Replies before they choose someone else
Cars Commerce says most Cars.com shoppers haven't chosen a dealer yet. Riley answers by text and email in under 30 seconds, day or night, so your store is first with a real answer.
Cars Commerce's own research says 90% of Cars.com shoppers haven't chosen a dealer yet. They may have read your reviews, picked a salesperson and built a prequalified payment right on your listing. Riley replies in under 30 seconds, names the exact car, and gives them the easiest reason to pick you: a straight answer and a real time to come in.
Cars.com puts your inventory, your reviews and sometimes your individual salespeople in front of the shopper, then sends you a lead from someone still deciding where to buy. The first reply is the tiebreaker. Riley references the exact vehicle, answers what they asked, and ends with one clear question that leads to a visit, with no price talk by text.
Cars Commerce says most Cars.com shoppers haven't chosen a dealer yet. Riley answers by text and email in under 30 seconds, day or night, so your store is first with a real answer.
Riley knows your lot in real time. The first text names the exact vehicle from the lead, confirms it's on the lot and offers two specific times to come take a look.
Cars.com shows your Deal Badge and lets shoppers customize prequalified payment options on the listing. Riley never quotes prices, payments or trade values. When the shopper asks, a person on your team takes the price question.
If the unit is gone, Riley says so and offers other close matches from your inventory, with photos and links, instead of going silent or baiting a visit.
Cars.com shoppers can read dealership reviews and, on higher tiers, reviews of individual salespeople. Riley writes like a veteran salesperson: plain text, one question at a time, no emojis and no 'just checking in'.
If the shopper goes quiet, Riley follows a 13-touch cadence out to 3 years, with a new reason every time. With VinSolutions, every text is logged to the lead in your CRM, so any rep who picks it up sees the whole conversation.
Cars.com is run by Cars Commerce, which pitches dealers on showing shoppers more than price. Here's what the shopper can see, per Cars Commerce's own dealer pages (as of September 2026):
Cars.com leads can also bring shopper details into your CRM, such as the other vehicles they're considering and their price range. Read those before the first text, so your reply never asks for something the shopper already told Cars.com.
Built on the rules Riley texts by: one to three sentences, one question, no prices, and a specific time. Swap in your details. For more situations, see our car sales text message templates.
Hi {first name}, the {vehicle} you asked about on Cars.com is here at {store}. Would tomorrow after 5 or Saturday at 10 work to come take a look?
Confirm the car is on the ground before you send it.
Hi {first name}, thanks for picking me on Cars.com, I'm glad to help with the {vehicle}. It's here at {store}, would Thursday at 6 or Saturday at 11 work for me to walk you through it?
Send it from the salesperson the shopper chose.
Makes sense to compare, and a test drive will settle it faster than texts can. Would Saturday at 10 work to drive the {vehicle} at {store}?
That depends on the whole deal, so our sales manager will go over real numbers with you in person. Would tomorrow at 5 or Saturday at 10 work to drive the {vehicle} and sit down together?
Never text a payment. Loop in your manager the same day.
Hi {first name}, the {vehicle} sold, and I didn't want you finding out at the lot. We have two close matches at {store}, would Saturday at 10 work to see both?
Confirm it's gone and that the matches are really there.
With most Cars.com shoppers planning to buy within six months, a quiet lead is likely still shopping, just not replying. Keep each follow-up useful and different:
Riley works the same way on DealFlo's 13-touch default cadence, out to 3 years, with a fresh angle every time and never a 'just checking in'. If you're on Cars.com Premium+, shopper alerts add a second trigger: when one says a quiet lead is active again, have a person call. Leads that went cold months ago belong in dead lead reactivation.
Immediately. Cars Commerce's own research says 90% of Cars.com shoppers haven't chosen a dealer yet, so the first useful reply has a real chance to win the visit. Riley answers by text and email in under 30 seconds, day or night.
Name the exact vehicle, confirm it's on the lot, and ask one question that leads to a visit, such as a choice of two specific times. Leave price, payment and trade numbers for the store.
Honor the pick. With Salesperson Connect, the shopper chooses who they want to work with before submitting the lead, and Cars.com routes the inquiry to that salesperson. That rep should own the appointment and any phone calls.
No. Riley never quotes prices, payments or trade values by text. The shopper can already see your Deal Badge and prequalified payment options on the listing. When they ask for numbers, Riley brings in a person from your team and keeps moving toward the visit.
Treat them as a cue for a person to reach out. Cars Commerce says Premium+ alerts can flag when a shopper in your CRM browses competing listings or visits a dealership, and can land on the existing lead record. A call from the rep at that moment beats another automated nudge.
Add DealFlo's lead address to your Cars.com lead notifications, or let your CRM forward leads by ADF, the auto industry's lead email format. Riley reads the source on every lead. DealFlo runs alongside your CRM with no rip-and-replace, and you can go live in days.
30 minutes. We'll show you the exact conversations Riley sends, and what your first 30 days of automated follow-up look like.