Toma alternatives
Toma stopped serving dealerships on September 1, 2026: what to compare when replacing it.
Toma’s legacy site says: “As of September 1, 2026, Toma no longer services the automotive industry.” If your dealership used Toma for phone calls, here is a neutral checklist for choosing a replacement: after-hours coverage, booking into your scheduler, staff handoff and setup time. Then hear a real Cleo call.
Replacement checklist
Four things to compare in a replacement.
What Toma says: “As of September 1, 2026, Toma no longer services the automotive industry.” This page says nothing else about Toma. Source: legacy.toma.com, Zinng, another AI phone vendor, reporting the same (updated October 3, 2026).
| What to compare | What to check with any replacement | What Cleo publishes |
|---|---|---|
| After-hours coverage | Which hours does it answer, and what happens on nights, weekends and when your BDC is busy? Test it after hours and at your busiest time of day, and note which calls end in a booking. | Answers your service calls, day or night. At Stevens Creek Subaru, 30 appointments were booked while the service department was closed (Sept 21 to Oct 20, 2026). At El Cerrito Honda, 34 were booked while closed in a separate 30 days. |
| Booking into your scheduler | Which scheduling system does it book into? Does it check open times before offering one, and what does it say when no time is available or a booking fails? A message taken is not an appointment. | Books through CDK or Tekion online scheduling and into Xtime (El Cerrito Honda), and Dealer-FX lists Cleo in its integrations directory. Cleo reads the open times the scheduler returns and confirms only after the booking succeeds. Confirm your own scheduler with every vendor.How Cleo books in CDK and Tekion →How Cleo books in Xtime → |
| Staff handoff | Where does a call go when a person is needed: a transfer, a callback task for your team, or nothing? What happens if the transfer is not answered? | At El Cerrito Honda, “If a call is not answered within three rings in any department, Cleo steps in.” When no time is available or a booking fails, Cleo sends your team a callback request or transfers to a person you configure. |
| Setup time | Who does the setup, and how long until it answers real calls? Get the timeline in writing, and confirm your scheduler connection, service rules, opening hours and escalation destinations. | Cleo can be live in under 7 days. Before launch, confirm your scheduler connection, service rules, opening hours and escalation destinations. |
The Toma banner was read on legacy.toma.com on October 22, 2026, and may have changed since. Toma is a trademark of its owner. Cleo is an independent vendor, and this page does not describe a partnership with, or endorsement by, Toma. Cleo figures come from Cleo’s case studies and its Dealer-FX page. Booked appointments are not completed visits or revenue, and results are one dealership’s, not a promise of yours.
Real customer call · 1:27
Real customer call. Cleo, answering as “Jen”, is the original recording. The caller’s voice is recreated for privacy and their name is removed.
Real dealership results
What answered calls became at two Cleo dealerships.
1,678
Calls Cleo answered at Stevens Creek Subaru, September 21 to October 20, 2026
447
Of those calls ended as a booked appointment (booking-outcome calls)
30
Of those appointments were booked while the service department was closed
A booking-outcome call is a call that ended as a scheduled appointment in Cleo’s call log. It is not a completed appointment and it is not revenue: Cleo does not report whether customers arrived or what work was paid for. Booked appointments and transfers are separate outcomes, not a breakdown of the answered calls. These are one dealership’s results, not a promise of yours.
El Cerrito Honda, in a separate 30 days: 633 calls answered and 112 appointments booked, 34 of them while the dealership was closed. Its case study estimates $39,200 in service revenue from those 112 appointments, based on an average repair order of $350.
El Cerrito Honda case study, Cleo dashboard, rolling 30 days captured September 26, 2026
What to compare
Three checks before you pick a replacement.
01 · After hours and overflow
Check the hours it answers, how fast it picks up, and whether it covers nights, weekends and the moments your BDC is busy. Test each vendor after hours and at your busiest time of day, and note which calls end in a booking.
02 · Booking into your scheduler
Confirm which scheduling system it books into, whether it checks open times before offering one, and what it says when no time is available or a booking fails. A message taken is not an appointment.
03 · Handoff and setup time
Ask where calls go when a person is needed: a transfer, a callback task for your team, or nothing. Then ask who does the setup and how long until it answers real calls, and get the answer in writing.
Count outcomes the same way for every vendor. An answered call is not a booking, and a booked appointment is not a completed visit.
Before you sign
Questions to ask every vendor, Cleo included.
Check where your calls go today
If your calls were routed to a previous provider, confirm where they land now, who at your dealership can change the forwarding, and what callers hear in the meantime. Make the change before a new vendor goes live.
Check the term and the exit
Ask what the contract term is, what it costs to add a rooftop, and what you can export if you leave. Cleo can be live in under 7 days. Confirm your scheduler connection and service rules before launch.
Cleo does not publish a price. To hear how Cleo would answer your service calls and book appointments for your dealership, book a 30-minute demo.
FAQ
Still have questions?
What happened to Toma, the AI phone agent for car dealerships?
Toma’s legacy site says: “As of September 1, 2026, Toma no longer services the automotive industry.” Another AI phone vendor’s page, updated October 3, 2026, reports the same. This page does not describe Toma’s reasons or plans, so ask Toma directly about your account.
What should I compare when replacing Toma?
How long does an AI phone agent take to set up?
Can an AI phone agent book service appointments after hours?
Contact
See how Cleo answers your service calls.
Book a 30-minute demo and hear how Cleo would answer your service calls and book appointments.
