# CDK Global Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is CDK Global the right Auto Dealer solution for you? Explore 207 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/122988/CDK-Global/reviews --- CDK Global 4.1 (207) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/122988/CDK-Global/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of CDK Global Ease of use 4.0 Customer Service 4.0 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews JA Jeffrey A General ManagerAutomotive, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Migrating DMS providers is a very disruptive proposition that favors continuing CDK Global utilization in our organizations. “ November 4, 2024 ZG ZACHARIAH G Inventory control specialistTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 1,001 - 5,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “The adjustment system, such as bin counts. When adjusting a part out of inventory, sometimes it would adjust to a negative quantity, which would throw inventory levels off.“ May 5, 2025 AT Ariel T HR ManagerAutomotive, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Everything you need located on one screen. If you like to move quickly, the enter button will become your best friend!“ August 28, 2024 AD Austin D Assistant Parts ManagerTransportation/Trucking/Railroad, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Almost everything, very difficult to find things within CDK that you don't know about.“ September 2, 2025 KK Kyle K General ManagerAutomotive, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “There is the ability to write notes about after-the-sale items that need notated, and everyone can read them there is no lack of connectivity!“ November 28, 2023 BC Brenda C CFOAutomotive, 501 - 1,000 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “customer service, implementation, and down-time“ March 17, 2025 GM Gleber M SALES MANAGERAutomotive, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “I've worked with many other CRM's for dealers and eLead definitely deliveries what most dealerships need as a CRM tool“ April 27, 2023 MA Mitch A General managerAutomotive, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Look at AutoMate first, I am not paid by them, actually I pay them, but I just regret not making the switch years ago.“ June 16, 2023 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 207 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Jeffrey B. Sales Manager Automotive Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "CDK is great..If only it was more user friendly " November 27, 2023 5.0 CDK is great, it has many features built in one single product. Pros I like that CDK has many important functions that add value to our daily operations. I like the fact it serves many functions in an all in one software. Cons I wish CDK was more user friendly. On the F&I side, be ready to train employees for weeks before being fully ready to sign a customer up. Review Source ZG ZACHARIAH G. Inventory control specialist Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Software unmatched!" May 5, 2025 4.0 Great experience for the time I used CDK, it was a little difficult to learn the system at first, but once setup, it was a very smooth operation. Pros The part look up system, it worked very well. I really enjoyed the fact that when you type just partial part of a number you were looking for, it would pull all possibilites. Cons The adjustment system, such as bin counts. When adjusting a part out of inventory, sometimes it would adjust to a negative quantity, which would throw inventory levels off. Switched from [Excede DMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/30414/Excede-DMS/) Corporate decision, which was not in our control. Review Source AD Austin D. Assistant Parts Manager Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Assistant Parts Manager" September 2, 2025 2.0 It gets the job done but with a disconnect on all sides. There are other DMS systems out there that flow much better and answer a lot of things that we need and CDK just doesn't seem to want to bring their system into the 21st century. Pros Not entirely sure if I can list something that I like the most. I have looked into other DMS systems and thus far, over the past three years, I have found that CDK is well behind the times and I can't think of anything I like the most other than I have been using it for 14 years and I know how to navigate through it. Cons Almost everything, very difficult to find things within CDK that you don't know about. Just the other day I tried to find where I could delete something out of the system, vendor codes/sources, and it took me almost an hour to figure it out even with the "launch code search" function. Alternatives considered [Excede DMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/30414/Excede-DMS/) Reason for choosing CDK Global We already had CDK but we are actively looking to move away Review Source Response from CDK Global September 9, 2025 Thank you for sharing your feedback. We're sorry to hear that you've experienced challenges with CDK’s product functionality. We understand how critical it is for our solutions to perform reliably and efficiently, and we regret that your experience fell short of expectations. Our team is continuously working to enhance our platform’s capabilities and address any issues that may arise. Your input is incredibly valuable in helping us identify areas for improvement. Please feel free to reach out to our support team or contact us at https://www.cdkglobal.com/support-service-connect-top-level-support or 866.668.5394 anytime, we’re here to help. Thank you again for your feedback and for helping us improve. HD Heather D. BDC Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Romeo Auto Group Review from BDC Manager" June 8, 2021 4.0 Elead is overall a great tool. There are some kinks that need to be worked out but unfortunately you are not able to contact anyone to make suggestions. Customer service is on the higher side when you call in, but the reps for the stores have not been the best. \[SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN\] has been the ultimate breath of fresh air and even no longer being in charge of our account, still helps out when someone else can not get something solved. Compared to other CRMs I would say Elead has an edge up. Pros The easy accessibility to our customers. Multiple mining areas. Customized reports. Cons Lead assignment rules. Be-backs not being accurate. Having to call in for most things to be changed rather than just being able to make the changes yourself. Switched from [Vin eRetail](https://www.capterra.com/p/152554/Vin-eRetail-WMS/) Comparing the two after using Vin Solutions, Elead was a much better option. Review Source Response from CDK Global June 9, 2021 Hi Heather, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback with your experience with Elead. We are glad to see your experience overall has been positive. As always, if you need anything our support team is available to you. Thank you! Elead BK Brittany K. Collections Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Powersports is thriving!" April 16, 2024 5.0 Pros We switched from Dealertrack DMS for our Powersports department and it has been a game changer with our customers, part management, invoicing, accounting, etc. Cons The software interface looks very old school, early 2000's AOL style. Switched from [Dealertrack DMS](https://www.capterra.com/p/100994/Dealertrack-DMS/) Dealertrack was not the best CRM for our powersports department. Review Source BC Brenda C. CFO Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Robust Dealer Management System" March 17, 2025 2.0 Lots of pros and cons with using CDK. There are not a lot of great comprehensive choices for dealer management systems. CDK is not cheap and the customer service isn't always great, but it is very easy to use and train employees. Pros Robust system that is able to handle multiple locations and multiple charts of accounts across manufacturers Cons customer service, implementation, and down-time Switched from [ADP Comprehensive Services](https://www.capterra.com/p/175840/ADP-Comprehensive-Services/) ADP was bought out and we had tried other systems that couldn't handle the workload Review Source JW John W. Internet Director Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Elead CRM - A Strong Choice" November 17, 2020 4.0 I've had the great privilege to meet and work with a lot of awesome professional people at Elead. The support for me has been exceptional and many have gone above and beyond in comparison to other companies. Pros It's really user friendly for the majority of people. There's a lot of comprehensive data that can be utilized as long as it gets set up correctly. Cons Server downtime due to location time zone - this issue would not effect anyone in the lower 48 states of the US. Alternatives considered [Connect CRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/83633/Complete-Dealership/)[Auto/Mate](https://www.capterra.com/p/51450/DealerSocket/) Reason for choosing CDK Global It was a combination of they had what we were looking for, even before the CDK acquisition, Elead was used in 7 of the top 10 dealerships in the nation, so how could you go wrong there as well as similar dealerships that were already using Elead. Review Source CR Cory R. Outside sales Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Used the software for: 2+ years ### "CDK for results" October 6, 2025 5.0 My favorite program to use with Tcc. This is very useful. Use it daily to complete my daily task in hand. Pros Great invoice system. The reports are very handy to go over before visiting them. Held me out a lot on identifying lost sales. Cons The quick function is very nice. Way to navigate around the stystem to get the result your looking for Review Source Katie R. Marketing Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Easy to use, lacking in support" June 25, 2021 4.0 Overall, eLead has helped us simplify our customer management and reporting. Pros I like that it is easy to use and pretty simple in design and layout. You don't have to guess where things are, it is intuitive to navigate. Cons The biggest struggle or pain point I've had with eLead is a lack of support. I feel like this is improving, but many emails to management tend to go unnoticed, or at least not replied to. Review Source Response from CDK Global June 28, 2021 Hi Katie, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback with your experience with Elead. We are glad to see your experience overall has been positive. We will have someone reach out to you to ensure all business needs are being met now and in the future. Thank you! Elead Justin F. Internet Sales Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Good company but better out there" December 4, 2018 4.0 Good overall company. If you have to use them, you'll be ok but in today's age, I think there are better options. Pros We used CDK for our Chevy and Nissan websites. Support was really good but the products lacked some options and since they came up with the next Gen sites, it takes longer to update them imo. Cons Lacking some easy software for faster editing. Also I think they use to price much higher for some of there products than others. I think they now try and get more inline. Review Source AT Ariel T. HR Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "CDK Global is a game-changer!" August 28, 2024 5.0 Overall pleasant experience with CDK. If I ever experience an issue, CDK support is wonderful. They will create a case, assign someone to assist you, and they will not close the case until you are satisfied with the outcome. Pros The integration with ADP makes it easy to import timesheets. The desktop tool and trend reporting functions are efficient. Everything you need located on one screen. If you like to move quickly, the enter button will become your best friend! Cons I do not have any issues utilizing CDK Global. Review Source MA Mitch A. General manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Most Unethical penny pinching company I have ever used " June 16, 2023 1.0 Over the nearly 30 years with CDK the only feeling I have towards them is regret for sticking with such a horrible company. I hope this helps anyone who is shopping for a quality DMS. Look at AutoMate first, I am not paid by them, actually I pay them, but I just regret not making the switch years ago. Pros There really isn't anything good to say about this company. Our company has been with them for nearly 30 years and every time the contract comes due they treat us like a new customer. The always try to increase their rates substantially and they will never miss an opportunity to overcharge. They charge top dollar for antiquated software and exploit their customers based on their contracts. Cons CDK is a Con. Their business model feels borderline criminal and was probably easier to execute when Reynolds and CDK were pretty much the only options. Now that there are multiple other options, that are both more cost effective and just overall better products with better customer service I would look elsewhere. There is a reason why the company net value is dropping like a rock. Reason for choosing CDK Global Seemed cost effective which when you receive the bill you get nickel and dimed so it actually was not the cheaper option Review Source Response from CDK Global July 20, 2023 We appreciate your nearly 30 years of business and also taking time to provide feedback. Thank you for sharing your thoughts relative to rate increases. We, like most other companies, do increase our rates from time to time. This is done as a part of our business in order to cover changes in cost structure and to allow us to continuously improve our offerings for our customers to help them drive their business. VD Vicki D. owner Machinery Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Had this software for @ 2 years, and they don't know rental. Support tries/development is terrible" January 18, 2018 1.0 when selling large equipment there is a margin worksheet feature that the team seems to like. They shouldn't have sold us the software, and we tried hard to get them to be straight. They promised and promised things. I have a spreadsheet of things they promised, and they have done 3 of them. They don't communicate regularly, except people who are just support smoozers. They are currently offering a "Rental Summit" of some kind in Canada, but they don't know rental. I have offered to talk to the developers about "how" something should flow - but they never discuss what we want the system to do. This was a terrible mistake. We have 190 employees - and a number of them have said they want to leave because of this software. They stay because they are good / loyal employees and want to help us through this - and they probably are hoping I will replace the system, which I am close to doing. The most recent problem we've had is they are double crediting customers with refunds because their system doesn't stop it - they are saying it is working properly..... if you do a lot of rentals don't buy this software. If you operate a large equipment dealership ONLY, i think it is a good system. \\ Pros accounts payable is the only person who likes it better than our last 2 systems - the parts system is workable, and will store non-stocked files that will pull in when added to an order - the part will include pricing so the guys don't have to look it up each time. They have a good check reconciliation system. Cons The rental system. There are NO aspects that work like any other system I've ever used. It cannot do math; there is no deposit feature, so if you want a deposit in addition the the rental you have to remember to "take it off" before you close a contract. Non serialized items are a mystery to them. They are only able to handle large equipment / equipment with individual stock numbers. Transferring is a nightmare. Reservations cannot be made for more than the number of items you own, so no multiple future reservations. Review Source Response from CDK Global August 16, 2021 Thanks for the review and comment. Through our partnership with Integrated Rental, we have updated our rental software for heavy equipment dealers as of 12/3/2020 to help heavy equipment dealers simplify, standardize, and modernize their rental operations. We hope this collaboration and update resolves the issues our heavy equipment dealers faced with the rental operations platform prior to the update. KK Kyle K. General Manager Automotive Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "CDK / E-Leads User for 6 Years" November 28, 2023 5.0 Pros Our dealership came from not using a CRM tool at all, to using E-Leads/CDK. We were manually tracking our customers in our own DMS and data base, and our follow up and reporting was based on a notepad! The best part of CDK is the the CRM aspect and ease with following up with customers. The product makes it very easy to reach out to prospects, and to follow up on old ones and ones that have already been sold. There is the ability to write notes about after-the-sale items that need notated, and everyone can read them there is no lack of connectivity! Cons Customer support! That is our only complaint. We had an issue where certain leads from our own website would come in based out of a Wisconsin address. No one at CDK was able to know why, mainly pointing the finger at our own website. CDK has trouble talking to and working out problems with other third-party providers. There has been a work-around implemented to work out the issue however. Review Source EC Emily C. BDC Service Representative Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very Simple and Easy to Use" December 11, 2021 4.0 Pros Simple commands, will kick back any errors, as long as everything is correctly entered you shouldn’t have many problems Cons Always needing to have caps lock on. If you write in lowercase it’ll kick the prompt back. Will print multiple copies even if you only need the customer copy which wastes paper. Review Source Response from CDK Global December 15, 2021 Hi Emily, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback with your experience with CDK. We are glad to see your experience overall has been positive. As always, if you need anything our support team is available to you. Thank you! CDK Global RP Ryan P. VP Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Long time eLead User" January 31, 2017 4.0 Have been on eLead for almost 10 years now, so we are happy with the relationship over this term. I appreciate the upper management at eLead and their level of involvement. Once they get involved, things seem to get addressed. My hope is that the lower tier support continues to improve their responsiveness and timeliness to resolve issues. I think they should have an Open Ticket Portal for the Admin of the dealership (myself) to view at any given time to see all open tickets with support. I think there is so much in the CRM that it is confusing sometimes for me to understand which reports are best to use and which reports are giving me accurate data or not. Perhaps reporting can be streamlined better and understood better by support so we can understand our results better to measure our analytics. (ie: Leads, Appts Made, Apps Shown, Sold...etc...) My new Rep is excellent and very nice to work with. He is a great asset to eLead as a senior manager and I appreciate him communicating with me even with his busy schedule. Overall, I am happy with eLead and would recommend them at this time to other dealers I know. Pros My new Rep is excellent and very nice to work with. He is a great asset to eLead as a senior manager and I appreciate him communicating with me even with his busy schedule. Cons The reporting tends to be confusing to understand as it relates to the analytics I am trying to measure per salesperson, BDC agent, lead source, etc...reassignment leads seem to be the greatest issue with the reporting being skewed. Review Source Response from CDK Global February 3, 2017 Thank you for taking time to share your feedback with us, Ryan. We are continually working to improve our product and support and your feedback is a tremendous help in this effort. Reporting is a big area of focus for our product teams and we'll continue to streamline the tools to give you the insight you need. As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do to support you. LH Lyle H. Business Development Lead Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "eLead One" June 13, 2019 5.0 We tried another CRM and went back to eLead1ONE after about six weeks with the other software. Their support, functionality, and ease-of-use is preferred over other CRM software. Is there room for improvement? Yes, with quicker response time to needed changes to our pencil, troubleshooting system errors, and I'd like to see more proactive contact from the provider about changes or improvements to their CRM. Pros Schedules are easy to run, templates for e-mails easy to set up. The texting feature keeps us compliant for communication and we work many deals by text alone. I'd like to see more functionality for duplicate profiles but for now, duplicate profiles are simple to merge. The support is solid with a toll-free number, e-mail, or a performance manager escalation readily available. There are occasional hiccups with the web functions that can be handled by clearing cookies/cache, although I'd like to see a more long-term solution to this problem. Cons Occasional failures and again solved sometimes by clearing cookies/cache. Reason for choosing CDK Global Ease of use, implementation was more customer focused. Review Source Response from CDK Global June 17, 2019 Thank you for your feedback, Lyle. It is definitely appreciated and helps us continue to improve our services and support provided. And, we are absolutely thrilled to have you back. If there is anything we can do for you or your team, don't hesitate to let us know. RT Rebecca T. BDC Director Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "I am a FAN!!!" January 31, 2017 5.0 Ben P has been amazing! He has resolved a lot of our issues and he has even created new reports for our team. Our lead count has increased for sales which is great. I will say for the inception and launch for our dealership it was not very organized. Sales was on point but our Service intro was awful. Two weeks after the launch Phil H showed up and saved the day! We had to relearn the system the correct way. For Service One the system is lacking in areas. I have expressed them to my contacts and they state that it will be brought up a their round table meetings. Overall I love elead compared to other systems we have used (CDK-Autopilot-ADP-xtime). I still have so much to learn and hope to master the system very soon. You guys have a great team for dealership support. Pros I like the reporting and the fact I can view what is going on from my phone at all times. Cons The Service One and the CRM should communicate- example - if a customer has an appt and we are in the CRM tool making outbound calls we should be able to see that appt and not have to go to Service Scheduler. Under the Service tab in a customer's profile it should have the vehicle and VIN attached to the RO. Workflows' should be able to be implemented as the dealership sees fit. It would help with the follow-up for my team. When elead transfers a call to Service and to Sales they need to do a warm transfer. I have answered many times and the customer is very confused to what happen to the first person they were speaking to. Review Source Response from CDK Global February 3, 2017 Hi Rebecca. Thank you your taking the time to share your experience with us. We appreciate your kind words - and the feedback on where we can improve. We're passing this to our product teams as well. Thanks again and as always, please call us if there is anything we can do to support you. GAK Godwin Appiah K. Mechanical Engineer Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best Automobiler dealership management tool." April 13, 2021 5.0 it is easily to use, it has a very accurate report generator and protects all revenue generated Pros it is easily to use and gives accurate results. It manages all automoile dealership operations. It is very easily to switch from one task to another, and from one department to another. During multitasking it is awasome and makes it easy to move from one item to another. It help monitor all dealership operations. It prevent stealing by worker, helps keep inventory and revenue accurate.It generates all needed reports for analysis, and etc Cons The cost for using it is queit expensive. You got to pay for any kind of changes that you have to make to forms. It is affordable only to giant dealerships in automobile business. Review Source Response from CDK Global April 23, 2021 Hi Godwin Appiah, Thank you for providing feedback with your experience with CDK. We are glad to see your experience has been positive overall. As always, our support team is always available to assist with anything you may need. Thank you! RC Ronald C. Service Writer Maritime Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Have been using CDK for many years for Maintience & Repair set opp DMS system." March 4, 2021 5.0 I have always liked the way CDK has made the DMS programs. Pros I have always like the way the system is produced from the Service personnel's prospective & The way CDK tries to customize the product for each of the specific user's or Locations. Cons I think this system could be improved by having the ability to communicate with & Be programed with patches to adapt with all other outside systems. Every company will have separate systems needed for what type of service / repairs they do. Each will always require some type of outside applications for that company to function efficiently. Is it possible to Make A DMS system so All Info could be shared across to and back from any of The other system types used? I believe that would be a great benifit. Review Source MM Michael M. SHOP OPERATION MANAGER Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Dated but still better than reynolds " November 22, 2019 5.0 coming from Reynolds and Reynolds I found cdk to be much easier to use and easier to train on. most functions can be learned within a week and remembered easily. the ability to do 1 task multiple ways has been both good and bad as sometimes one way is pref and easier but not loved by others which can cause some disruption. the platform works pretty well with other software like wi advisor and standalone kiosk so integration of other software appears to be easy which is helpful. Pros multiple functions, easy to use platform, ease of data entry, doesn't require a pw change every 15mins. Cons sometimes less is more and this platform can sometimes have issues were there are more than 1 way to do something or one option or data ref is almost identical to another and you have to go back and fourth and switch out and sometimes you don't realize it until you've gone too far so you have to start over. when issues arise cdk support can be long and drawn out with long wait times to speak to someone. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Assistant Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "CDK has multiple functions" December 10, 2019 4.0 We use CDK all day every day. If you need a better setup to integrate all of our business areas into one that will communicate and become more user friendly, I am sure that CDK will be able to make it work. Pros CDK is a VERY LARGE platform. It can do just about anything in any area of a business from inventory to finance. Cons It is too big with too many divisions and sometimes can work together in its own system. If it crashes, we are out of luck and can't function because soo many functions are tied together. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Product & Partnerships Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Would not use if there was a choice" October 15, 2018 3.0 Pros CDK is mandated by a parent company so there is not much choice when it comes to alternatives. Cons Bloated, cumbersome, limited these are the words that come to mind for CDK. Every element has room for improvement. Review Source Response from CDK Global August 16, 2021 Thanks for the review and comment. At CDK we are always striving to improve the user experience. We will take these comments to help us understand and make improvements to our platforms and services. MW Mitchell W. Marketing Manager Automotive Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "maybe all CRMs are like this" April 9, 2021 3.0 very , incredibly neutral. VinSolutions had its own issues, but it was easier to use and access. Pros easy integration in the sense that had to pull lots of files from prior system, but it was easy I guess. Took some time, though. It has lots of features, sure, and they had a trainer in the store for a week to go over things Cons Has bugs, and many many many things are WAY too complicated for its own good. Too many menus to click through and screens. Searching sold customers vs prospects requires different screens. Inventory search vs leads on a specific vehicle vs looking up a sold vehicle all require different screens and methods. Refining search results is too complex unnecessarily. our service department was supposed to use eLead but switched off it due to issues . Review Source Response from CDK Global April 14, 2021 Hello Mitchell, Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We apologize for the challenges you've had while using our CRM platform. We would like to know what types of bugs you experienced and how to make the platform more streamlined moving forward. Please let us know the best way to reach you to learn more about your experience. Thank you! Elead VR Verified Reviewer Digital Marketing Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "CDK is the heartbeat of our dealership through a lot of products." June 18, 2018 5.0 Organized streamlined assistance to running your dealership Pros I like how they supply us with tools for every aspect of the dealership; from accounting, to reporting, to stocking in vehicles, to websites, to inventory and so on. Cons The wait time on hold is frustrating, however when I call for cobalt issues the wait time is much more reasonable! Review Source Similar Products Featured