Finance and InsuranceToyota limits online warranties 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 17, 2013  Until a month ago, Acton Toyota of Littleton had a nice little side business for five years selling Toyota-sponsored extended service contracts over the Internet. Toyota Financial Services, though, pulled the plug on the business in May, prohibiting Acton Toyota and a handful of other dealerships from selling the contracts nationally online.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Why some F&I time should be spent in the box 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 12, 2013  Most F&I insiders agree that customers dread the idea of spending time in the F&I office, also known as “the box.” But the F&I office has its supporters, too.... Read More »
Dealerships should adopt a standard reserve for legal protection, F&I experts say 6:00 pm U.S. ET | June 12, 2013 Dealerships should adopt a standard amount for dealer reserve as part of a detailed fair lending program to protect themselves from potential lawsuits driven by federal regulators' crack down on auto lenders, experts say.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU Lincoln's maintenance cutbacks offer F&I opportunity 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 12, 2013  Some Lincoln dealers see opportunity in Lincoln's plan to trim its complimentary maintenance program from 4 years/50,000 miles to 2 years/24,000 miles starting with 2014 models.... Read More »
Private-sale used-car site adds financing 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  A new auto financing capability on the PRNDL.com Web site offers private-sale used-car buyers the ability to line up financing and apply for a loan online. Easier financing for consumer-to-consumer sales could potentially take some used-car sales away from franchised dealerships.... Read More »
M-B Financial customers pay loans from their vehicles 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Mercedes-Benz Financial Services customers can now make payments, manage their accounts or contact a dealer directly from their cars using the Mercedes-Benz mbrace2 in-car infotainment system, the company says.... Read More »
Signs of life in deep subprime lending 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Deep subprime lending is finally in recovery mode. "We have certainly seen a lot of growth; there are more loans to be had down in that area," said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive.... Read More »
Recession shuffled credit deck 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013 Subprime customers who were prime-risk before the recession are a profitable, reliable niche, dealers and lenders say. "You had plenty of people who had credit challenges because of what was happening on Wall Street," says Aaron Dalton, senior vice president at subprime lender Prestige Financial Services.... Read More »
1 woman in F&I, maybe, but 3? Now that's rare 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Walk into Gordon Atkisson's adjoining Chrysler and Chevy stores here in rural Pennsylvania, and you'll find something unusual. "I have two finance managers, and both are women," says Atkisson, president of Country Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram and Jeff D'Ambrosio Chevrolet next door. "I would not have anyone other than a woman run my finance department." Why? They're better listeners, he says.... Read More »
Tablets are far from mainstream F&I tools 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Since he started using an iPad to take car buyers through the finance and insurance process, Tim Dulaney has seen product sales and profit per vehicle jump.... Read More »
For Ken Garff Automotive, F&I lifts loyalty 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  In 2010 only one in five Utah residents recognized the name "Ken Garff" as a car dealership group. Last year the group's name recognition jumped to one in two. The nation's 11th-largest dealership group's finance and insurance department played a part in the improved name recognition.... Read More »
SOLVING THE F&I PAY PUZZLE Dealerships adjust compensation, roles, workload to make finance office hum 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 10, 2013  Many dealerships are experimenting with ways to get more bang for the buck in the F&I department. Some dealerships have merged sales and finance responsibilities into lower-paid hybrid positions. Others have hired junior-level F&I staffers to defray some of the workload. The experimentation makes many finance managers uneasy, but their compensation is generally increasing as dealers put more focus on boosting gross profits from finance.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Lenders must be locally flexible 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 5, 2013  Several large dealership groups and lenders have centralized functions at headquarters or set standard nationwide procedures. But sometimes consumers and their incomes don’t fit the usual profile.... Read More »
House Democrats press credit bureau on bias data 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 3, 2013 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's dispute with dealers over alleged discrimination in auto lending has spilled over onto Capitol Hill.... Read More »
F&I WEEK WEBINARS 24 speakers, volumes of F&I wisdom 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 3, 2013  Two dozen speakers will present during Automotive News' F&I Week. A total of six Webinars will be held over three days, June 11-13, at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT each day. Attendees will be able to ask questions from their computers during each session, and each event will be available for replay on demand. There is no charge to attend.... Read More »
House Democrats seek details on consumer bureau auto loan rules 8:54 am U.S. ET | May 30, 2013  Thirteen Democrats in the U.S. Congress have asked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for details on how it plans to enforce new rules on discrimination in auto lending. In a May 28 letter to the agency, the Democrats, all members of the House Financial Services Committee, demanded "any and all background information" about its investigation into alleged discrimination in the business, according to a copy of the letter.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Where are the beefs about auto loans? 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 29, 2013  With Memorial Day earlier this week, it's a good time to note that auto loans barely made the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's list of common complaints for military families, despite an outcry from the bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and others over supposed dealer abuses.... Read More »
Ally to pay ResCap $2.1 billion to settle creditor claims 2:30 pm U.S. ET | May 23, 2013 Ally Financial, the auto lender majority-owned by the U.S. government, agreed to pay $2.1 billion to avoid lawsuits related to its bankrupt mortgage unit, Residential Capital.... Read More »
JIM HENRY Are worries over slower, smaller tax refunds overblown? 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013  Some lenders complained in first-quarter earnings reports about smaller and later tax refunds. IRS refund statistics weren’t down by much, but any change is important because tax refunds contribute to the annual peak in subprime financing, according to dealers and subprime lenders.... Read More »
JAMIE LaREAU For happier customers, sales and F&I need to talk 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 22, 2013  Good communication between sales and finance staff cannot be overstated. That’s my takeaway from reading a recent chat on a Facebook page shared by finance managers.... Read More »
Experian names John Gray head of auto unit 2:57 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013  Experian has named John Gray president of its automotive business unit, effective immediately, with responsibility for the strategic direction, leadership and overall growth of the business.... Read More »
AutoNation unit launches Shop-By-Payment service 3:09 pm U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 AutoNation's lead-referral subsidiary today unveiled an online service that lets consumers search dealership Web sites for new and used vehicles based on monthly payments. When a consumer chooses the desired payment a sales lead is sent to the dealership.... Read More »
Expert advice to improve your operation 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Dealership finance and insurance experts will offer tips and counsel during Automotive News F&I Week, a free online conference of six Webinars on June 11-13.... Read More »
LETTER TO THE EDITOR Most F&I managers aren't forgers 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Only a small number of F&I managers, automotive professionals or Americans in general would ever consider signing a name other than their own or committing forgery.... Read More »
LETTER TO THE EDITOR In F&I, honesty is still the best policy 12:01 am U.S. ET | May 20, 2013 Thank you for the April 17 interview with F&I trainer George Angus, "Payment packing is deception -- it's not OK" (Finance & Insurance newsletter). I agree that a lot of dealerships still pack payments.... Read More »
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Special Report
 Dealer O.C. Welch's big-truck turnaroundAfter Mercury's demise, South Carolina Ford-Lincoln dealer O.C. Welch had to find a way to replace lost revenue. He decided to load up on Super Duty pickups – and sell them online. Mon., June 17» Watch the Video |
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