Expect delays when buying or fixing your car. Cyberattacks stall sales and repairs at some dealerships

Car dealerships across North America continue to face the effects of cyberattacks that hit last week, and in South Florida, affected dealers are resorting to manual processes until the issues are resolved.

CDK Global, a company that provides software used by many auto dealers in the U.S. and Canada, was hit by two cyberattacks last week that led to an outage that has affected day-to-day operations at car dealerships.

On June 19, CDK spokesperson Lisa Finner said CDK is “actively investigating a cyber incident” and that the company shut down all of its systems out of an abundance of caution.

For prospective buyers and current clients, this means slower service due to manual procedures at many dealers, with no end in sight.

“Everything between service, parts, sales and even accounting are affected,” said Adam Giannettino, the Information Technology Manager at Pines Ford Lincoln in Pembroke Pines. “Everything has slowed down a bit, but we’re still trying to manage.”

CDK Global is a major player in the auto sales industry. The company,  in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near Chicago, provides software technology to dealers that helps with day-to-day operations.

CDK serves more than 15,000 retail locations across North America, according to the company. It remains unclear exactly which and how many locations were impacted by the attacks, as well as the extent to which they may have been affected.

“It is too soon for us to determine the specific effects on our members or the extent to which they may have been affected. Our priority is to support our members and ensure they have the resources and guidance they need to address any challenges that may arise,” the Florida Automobile Dealers Association said in a statement.

Several major auto companies — including Stellantis, Ford and BMW — confirmed that the CDK outage had impacted some of their dealers, but that sales operations continue.

At Pines Ford Lincoln, information technology “severed all connections with CDK” until the attack is under control. In the meantime, dealerships are finding alternative ways to run business as usual, like writing orders by hand.

“For our customers, it’s just a matter of having to print and fill things out, instead of doing things on the computer,” Giannettino said.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.