List · October 29, 2026 · 2 min read
How to find a dealer principal’s or GM’s email: 7 ways
Seven ways to find the email of a car dealership’s dealer principal or general manager, from staff pages and Google to email finders and dealership databases.
The dealer principal and the general manager are the two people who can approve almost anything at a dealership. Finding their email for one store takes a few minutes. Finding it for five hundred stores is a different job. Here are seven ways, from free and manual to fast and paid.
Check the dealership’s staff page
Free
Most dealership websites have a “Meet our staff” or “Our team” page, often under About us. Many list the dealer principal, GM and department heads by name, and some show emails.
- Look for /staff, /about-us/staff or /our-team on the store’s site
Search Google for the title and store
Free
Search the store name in quotes with “dealer principal” or “general manager”. To find indexed emails, search the person’s name with the store’s email domain in quotes, such as “@yourstore.com”.
- Try the dealer group’s name too: groups often list leadership for every store
Find the person on LinkedIn
Free
Search the store or group name with titles like dealer principal, general manager, managing partner or operator. LinkedIn tells you who holds the role today, which a staff page may not.
Check the dealer group’s leadership page
Free
If the store belongs to a group, the group’s site often names the group president, regional leaders and each store’s GM. One page can cover dozens of rooftops.
Groups vs single stores →Call the store
Free
Ask the receptionist for the best email to reach the general manager. It is slow, but it is often the fastest way to confirm a name for one important store.
Use an email finder
Freemium
Once you have a name and the store’s domain, tools such as Hunter, Snov.io and Apollo suggest the likely address from the domain’s email pattern. Verify the result before you send; patterns differ between stores in the same group.
Search a dealership database
Fastest at scale
DealerData already lists the dealer principal, GM and department heads at every US and Canadian dealership, with work emails that passed a live mailbox check. Filter by role, brand, group and state, see names before you spend a credit, and export the whole list.
Search it free →Verify before you send
Whichever way you find an address, check it shortly before you send. A guessed or old address bounces, and bounces hurt every email you send after them. More on this in why dealer lists go stale.
Dealer principal or GM?
The dealer principal is ultimately responsible for the store; the GM runs it day to day. At small stores they can be the same person. Read dealer principal vs general manager to decide who to email first, and who to email at a car dealership for the department heads.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find the owner of a car dealership?
Check the store’s staff page and its dealer group’s leadership page, confirm the name on LinkedIn, then find the email with an email finder or a dealership database such as DealerData.
What email format do car dealerships use?
Common formats are first.last@ or first initial plus last name at the store’s domain, but stores in a group may share one group domain. Verify rather than guess.
Is the dealer principal the same as the general manager?
Not always. The dealer principal is ultimately responsible for the store; the GM runs daily operations. At smaller stores one person can hold both roles.
Find the right person at every dealership.
Search free. Verified work emails and mobiles when you need them.
