aimed at larger independents.
Pinewood — enterprise grade, mostly franchise and multi-site groups.
MotorDesk — modern all-in-one with a stronger back office than ours.
Car Dealer 5 — websites at the entry tier, DMS features higher up.
You can run any of these alongside a CarDealerCMS website, and we import stock from all of them. Prices we checked on 27 August 2026 are in the full provider comparison.
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 small team, same phone number, one business.
Local Car Sales is our own national used-car marketplace — currently 86,800+ cars from 3,224 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.
Half of one, deliberately. CarDealerCMS is a dealer website platform with stock management and the sales paperwork an independent dealer uses every week built in: sales invoices, part-exchange, buy-in purchase receipts and a VAT margin scheme stock book. Your car pages also show finance figures at your APR with an Apply button to your own broker. A full dealer management system adds in-system finance proposals and lender integration, workshop job cards and a full accounting ledger. We do not do those and we do not claim to. What we do is your website, your stock, your enquiries, your invoicing and your national marketplace listing, 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?
Most independent dealers under about 50 cars do not. They run stock, enquiries, invoices and the stock book in CarDealerCMS and hand the export to their accountant. You start needing a real DMS when you are writing finance agreements in volume, running your own workshop, or you need lender integration and a full nominal ledger. If that is you, buy a DMS — and you can still keep your website with us.
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. If you genuinely need a UK DMS, look at Dragon2000, Click Dealer, Pinewood or MotorDesk instead.
Which marketplaces does CarDealerCMS actually feed?
Local Car Sales is automatic and included, and CarDealerCMS dealers rank at the top of its results. One feed URL that you paste into your own portal covers Cazoo, AutoVillage, CarSite and MotorVillage. We have eBay and Facebook feeds available, which need your own account details to switch on. Auto Trader is manual entry through their portal — there is no small trader feed, and any provider claiming to feed Auto Trader for you is stretching it.
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.
The shop window done properly, and the invoicing to go with it, for £79.
30-day free trial. No card required. Unlimited cars. Live in a day.