In today's automotive world, fixed operations (service, parts, and retention) now account for nearly half of dealership gross profit. To compete, dealers must deliver modern service experiences that prioritize transparency, convenience, and communication. Xtime, part of Cox Automotive's Retail360 suite, is a cloud-native Service Experience Platform built to do exactly that: streamline scheduling, digital check-in, multimedia inspections, and service marketing into a unified workflow.

Trusted by thousands, Xtime supports more than 2.5 million service appointments each month, servicing over 6,000 dealerships and generating over $6 billion annually in service revenue.

The Spectrum Suite: Four Integrated Modules

1. Schedule

Xtime Schedule offers 24/7 web and mobile booking, clearly showing technician availability and supporting pricing menus, recall alerts, previously declined services, and even rideshare coordination (like Lyft). It minimizes phone volume and drives early upsell opportunities.

2. Engage

Digital check-in/out becomes intuitive with Engage: advisors can capture walk-arounds via tablet, customize service options, message customers in real-time, and accept online payments and approvals. It eliminates paperwork and leads to higher customer conversion and satisfaction.

3. Inspect

With mobile devices, technicians conduct rich multimedia inspections—adding annotated photos or videos to repair recommendations. Customers receive branded media and often approve work in under seven minutes. The Service Tracker feature enables customers to monitor progress live.

4. Invite

Automated SMS/email campaigns nurture service retention by targeting declined services, recall reminders, seasonal maintenance, and special-order parts. Invite helps fill available capacity and build customer loyalty.

 2025 Enhancements: Smarter Messaging, Media Insights

As of January 17, 2025, Xtime rolled out major upgrades across communication, reporting, and workflow integration. Highlights include:

• A new Messaging Center for two-way texting and bulk customer communication

• High-resolution noise-cancelling branded inspection video with subtitles

• Real-time dashboards and performance scoring to track conversion of Additional Service Recommendations (ASR)

• Tighter DMS integration and streamlined reporting for comprehensive workflows

Dealerships using the enhanced multimedia tools report ASR approvals in as fast as seven minutes.

Ecosystem Integration: Unifying Tools for Efficiency

Xtime sits at the heart of the Cox Automotive Retail360 ecosystem, integrating with DMS systems such as CDK, Dealertrack, and Reynolds Reynolds; CRM platforms like VinSolutions; and payment or telematics systems. This cohesive architecture ensures consistent pricing, synced workflows, and minimal redundant data entry.

In 2023–24, Xtime partnered with Impel AI, enabling conversational scheduling via chatbot and messaging. Impel AI mines DMS data to send personalized outreach and book service appointments automatically—delivering white-glove convenience without staff overhead.

 Business ROI: What the Numbers Reveal

Data from Xtime users from August 2023 to July 2024 shows:

• Up to 13.3% increase in service retention

• About US $110 additional revenue per Repair Order (RO) on average

• In some dealerships, up to 46% more service revenue per RO using full-spectrum tools and multimedia approval flows.

These results stem from automation, improved upsell workflows, and better customer transparency.

Real Dealer Feedback: Praise Pitfalls

 What Dealers Appreciate

• Admired for its clean customer-facing interface, fast multimedia inspections, and integrated scheduling.

• One Reddit consensus:

  “Xtime as a customer‑facing tool is fantastic. It’s clean, crisp, and user friendly.”
  “XTime is way better than CDK Smart.”

• Particularly praised for menu pricing, scheduling flexibility, and automatic campaign outreach.

 What Owners Criticize

However, several documented challenges exist:

• Parts quoting issues: adding multiple parts (e.g. over 80) causes the UI to glitch and scroll to top repeatedly. Approval syncs to DMS may take 5–10 minutes.

• Integration friction with CDK/Dealertrack: duplicated entries, failed syncs, and workflow inconsistencies frustrate advisors.

• Training dependency: numerous dealers report that onboarding required onsite training for days. Without full adoption, Xtime fails to meet expectations.

One contributor summarized:

“XTime does not work unless everyone does it.”

 Best Practices: Maximizing Xtime’s Impact

1. Invest in On-Site Implementation: Engage Xtime’s Performance Managers to align pricing, op-codes, roles, and technical integration.

2. Ensure Full Team Adoption: From advisors to parts staff, full system use is mandatory to avoid workflow gaps.

3. Test Complex Use Cases: Simulate heavy quoting, multimedia inspection workflows, and DMS sync during roll-out to identify performance issues.

4. Customize Scheduling Logic: Incorporate declined service logic, recalls, and promotions into Schedule/Engage menus.

5. Track Metrics Closely: Use provided dashboards to monitor ASR approvals, inspection penetration, average RO lift, and campaign engagement.

Who Should Choose Xtime?

 Best for dealerships that:

• Handle medium to high service volume

• Want to reclaim declined services via automated marketing

• Prioritize media-enhanced inspections to build trust

• Already use modern DMS/CRM platforms for integrated workflows

⚠️ Considerations:

• Initial setup demands time and technical coordination

• Subscription tiers (e.g. Invite or Inspect) can raise operating costs

• Incomplete adoption compromises ROI and system effectiveness

Summary: Xtime’s Strengths Adoption Challenges

Xtime is a powerful, future‑driven platform that transforms dealership fixed-ops into a smooth, transparent, and profitable operation. Its Spectrum suite comprising Schedule, Engage, Inspect, and Invite aligns appointment booking, customer communication, and service marketing into one coherent ecosystem.

But the real value of Xtime is realized only when properly implemented: on-site training, system-wide adoption, and technical alignment with DMS/CRM systems are essential. Dealerships that embrace these steps report significant ROI—including higher retention, increased repair order values, and enhanced customer satisfaction.