HUNT VALLEY, MD, July 18, 2024 – Armatus Dealer Uplift, the industry leader in Retail Warranty Reimbursement submissions, today announced that the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association (NHADA) has named Armatus as the exclusive warranty uplift service provider for its membership.

"We believe in helping our dealer members succeed and they will benefit greatly from Armatus’ products, people, and services” stated Dan Bennett, President of the New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association, “Armatus is the industry leader in retail warranty reimbursement submissions, but they offer so much more than that. This is a valuable partnership, and we look forward to working with them.”

“Our company mission is to level the playing field between dealers and the manufacturers. No one has the technological platform and expert staff that can handle such a huge volume of work with precision and accuracy. In addition to our retail warranty reimbursement services, we have tools that can provide unique insights into a dealership’s operation and one that gives Fixed Management and C-Suite leadership the critical tools needed to reach full-fixed potential,” said Jordan Jankowski, COO of Armatus Dealer Uplift.

Armatus is the industry’s only fully outsourced retail warranty parts and labor reimbursement submission service. Armatus’ knowledge of statutes, manufacturers’ protocols and profit optimization are unequalled.

About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Armatus Dealer Uplift is the largest provider of Retail Warranty Reimbursement submission services in the country. The company has worked with nearly 7,000 dealers, has over 16,000 successful submissions in all 50 states, assisted with drafting 18 warranty reimbursement statutes, and is endorsed by 24 State Dealer Associations.

A commitment to technological advancement makes Armatus the only turn-key solution in the industry capable of handling large volumes of work with precision and accuracy. With state-of-the art, proprietary software Armatus assures dealers get optimal results. The mission of Armatus is to ensure dealerships get paid at the highest rate, in the shortest period of time, and with as little disruption as possible. For more information, visit www.dealeruplift.com

About NHADA

The New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association (NHADA) is a statewide trade association, representing the interests of the motor vehicle industry. Membership consists of new car and truck, motorcycle, snowmobile, and on-road and off-road recreational vehicle dealers, as well as, independent and equipment dealers, motor vehicle service, auto body repair, recyclers, and motor vehicle parts sales facilities. For more info on NHADA, visit www.nhada.com

Armatus Media Contact:

Jordan Jankowski

Chief Operating Officer

jordanj@dealeruplift.com

https://www.dealeruplift.com

NHADA Media Contact:

Dan Bennett

President, NHADA

dbennett@nhada.com

https://www.nhada.com/

HUNT VALLEY, MD, AUGUST 22, 2023 – Armatus Dealer Uplift, the industry leader in retail warranty reimbursement submissions, has developed yet another tool to help new car dealers improve their customer-pay parts and labor rates, which in turn translates into higher warranty rates.

S.W.A.T., Statutory Warranty Analysis Tool, is an interactive, one-of-a-kind tool that provides unique insights into dealership operations. Using dealership data, an Armatus Specialist puts S.W.A.T. to work and reviews – in real time - multiple what-if scenarios with the dealership. These “scenarios” project the probable results of different practical and obtainable adjustments that can have a positive impact on a store’s bottom line.

Armatus’ Chief Operating Officer Jordan Jankowski is enthusiastic about his company’s one-of-a-kind tool. “S.W.A.T. can what-if any scenario and help dealerships gain valuable insights into their customer-pay work and pricing compliance. Our customers tell us it’s like nothing they have ever seen before. We felt it was important to provide a tool like this to our customers at no charge, so they can realize even greater profits.

Customers give high marks to Armatus for developing S.W.A.T. After a live session with an Armatus Specialist, one customer commented: “S.W.A.T. makes it so easy to see the impact a few adjustments can make to our bottom line. It’s just another example of the great customer service Armatus provides to its customers.”

S.W.A.T. is exclusive and free to Armatus customers.



About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Armatus Dealer Uplift is the largest provider of Retail Warranty Reimbursement submission services in the country. Armatus works with over 6,300 dealers and has helped them achieve over 14,000 approved submissions in all 50 states. A commitment to technological advancement makes Armatus the only turn-key solution in the industry, capable of handling large volumes of work with precision and accuracy. With state-of-the art proprietary software, Armatus assures dealers get optimal results. The mission of Armatus is to ensure dealerships get paid the highest rate, in the shortest period of time, and with as little effort and disruption as possible. Armatus is exclusively endorsed by 20 State Dealer Associations.

Learn more at www.dealeruplift.com or visit www.dealeruplift.com/swat

Armatus Media Contact:                     

Jordan Jankowski                                            

Chief Operating Officer

443-391-5702

jordanj@dealeruplift.com                                  

www.dealeruplift.com

HUNT VALLEY, MD, October 21, 2021 – Armatus Dealer Uplift, the industry leader in retail warranty reimbursement submissions, today announced that the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association (LADA) has named Armatus as the exclusive endorsed expert for Retail Warranty Reimbursement services for the LADA membership.

"Louisiana House Bill 502 and the numerous part and labor submission benefits the law provides became effective 8/1/2021, and it was imperative that our board endorse a company experienced with the law and manufacturers. Armatus is the expert at these submissions and will ensure our state's dealers are reimbursed accurately and compensated fairly for warranty labor and parts" stated Will Green, President of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association. “We look forward to working together for many years to come.”

The Armatus team looks forward to applying its expertise in Retail Warranty Reimbursement to parts and labor projects for Louisiana dealers. “This is great news”, said Joe Jankowski, Managing Member of Armatus Dealer Uplift, “Our company mission is to level the playing field between dealers and the manufacturers; we are ready to assist Louisiana dealers in achieving fair market reimbursement for their warranty claims.”

Armatus is the industry’s only fully outsourced retail warranty parts and labor reimbursement submission service. Armatus’ knowledge of statutes, manufacturers’ protocols and profit optimization are unequalled.

About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Armatus Dealer Uplift is the industry leader specializing solely in Retail Warranty Reimbursement submissions with over 9,000 approvals in 50 states with 29 manufacturers. Armatus is endorsed/licensed by 19 state Automotive Dealer Associations nationwide and has been instrumental in consulting on new retail reimbursement legislation in 13 states. Learn more about Armatus at www.dealeruplift.com

About LADA

Founded in 1937, the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association provides products and services to enhance the operations of its member dealers. LADA’s objectives and purposes include promoting the automotive trade in Louisiana, advocating a high plane of business ethics for those engaged in the state’s motor vehicle business, endorse and promote a spirit of cooperation among motor vehicle dealers and those engaged in associated and allied trades, and promote the enactment of such legislation as will benefit the automotive trade and the public and to oppose discriminatory legislation relating to the trade.

Armatus Media Contact:                             LADA Media Contact:

Joe Jankowski                                               Will H. Green, JD

Managing Member                                         President, LADA

joej@dealeruplift.com                                    wgreen@lada.org

www.dealeruplift.com                                     www.lada.org

Hunt Valley, MD – April 14, 2021 – Armatus Dealer Uplift announced it has successfully obtained certification for the ERA® Dealership Management System within the Reynolds Certified Interface Program.

"The new certified integration between Armatus and Reynolds will provide dealers with the peace of mind that their data is being handled in a secure and efficient manner,” stated Joe Jankowski, Managing Partner of Armatus Dealer Uplift, “This will enhance service to our customers by streamlining the retail warranty reimbursement process, and in turn, help them achieve substantially increased parts and labor profits.”

Reynolds and Reynolds created the Certified Interface program to ensure that technology and software providers have the ability to access and exchange data within the ERA® and POWER Dealership Management Systems while ensuring the security, integrity, privacy, and supportability of the dealer data.

Armatus is committed to ensuring that its dealer clients receive fair and reasonable market rate reimbursement for their warranty claims.  Armatus is the industry’s only fully outsourced retail warranty parts and labor reimbursement submission service. Its proprietary software and database tools analyze critical data and together with its industry leading audit team, ensures its clients will receive their optimal warranty parts mark-up and labor rate.

About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Armatus Dealer Uplift is the industry leader specializing solely in retail warranty reimbursement submissions. The company has over 8,000 approvals with 4,800 dealerships in 50 states encompassing 29 manufacturers and has been endorsed/licensed by 16 state dealer associations. For more information visit www.dealeruplift.com.

About Reynolds

Reynolds and Reynolds is a leading provider of automobile dealership software, services, and forms to help dealerships deliver better business results and transform the customer experience. The company is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, with major U.S. operations in Houston and College Station, Texas, and Celina, Ohio, as well as operations in Canada, in the U.K., and Europe. (www.reyrey.com)

Armatus Media Contact:

Joe Jankowski, Managing Partner

joej@dealeruplift.com

Reynolds Media Contact

media@reyrey.com

By Jordan Jankowski

Every year, as dealers begin to work on their annual labor rate submissions, many are quick to grab their policies and procedures manuals to get started. For most, it’s a process that may involve filling out a competitive survey, producing a certain amount of consecutive qualified repair orders, or a combination of the two. Does this process yield as much of an increase as the dealership wants or is entitled to? Many times, the answer is no. 

Most dealers are surprised to learn that a factory submission isn’t their only choice. In fact, 48 states have some type of legislation in place that allows dealers to perform a statutory labor submission. The purpose of a statutory submission is for a dealer to achieve warranty labor compensation at its retail rate, which is a market driven rate based on its warranty-like customer-pay repair transactions. Any dealer who is submitting for a labor rate increase should be evaluating its factory protocol and its statutory protocol to determine which is most advantageous. 

Factory Submissions

The guidelines for a factory labor submission are different for each manufacturer and can typically be found in your policies and procedures manual. The process can be as simple as filling out a competitive survey or as arduous as producing 100 sequential qualified repair orders; most manufacturers will require a combination of a survey and a certain amount of qualified repair orders. In some cases, it's a quick and simple process to request your rate and wait for a response. While this process may seem enticing, there are some pitfalls to filing a factory submission. First, your manufacturer is not required to respond in a certain time frame; many dealers have told us they have waited months for a response, only to receive a significantly reduced offer. If this occurs, it is typically a “take it or it leave it” proposition. It is also possible that you’ll be afforded no increase, as to which you’ll likewise have no recourse. Although some factory protocols allow you to submit fewer total ROs than a statutory submission, following your state law may yield a greater increase for a variety of reasons.

Statutory Submissions

A statutory submission will give the dealer more control over the process and possible outcomes. Although a statutory submission involves more complicated protocols and can be more work than a factory submission, the benefits usually make the additional work worth it. Most states require 100 sequential qualifying ROs that have been closed in the last 180 days, and prescribe how the rate is to be calculated and what type of services can be excluded from the sample. Once the submission is complete, the manufacturer must respond within a specific time frame (usually 30 days), and most statutes will outline a rebuttal process, if the manufacturer approves a reduced rate or offers no increase at all. To further expound on the benefits, let’s focus on three reasons why a statutory submission may be more advantageous than your factory protocol, and what services are available to help dealers through what might be an unfamiliar process.

1. Dealers Are Better Protected

One of the biggest benefits of a statutory submission is the state laws in place that protect dealers from their manufacturers having unilateral control over the resulting labor rate. Although the factory protocols often require less work, it's often advantageous to submit statutorily to put the dealer in control of the outcome, not the manufacturer. 

If you disagree with the outcome of your submission, most statutes have a rebuttal process in place that allows a dealer to dispute a rejection or reduction of its rate-increase submission. Simply put, a factory submission is controlled completely by the manufacturer and ultimately gives them the upper hand, while a statutory submission is controlled by state law to help dealers obtain a fair market rate from their labor submissions.

2. States Exclude Certain Repairs

Many state laws have specific excluded repairs that are designed to eliminate from the sample non-repairs and non-warranty-like repairs to help you achieve your “true” retail rate. For example, the manufacturer’s rules may require that you include battery replacements or wheel alignments in your labor submission. This type of competitive routine maintenance work typically has a low effective labor rate, and does not represent what you charge your customers for warranty-like repairs. Certain state laws allow you to exclude this type of work, as well as other non-retail repairs such as those paid for by service contracts/insurance companies, or repairs for fleets or government agencies. All of these exclusions are placed in the law to protect dealers from having to include non-warranty-like work in their labor rate calculation. 

3. The Resulting Numbers Are Often Higher

As previously mentioned, you should be evaluating both a statutory submission and a factory submission every year when contemplating a labor-rate increase. In most states, a statutory submission will have different rules than your factory protocol based on a number of specific nuances in the law. We’ve often had dealers ask why they would complete a statutory submission when their factory protocol required less work. Let’s say a manufacturer requires 20 consecutive qualified ROs that have closed in the last 30 days, which is far less than the 100 qualified ROs that most statutes require. You may wonder, how can a dealer get a larger increase providing 5 times the amount of ROs? One answer is that you can use the last 6 months of data in most states, rather than the limited timeframe prescribed by most factories. The larger data set for a statutory submission makes sure that your increase is indicative of your typical retail pricing policies, while a truncated period of time may be far less representative, or be subject to an unfavorable work-mix. The extra work can seem daunting to a dealer who has only ever performed factory submissions, but it usually pays for itself.

How Do I Get Started with My Statutory Submission?

The next time you are due to perform a labor rate increase submission, think twice about automatically submitting your factory RO sample or survey. 

A statutory submission can seem overwhelming to already overworked dealership personnel trying to focus on selling and servicing cars, but that’s where a qualified and well-referenced third-party vendor comes into play. A third-party vendor that is familiar with statutory submissions can guide you through the unfamiliar process and perform it for you, seamlessly.

Before you decide to engage a vendor, you should ask yourself some key questions to make sure you are achieving the optimal result with the least disruption to your business: 

Exactly how much work will the vendor be completing for your submission? The process between a vendor and dealer can be very different depending on who you work with. If you’re working with a best-in-class vendor to perform your submission, it should be completing all the work for you. If the vendor is asking you to complete tasks like pulling thousands of repair orders, you may be better off completing the submission yourself.

Does the vendor evaluate which submission type is best for you? Many vendors simply provide one form of submission over the other, without much thought given into which submission is right for the dealer. However, other vendors have processes in place that allow them to review a dealer’s data in a way that can identify the most profitable submission type. Most often, this is a statutory submission, but it is possible that a factory submission could be better—you won’t know for sure unless your vendor evaluates both opportunities.

How is the vendor ensuring you get the best result? Working with a best-in-class vendor means it will have software built specially to ensure the best labor rate submissions, based on both state and manufacturer guidelines.  If a vendor says it can produce the best result, ask it how; get specific; there are lots of loose claims out there. Attempting to use spreadsheets or DMS reports may help avoid some unfavorable repairs but will make it nearly impossible to identify the optimal range to submit within the prior 6 months. Most of the time you can only submit one time per year, so missing the best possible rate will cost you for at least the next 12 months.

Next Steps

A statutory submission doesn’t have to be as complex as it sounds; that’s why third-party vendors immerse themselves in state laws and factory behaviors, in order to give dealers the industry knowledge and tools needed to get you the best labor rate increase possible. With no commitment necessary, there’s really no reason not to take a look at working with a third-party vendor to see just how much you could be adding to your bottom line. 

*****

Jordan Jankowski is the Director of Operations of Armatus Dealer Uplift, a Hunt Valley, Maryland-based firm specializing in retail warranty reimbursement submissions. Starting as an auditor, Jordan built his knowledge base from the ground up, and today is recognized as an expert in this highly technical arena.  Jordan manages a team of 45 people, which produce thousands of retail-warranty submissions each year.

HUNT VALLEY, MD, October 17, 2019 – Armatus Dealer Uplift, the industry leader in retail warranty reimbursement submissions, today announced that the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) has named Armatus as the exclusive licensed vendor of Retail Warranty Reimbursement submission services for the CNCDA membership.

“AB-179 is amongst the most significant franchise legislation enacted for California’s new car dealers and is one of the strongest laws in the country. We are confident that our experience, technology and processes can considerably boost the bottom line for California dealers,” stated Joe Jankowski, Managing Member of Armatus Dealer Uplift.

“On January 1, 2020, AB-179 will take effect; it is a huge victory for all Californians, local businesses and consumers alike. This bill brings California’s new motor vehicle franchise laws into the 21st century by establishing a level playing field between local independently-owned dealerships and multinational vehicle manufacturers. Armatus Dealer Uplift has an impressive track record in retail warranty reimbursement and will be a valuable resource for our members,” said California New Car Dealers Association President, Brian Maas.

Armatus is committed to securing fair and reasonable market-rate warranty compensation for its clients and is the industry’s only fully outsourced retail warranty parts and labor reimbursement submission service. Armatus’ knowledge of statutes, manufacturer’s protocols and profit optimization are unequalled.

About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Armatus Dealer Uplift is the industry leader specializing solely in Retail Warranty Reimbursement submissions with over 6,000 approvals in 49 states with 28 manufacturers. Armatus is endorsed/licensed by 15 state Automotive Dealer Associations nationwide and has been instrumental in consulting on new retail reimbursement legislation in 10 states.

About CNCDA

For more than 95 years, CNCDA has represented the interests of California’s franchised new car dealers. CNCDA members are primarily engaged in the retail sale and lease of new and used motor vehicles, but also provide customers with automotive products, parts, service and repair. Our members sold more than 2 million cars and trucks in 2018 and employ more than 140,000 Californians, significantly contributing to our state’s economy.  As the nation’s largest state association of franchised new car and truck dealers—with nearly 1,200 members—CNCDA serves its members by providing legal compliance and legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy. For more information, visit www.cncda.org.

Armatus Media Contact:

Joe Jankowski

Managing Member

joej@dealeruplift.com

www.dealeruplift.com

CNCDA Media Contact:

Jenny Dudikoff

Director of Public Affairs and Marketing

jdudikoff@cncda.org

HUNT VALLEY, MD, SEPTEMBER 5, 2019 – Armatus Dealer Uplift, the industry leader in retail warranty reimbursement submissions, is a participant in the CDK Global Partner Program. As a member of one of the largest third-party partner programs in the industry, Armatus Dealer Uplift is part of a marketplace of applications and integration that CDK Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDK), a leading enabler of end-to-end automotive commerce, developed to help automotive dealers succeed.

“Becoming  an approved CDK Global Partner is a great addition to the services we perform for auto dealerships nationwide,” stated Joe Jankowski, Managing Partner of Armatus Dealer Uplift, “This ensures access to applications that will streamline our retail warranty reimbursement submission process for our CDK dealer clients.”

Armatus is committed to ensuring that its dealer clients receive fair and reasonable market rate reimbursement for their warranty claims.  Armatus is the industry’s only fully outsourced retail warranty parts and labor reimbursement submission service. Its proprietary software and database tools extract critical data and together with its industry leading audit team, ensures its clients will receive the best possible warranty parts mark-up and labor rate

“Armatus Dealer Uplift is a welcome addition to our vibrant program that provides dealers with a range of partner choices and the assurance that their programs can be seamlessly integrated with our applications,” said Howard Gardner, vice president and general manager, CDK Data Services.

The CDK Global Partner Program provides its partners with access to a diverse CDK ecosystem through the ability to integrate with a range of CDK applications, as well as with CDK dealer websites.

About the CDK Global Partner Program

The CDK Partner Program now numbers more than 430 partner companies and 600 unique applications auto dealers can use to run their businesses. As part of the CDK ecosystem, the CDK Partner Program provides data and workflow integration to a wide range of third parties, OEMs and dealers. For a full list of partners and applications available through the program, visit cdkglobal.com/us/partners-list.

About CDK Global

With more than $2 billion in revenues, CDK Global (Nasdaq: CDK) is a leading global provider of integrated information technology and digital marketing solutions to the automotive retail and adjacent industries. Focused on enabling end-to-end automotive commerce, CDK Global provides solutions to dealers in more than 100 countries around the world, serving approximately 30,000 retail locations and most automotive manufacturers. CDK solutions automate and integrate all parts of the dealership and buying process from targeted digital advertising and marketing campaigns to the sale, financing, insuring, parts supply, repair, and maintenance of vehicles. Visit cdkglobal.com.

About Armatus Dealer Uplift

Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Armatus Dealer Uplift is the industry leader specializing solely in retail warranty reimbursement submissions. The company has nearly 6,000 approvals in 49 states with 28 manufacturers and has been endorsed by 14 state dealer associations. Armatus’ proprietary software guarantees the highest quantitative reimbursement available. For more information visit www.dealeruplift.com.

Armatus Media Contact:

Jordan Jankowski

Director of Operations

jordanj@dealeruplift.com

Roxanne Pipitone

roxanne.pipitone@cdk.com