Xtime: Transforming the Automotive Service Experience

In a digital-first world where customer expectations are skyrocketing, the automotive service industry faces a pivotal challenge how to deliver consistent, transparent, and efficient service experiences without overburdening staff or sacrificing profitability. That’s where Xtime, a leader in fixed operations solutions for dealerships, comes in. Xtime isn't just a scheduling tool it's a robust, cloud-based platform that revolutionizes the entire service experience from appointment booking to post-visit follow-up.

Backed by Cox Automotive, Xtime helps dealerships modernize their service lanes, improve retention, and grow revenue through smart automation and enhanced customer engagement.

The Evolution of Fixed Operations

Fixed operations everything that happens after the sale has emerged as a primary driver of profitability for dealerships. While vehicle sales can fluctuate with market trends, service remains a steady source of income. But traditional methods for managing service appointments, inspections, and customer communication are outdated and inefficient.

Xtime identified this gap early and set out to solve it with a digital platform that automates scheduling, enhances transparency through real-time updates, and integrates seamlessly with dealership systems. It gives service managers and advisors powerful tools while also delivering the digital-first experience today’s customers expect.

What Is Xtime?

At its core, Xtime is a service experience platform built specifically for dealerships. It enables automotive retailers to:

• Accept service appointments online or via mobile 24/7

• Digitally inspect vehicles and present repair findings with multimedia

• Communicate with customers via text, email, or app

• Offer mobile check-in, contactless payments, and real-time repair updates

• Market to customers with automated campaigns and follow-up notifications

Xtime is composed of several interconnected modules, each focusing on a specific aspect of the service process:

1. Schedule – For booking appointments and managing capacity

2. Engage – For check-in, customer communication, and upselling

3. Inspect – For technician-driven digital vehicle inspections

4. Invite – For post-service outreach and retention marketing

Together, these modules form a powerful ecosystem that enhances both dealership efficiency and customer satisfaction.

Why Xtime Matters

1. Customers Expect Convenience

Today’s consumers are used to managing their lives online—from food delivery to telehealth. Booking a car service should be no different. Xtime enables dealerships to meet these expectations with features like online scheduling, appointment reminders, and repair status updates via mobile or text. This reduces friction and increases customer satisfaction.

2. Service Drives Profitability

On average, fixed operations can account for nearly 50% of a dealership’s gross profit. Yet many service departments lose revenue due to missed appointments, inefficient workflows, or declined services that never get recovered. Xtime helps plug those gaps by streamlining processes and enabling service advisors to upsell effectively based on vehicle data and real-time inspection results.

3. Digital Builds Trust

Trust is a key factor in customer retention. With features like digital multipoint inspections and the ability to send videos or photos of needed repairs, Xtime helps dealerships build transparency. When customers can see the problem, they’re far more likely to approve the work.

Deep Dive Into the Xtime Platform

1. Xtime Schedule

This is where it all begins. Xtime Schedule gives customers the ability to book appointments online anytime, anywhere. Dealerships can customize the scheduling interface to display service menus based on the customer’s VIN, maintenance history, and local pricing. The system also manages shop capacity by coordinating technician availability, bay space, and parts requirements, ensuring no double-booking or overloading.

Bonus: Through integrations with rideshare services like Lyft, dealerships can even arrange transportation for customers as part of the booking process.

2. Xtime Engage

Once the customer arrives, Engage takes over. It supports both mobile and in-store check-in, pulling up the vehicle’s history and offering personalized service recommendations. On a tablet or mobile device, advisors can guide customers through maintenance menus, offer financing for repairs, and even check out at the end of the visit without ever going to the cashier.

What sets Engage apart is the ability to keep customers informed throughout the day with real-time updates reducing inbound calls and building trust.

3. Xtime Inspect

Xtime Inspect digitizes the vehicle inspection process. Technicians use tablets to complete structured multipoint inspections, capturing images or videos to show areas of concern. These are then sent to the customer, who can approve repairs via a mobile device with just a few taps.

Not only does this speed up the approval process, but it dramatically increases the likelihood of upsells. In fact, dealerships report significant improvements in dollars per repair order when multimedia is used to explain the recommended work.

4. Xtime Invite

After the service visit, retention begins. Xtime Invite helps dealerships stay connected with customers through personalized follow-up messages, service reminders, and marketing campaigns. It can also target customers who declined services previously, inviting them back with tailored offers.

By automating this outreach, Xtime helps dealerships reduce no-shows and increase repeat business without adding workload to their service teams.

Benefits of Using Xtime

 Higher Revenue Per Repair Order

Digital inspections and personalized upselling lead to more accepted services and higher average ticket sizes.

 Increased Customer Retention

Through convenience, transparency, and consistent communication, customers are more likely to return.

 Greater Operational Efficiency

Advisors and technicians save time through automation and better collaboration tools.

 Improved Customer Experience

From scheduling to payment, customers enjoy a seamless, professional journey.

 Real-Time Reporting

Service managers can track KPIs, technician productivity, and shop load with dashboards and analytics.

Real-World Impact

Dealerships that implement Xtime often report:

• 10–20% increase in customer retention

• $30–$80 more per repair order on average

• Shorter check-in and approval times

• Reduction in no-shows and missed opportunities

And it’s not just about numbers. Service managers frequently say that once they use Xtime, they can’t imagine operating without it. Advisors feel more in control, customers feel more informed, and techs get faster approvals on work.

Seamless Integration with Dealer Systems

Xtime is built to integrate smoothly with popular dealership management systems (DMS), CRM platforms, and parts databases. Its parent company, Cox Automotive, owns many of these tools (like Dealertrack and VinSolutions), ensuring reliable data flow and single sign-on capabilities.

This means service advisors aren’t bouncing between software systems they’re working in a unified environment, saving time and reducing errors.

Training and Support

Xtime offers robust onboarding, training modules, and ongoing support to ensure success. Dealerships receive customized implementation plans, access to a customer success team, and regular updates that improve functionality and performance.

Who Should Use Xtime?

• Franchise Dealerships: Especially those seeking a competitive edge in customer service and retention.

• Fixed-Ops Directors: Looking to improve profitability through smart upselling and capacity management.

• Service Advisors: Who need better tools to handle high volumes without sacrificing quality.

• Technicians: Wanting faster approvals and clear communication with advisors and customers.

Xtime isn’t just software it’s a strategic investment in the future of automotive service. In an era where digital-first convenience is no longer a luxury but an expectation, dealerships need tools that help them keep pace. Xtime delivers by connecting the dots between people, technology, and performance.