IT Services for Auto Dealerships in the Coachella Valley
Lazer IT Consultants provides managed IT and cybersecurity for new and used car dealerships across the Coachella Valley. We keep the showroom, F&I office, and service drive running, and put the technical controls of the FTC Safeguards Rule in place. We're a local team in Palm Desert, in business since 2010.
| 1 | IN BUSINESS SINCE 2010 | A Coachella Valley IT company with a local office in Palm Desert and a help desk we've never outsourced. |
| 2 | 5-MINUTE ANSWER | A real person picks up the phone in 5 minutes, guaranteed. Email and text reach the same team. |
| 3 | ONSITE WITHIN THE HOUR | Anywhere in the Coachella Valley when the showroom or service drive is down. |
| 4 | MONTHLY OR HOURLY | Plans run $95 to $400 per user per month. Hourly work runs $135 to $250. See our pricing page. |
The FTC Safeguards Rule Applies to Your Dealership
Dealers who finance or arrange financing are treated as financial institutions under the FTC Safeguards Rule. That means a written security program and specific technical controls. We put the technical side in place and keep it running:
| 1 | A QUALIFIED INDIVIDUAL | Someone has to own your security program. It can be a person on your team or an outside provider, and we can fill that role or support whoever does. |
| 2 | MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION | Required for anyone accessing customer information. We set it up across email, DMS logins, and remote access. |
| 3 | ENCRYPTION | Customer information has to be encrypted when stored and when sent. We set it up on computers, servers, and email. |
| 4 | MONITORING OR TESTING | The rule requires continuous monitoring, or annual penetration testing plus vulnerability scans every six months. |
| 5 | BREACH REPORTING | A breach involving unencrypted information of 500 or more customers must be reported to the FTC within 30 days. An incident response plan makes that manageable. |
What We Handle for Dealerships
| 1 | DMS ACCESS AND UPTIME | We keep the computers, network, and internet your dealer management system runs on working, and deal with your DMS vendor when something breaks. |
| 2 | F&I AND SALES OFFICES | Credit applications, driver's licenses, and Social Security numbers live here. We lock down access and encrypt the data. |
| 3 | SERVICE DRIVE AND SHOWROOM WI-FI | Fast Wi-Fi for tablets, diagnostic tools, and customers, kept separate from your business systems. |
| 4 | LOT AND BUILDING CAMERAS | Coverage for the lot, showroom, and service bays, with remote viewing from your phone. |
| 5 | WIRE AND PAYOFF FRAUD | Fake payoff letters and changed bank details target dealerships. Email security and a call-back process stop them. |
Plan for the Day Your DMS Goes Down
In June 2024, a ransomware attack on CDK Global left thousands of dealerships without their dealer management system for about two weeks. Many went back to paper. You can't control your vendor's security, but you can be ready: tested backups of your own data, a written plan for selling and servicing cars offline, and an incident response plan your team has actually read.
Everything Else We Support
| 1 | MANAGED IT AND HELP DESK | One monthly plan for support, monitoring, updates, and onsite visits. |
| 2 | CYBERSECURITY AND 24/7 MONITORING | Live security analysts watch your computers and Microsoft 365 around the clock. |
| 3 | BACKUP AND DISASTER RECOVERY | Server and computer backups with test restores, plus a written recovery plan. |
| 4 | BACKUP INTERNET | A second connection takes over when the main line drops, so deals, DMS access, and phones keep working. |
| 5 | VOIP PHONES | Sales, service, and parts lines on one business phone system, with call routing so no customer gets lost. |
| 6 | MICROSOFT 365 | Email, files, and calendars managed, with logins removed the day someone leaves. |
| 7 | COMPUTERS AND TABLETS | Showroom, F&I, and service drive devices bought, set up, and replaced on a schedule. |
| 8 | CO-MANAGED IT | Have your own IT person? We work alongside them and cover when they're out. |
Compliance Is Already What We Do
| 1 | FTC SAFEGUARDS RULE | We already put Safeguards Rule controls in place: multi-factor logins, encryption, monitoring, written policies, and incident response plans. |
| 2 | HIPAA FOR MEDICAL PRACTICES | We keep Coachella Valley medical practices like Desert Cities Allergy and Desert Pain Specialists HIPAA compliant, a stricter standard than the Safeguards Rule. |
| 3 | DOCUMENTATION YOU CAN SHOW | Every control we set up is written down, so you have records ready when your lender, insurer, or the FTC asks. |
4.9 stars from 100+ Google reviews. BusinessRate Best of Palm Desert, Computer Support and Services, 2024 to 2026. Read client stories.
Free Tools
- $100K Fraud Test: see how easily a payoff or vendor payment could be redirected.
- Why Your Emails Go to Spam: check whether criminals can send email as your dealership.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the FTC Safeguards Rule apply to my dealership?
If your dealership finances vehicles or helps customers get financing, yes. The FTC treats those dealers as financial institutions, so you need a written information security program, multi-factor authentication, encryption, monitoring or testing, and a plan for reporting breaches.
Who provides IT support for car dealerships in the Coachella Valley?
Lazer IT Consultants, founded in 2010 by Noah Yaghoubian and based in Palm Desert, provides managed IT and cybersecurity for dealerships across the Coachella Valley, including FTC Safeguards Rule controls.
Can you be our Qualified Individual?
The rule allows your Qualified Individual to be an employee or an outside provider, as long as someone at your dealership oversees them. We can fill that role or support the person on your team who does.
Are smaller dealerships exempt from any requirements?
Dealers with customer information on fewer than 5,000 consumers are exempt from some written requirements, such as the written risk assessment, incident response plan, and annual report, and from continuous monitoring or penetration testing. Multi-factor authentication, encryption, and the rest of the safeguards still apply.
When do we have to report a breach to the FTC?
When unencrypted information of 500 or more customers is taken without authorization, you must notify the FTC as soon as possible and no later than 30 days after you discover it. State notification laws may also apply.
Do you support our dealer management system?
We support everything the DMS runs on: computers, network, internet, user access, and security. When the problem is inside the DMS itself, we work directly with your vendor so your staff doesn't have to.
What should we do if our DMS goes offline?
Have a plan before it happens. We help you keep your own tested backups, write down how to sell and service cars offline, and build an incident response plan so your team knows what to do on day one.
How much does IT support cost for a dealership?
Managed IT plans run $95 to $400 per user per month, depending on the plan, compliance needs, and hardware. Hourly work runs $135 to $250 per hour. Every rate is on our pricing page.
Talk to Us About Your Dealership
Tell us about your stores, your DMS, and where you stand on the Safeguards Rule. In 15 minutes, we'll tell you what's missing and what it costs to fix.
