Open the Test Drive Tab Before You Buy Another Tool

If I walked into your used car department this morning, I would skip the webinar.

I would skip the demo request.

I would skip the vendor meeting.

I would log into vAuto.

Then I would find the Test Drive tab on the dashboard and click it.

That is it.

Because before we add another tool to the dealership technology stack, I think we should probably understand what the tools we already pay for are becoming.

On August 28, vAuto launched Test Drive.

It is an optional section inside vAuto where dealers can try emerging features before those capabilities are broadly released.

Some may eventually become products.

Some may change.

Some may disappear.

That is the entire point.

vAuto is essentially putting part of its product development process directly in front of dealers and asking:

Does this actually help you run the store?

I like that model.

And I think dealers should use it.

This was not a small internal experiment.

According to Cox Automotive, Test Drive follows a beta involving 700 dealerships earlier this year.

Dealer feedback from that process has already contributed to two capabilities that moved forward.

Common Problems.

And:

Vehicle Journey.

Common Problems uses AI to analyze publicly available information, including owner forums and discussion groups, and surfaces commonly reported issues tied to specific makes and models.

Vehicle Journey brings available ownership and service history from across the Cox Automotive ecosystem directly into the appraisal process.

That can include information that helps the appraiser understand condition and potential reconditioning exposure before finalizing a number.

Test Drive is also being used to refine other features.

One is the vAuto AI Assistant.

Another expands AI Descriptions so vehicle descriptions can potentially be generated and approved across inventory more efficiently before the workflow receives a broader release.

None of that means every feature is ready for your store.

vAuto explicitly says Test Drive features are experimental.

Dealers opt in.

They choose what they want to test.

And some experiments may eventually be modified or retired.

That is exactly why I would open it.

I think dealership software is starting to change in a way operators should pay attention to.

Historically, we bought software after somebody else decided what the product was.

Vendor builds it.

Vendor launches it.

Dealer signs the contract.

Employees learn how to use it.

Then we discover whether it actually fits the store.

Test Drive flips part of that process around.

The dealer gets access earlier.

Try the capability.

Put it into an actual workflow.

See whether it helps.

Find where it fails.

Send feedback.

Then decide whether it deserves to become part of the operation.

That is much closer to how technology should be evaluated inside a dealership.

Because what works beautifully in a product demonstration can fall apart at 4:45 on a Saturday afternoon with six appraisals waiting and three salespeople asking for numbers.

The rooftop is the real test environment.

Common Problems is probably the easiest example.

Anyone who has appraised enough used cars has done some version of this.

A vehicle pulls in that you do not know especially well.

Maybe it is outside your franchise.

Maybe it is an odd powertrain.

Maybe it is a model you rarely stock.

So somebody starts researching.

Search Google.

Check forums.

Ask another manager.

Search known problems.

Try to figure out whether there is a $4,000 surprise hiding underneath an otherwise clean trade.

Common Problems is trying to bring some of that information into the appraisal workflow.

Instead of the used car manager manually searching:

2018 Highlander transmission problems

the system can surface commonly reported areas worth inspecting.

That can be useful.

But here is where human judgment still matters.

A common problem is not this vehicle's problem.

If owners online frequently report a transmission issue on a particular model, that does not mean the trade sitting in front of you has that issue.

The information tells the appraiser:

Look here.

It does not automatically tell the appraiser:

Deduct $3,000.

That distinction matters.

AI should improve the inspection.

It should not replace it.

The second capability may be more important.

Vehicle Journey brings available Cox ownership and service information into the appraisal.

vAuto says it can surface information including repair history, open repair orders, declined services and listing history, giving dealers more context before deciding what a vehicle is worth.

Think about the normal appraisal process.

The car looks clean.

Mileage works.

Market works.

Book works.

Then after acquisition you discover something that changes the recon equation.

That is where margin disappears.

If more of the vehicle's story can be surfaced before the number is finalized, the appraisal gets better.

Not because AI magically knows what the vehicle is worth.

Because the person determining what it is worth has better information.

That is the kind of AI use I like inside a dealership.

Do not replace the decision maker.

Make the decision maker harder to surprise.

This is where I would move slower.

vAuto already offers AI generated vehicle descriptions, and Test Drive is being used to refine a broader workflow around generating and approving descriptions across inventory.

That can save a lot of time.

Anyone who has looked at dealership inventory online knows how bad merchandising copy can get.

Sometimes there is no description.

Sometimes every car has essentially the same description.

Sometimes someone copied a generic paragraph that tells the customer absolutely nothing about the actual unit.

AI can improve that.

But this is also where dealerships need discipline.

If the AI says the vehicle has ventilated seats and it does not, that is not clever merchandising.

That is incorrect inventory information sitting publicly on the internet.

If it invents a package, feature, warranty claim or condition statement, the efficiency gain stops mattering.

So I would not turn automated descriptions loose across 300 vehicles on day one.

I would start with ten.

Check every one.

Window sticker against description.

Equipment against description.

Actual vehicle against description.

Then decide whether you trust the workflow enough to expand it.

AI scale is powerful.

It also scales mistakes.

There is a pattern I keep seeing in dealership technology.

We buy something.

Use 40% of it.

Then buy something else to solve a problem the first system may already be capable of solving.

Now there is another login.

Another integration.

Another invoice.

Another training session.

Another vendor relationship.

Another source of customer data.

Another contract somebody needs to remember to cancel three years from now.

Sometimes the new tool is worth it.

Absolutely.

But before adding software, I would ask a much more basic question:

What capabilities are already inside the systems we pay for?

That should become standard operating procedure.

CRM.

DMS.

Inventory.

Digital retail.

Service.

Marketing.

Before buying another tool, open the existing one and find out what changed in the last twelve months.

The product you originally bought may not be the product you currently own.

Test Drive makes that especially obvious.

If my store already used vAuto, I would keep the test extremely simple.

No committee.

No used car meeting.

Log in and see what is available to your account.

Participation is optional, and vAuto lets dealers choose which experiments they want to explore.

Not three.

One.

If appraisals are inconsistent, start around appraisal.

If merchandising is weak, test the description workflow if available.

Do not create five experiments and then learn nothing from any of them.

Five trades.

Ten units.

Whatever makes sense.

Write down:

What did it catch?

What did it miss?

What did it save?

What did it misunderstand?

Would the manager have found the same information anyway?

Did it change the decision?

Now you are evaluating a business tool instead of reacting to an AI demo.

Common Problems surfaces areas to investigate.

It does not prove the individual VIN has the problem.

Vehicle Journey provides additional history.

It does not replace physical condition.

AI Descriptions can create copy.

The dealership still owns the accuracy of what gets published.

The AI can assist.

A person still says yes.

Keep using it.

Stop using it.

Or send feedback explaining what needs to change.

vAuto says that dealer feedback is specifically being used to determine what gets refined, scaled or retired.

Use that.

If something is bad, tell them.

If something saves your used manager twenty minutes per appraisal, tell them that too.

This part matters.

If your dealership does not currently use vAuto, I would not go buy it because Test Drive exists.

That is not the point.

This article is for stores already paying for the platform.

You already bought admission.

Go see what is inside.

Then make your own determination.

I think dealers need more of that mentality with technology.

Use what you own.

Measure whether it works.

Expand what produces results.

Remove what does not.

Then go shopping.

Not the other way around.

I think Test Drive points toward something larger than one tab.

Software development is getting faster because AI development is getting faster.

That means dealership platforms will probably change more frequently too.

New capabilities will appear.

Some will work immediately.

Some will need dealer feedback.

Some will sound impressive and accomplish almost nothing.

Some small feature nobody cared about during the demo may quietly save hundreds of hours across a dealer group.

Operators are going to need a better way to evaluate that pace of change.

Not:

Is this AI?

And not:

Does my competitor have it?

Instead:

What dealership problem does this solve?

What decision does it improve?

What work does it remove?

What mistakes can it create?

Who still owns the final decision?

Can I measure whether it actually worked?

Those are much better questions.

Dealerships are about to be offered more AI products than they know what to do with.

Some will be excellent.

Some will be redundant.

Some will become essential.

Some will disappear.

The answer cannot be buying everything.

The answer is becoming much better at testing technology inside the actual operation.

That is why I like what vAuto is doing with Test Drive.

It makes experimentation explicit.

Opt in.

Try something.

Keep control.

Give feedback.

See what survives.

If I ran a store already using vAuto, I would open that tab before taking another AI vendor meeting.

Not because every feature inside it will be good.

Some will not.

That is the point.

I want my managers learning how to test AI while the stakes are still small.

Because the bigger skill dealerships are going to need over the next few years is not knowing which AI vendor has the best presentation.

It is knowing how to tell the difference between technology that looks impressive and technology that actually makes the rooftop better.

Open the tool you already pay for.

Test one thing.

Keep the human decision.

Then keep it or kill it.

That is how I would start.

How much of the software your dealership already pays for are you actually using?

Before your next vendor meeting, open one of your existing platforms and look at what has been added in the last year.

You may find the next tool you were about to buy is already sitting there.

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I'm Kamil Grzych. I work inside automotive retail, with experience across dealership sales, BDC operations, digital retail, customer experience and technology implementation across Toyota, CDJR and Lexus dealerships.

I started Rooftop Insider to examine what is changing inside automotive retail from the perspective of people actually working inside dealerships.

Rooftop Insider is an independent automotive retail publication covering AI, technology, inventory, pricing, digital retail, customer behavior and dealership operations.

The goal is simple.

Separate the signal from the noise and explain what changes actually mean for the people running dealerships.

Rooftop Insider articles are based on independent analysis and real world dealership experience. No company referenced in this article paid for or approved its inclusion.

Sources: vAuto and Cox Automotive, “vAuto Launches Test Drive, New Initiative to Scale and Speed Product Innovations,” August 28, 2026; vAuto, “Get Early Access to What's Next in vAuto”; vAuto resources on AI driven appraisal and inventory workflows.