DENVER -- Sonic Automotive Inc.'s three new used- vehicle stores here, which rely on iPads to arrange financing and to sell F&I products, are getting strong results.
The three stores together average nearly $1,000 in per-vehicle F&I revenue, said Jeff Matthews, executive general manager of the EchoPark operation.
That's despite having no dedicated F&I officers and using a one-price, one-salesperson process. "For people who are not specialized in F&I and have to handle everything, it's pretty impressive," Matthews said.
Sonic ranks No. 5 on the Automotive News list of the largest 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., with retail sales of 135,932 new vehicles in 2014.
It launched the three Denver-area EchoPark used-car stores starting in November. The company declined to release EchoPark monthly sales figures, but the stores are profitable, Matthews said.
"We don't negotiate on our cars; we don't negotiate on our finance products," Matthews said. All F&I products are priced with margins below average in order to get penetration up, Matthews said.