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Subprime tarnish fades, finally

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 23
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Dealers have complained for a couple of years now about how long it's taking for subprime auto lending to bounce back.
Sure, the U.S. economy isn't growing as fast as we'd all like. But really, what's taking so long?
How about tarnish by association?
Part of the problem is ...
     Continue reading "Subprime tarnish fades, finally" » May 23, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Prime customers are in the mood to shop again

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 23
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
Seeing customers with lousy credit apply for auto loans is nothing new.
But when more folks with prime credit scores return to the auto market and seek loans with vigor, that's something to talk about.
According to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, the Morgan Stanley U.S. Credit Quality index rose more than 7 ...
     Continue reading "Prime customers are in the mood to shop again" » May 23, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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More loans mean more risk

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 16
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Some dealers say credit is still too tight to suit them, especially in subprime.
But that can't last much longer, according panel discussions at last week's Auto Finance Risk Summit in Dallas.
"Things aren't going to be rosy forever; we've all got to keep that in mind," said Tom Redding, director of risk manage ...
     Continue reading "More loans mean more risk" » May 16, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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The case for tire plans doesn’t add up

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 9
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
A small nail or screw seems so harmless until it’s wedged into your car’s tire.
That’s what happened to me last week. I managed to limp to a nearby tire shop and coughed up $130 for a new tire.
The experience upset me and disrupted my life, but it also gave me pause to consider whether I shoul ...
     Continue reading "The case for tire plans doesn’t add up" » May 9, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Lenders wax warm on dealer relations

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 9
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Lenders at a conference in Dallas this week paid so many tributes to their dealer relationships that the dealers, had they heard them, probably would have felt all warm and fuzzy.
“A key to our success is actually being in the store,” Brian Switalski, president of Southern Auto Finance Co. in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said at the Auto Fina ...
     Continue reading "Lenders wax warm on dealer relations" » May 9, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Get ready to pitch more cash-strapped buyers

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 2
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
If I were a finance and insurance manager, I'd mentally prepare to pitch products to more customers with a low credit rating and low income.
Not that there won't be more high-end folk, too.
But based on what some large retail groups were saying last week, two trends are on the horizon:
...
     Continue reading "Get ready to pitch more cash-strapped buyers" » May 2, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Beware the tax refund come-on

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, May 2
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
A flip through online advertising confirms that some dealerships still can't resist energetic come-ons inviting consumers to put their tax refund down on a car. That could be OK for consumers who can truly afford it.
But if tax-refund time is the only time all year a car shopper can afford to make a down payment, in the long run dealers and lenders ...
     Continue reading "Beware the tax refund come-on" » May 2, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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How military personnel can pose a credit challenge

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 25
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
Some military personnel suffer dings to their credit rating when they serve overseas.
And that means some finance and insurance managers must spend a lot of time and effort finding lenders to finance them. It might even mean sacrificing some profit in the process, dealers say.
But the solutions to the problem a ...
     Continue reading "How military personnel can pose a credit challenge" » Apr 25, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Spot deliveries likely to take heat

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 25
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
There's a growing sense among vendors and industry lawyers that federal regulators will "do something" about spot delivery -- though no one seems to know which regulators will do what, or when.
Whether by design or by accident, if a spot delivery, in which the customer signs a contract and takes the car before the dealership sells the paper, falls ...
     Continue reading "Spot deliveries likely to take heat" » Apr 25, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Hole in the no-loan argument

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 18
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Don't look now but NADA is trying to bring the F&I office into its fight against CAFE standards. The dealer association is suggesting that F&I managers won't be able to get financing for millions of customers if the Obama administration has its way.
The thinking was outlined in a study released by NADA last week.
< ...
     Continue reading "Hole in the no-loan argument" » Apr 18, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Forget working 9 to 5 if you do F&I

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 18
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently revealed she leaves work at 5:30 p.m. every day.
Now that is a perfectly reasonable hour to head home, in my opinion.
But Sandberg admitted in news reports that she struggled to be comfortable with how others might perceive her departure time.
...
     Continue reading "Forget working 9 to 5 if you do F&I" » Apr 18, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Paper still trumps tablets for F&I menus … for now

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 11
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
I still buy books, not Nooks.
So it didn’t surprise me when most folks on the Ethical F&I Managers Facebook page declared they prefer paper to iPads and tablets for their finance and insurance menus.
This was part of an informal survey that asked the F&I managers on that Facebook page to select wh ...
     Continue reading "Paper still trumps tablets for F&I menus … for now" » Apr 11, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Loan extensions: Handle with care

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 11
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
There's a loan-extension scam going around that the Federal Trade Commission says you should know about.
The agency said last week it had filed complaints against two California-based companies that advertised they would help consumers in financial distress renegotiate their auto loans.
Instead of helping consu ...
     Continue reading "Loan extensions: Handle with care" » Apr 11, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Service contracts are growing -- just slowly

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 4
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
For a while, the increase in extended-service contract sales penetration was so slow I wondered where all that effort was going. You know -- F&I "Boot Camp," sales in the service lane, menu-selling to every customer, etc.
Over time, it's clear that extended-service contracts have grown significantly. It was just slow growth, with some ups and d ...
     Continue reading "Service contracts are growing -- just slowly" » Apr 4, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Watch for more direct lending

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, April 4
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
I was struck recently by a subprime lender chief's fairly benign observation.
"We know the amount of Internet leads on the car purchasing side is a pretty big number and growing," Jim Landy, CEO of CarFinance Capital, told me. "It doesn't take a lot to think that would extend to financing."
If Landy's right and ...
     Continue reading "Watch for more direct lending" » Apr 4, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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The F&I door dilemma

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 28
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
Close the office door, or leave it open?
It sounds like an inconsequential question. And it sure seems nitpicky in the scheme of things.
But to good dealers, the devil is in the details. And it should be.
Many finance and insurance managers face the door dilemma each time t ...
     Continue reading "The F&I door dilemma" » Mar 28, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Chief consumer watchdog takes stage, stays mum on auto lending

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 28
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
It's too bad that the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which prides itself on enforcing transparency in the finance industry, is opaque about its plans for the auto-lending segment.
Apparently, auto lenders and the franchised, new-car dealers they do business with are just going to have to wait and see, even though that's not the a ...
     Continue reading "Chief consumer watchdog takes stage, stays mum on auto lending" » Mar 28, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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One way to stifle 'predatory behavior'

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 21
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Is it time to replace the dealer reserve with a flat fee?
Chris Markey, Internet sales and finance manager at BMW of Austin, thinks so.
Dealer reserve “invites predatory behavior,” he said Monday on the sidelines of the Consumer Bankers Association’s “CBA Live” conference in Austin ...
     Continue reading "One way to stifle 'predatory behavior'" » Mar 21, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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F&I's newest battle: Online shopping

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 14
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Now that consumers are shopping for auto loans online in the same way they shop for cars online, the F&I pricing model is changing. Internet shopping is ushering in a new level of competition, comparison-shopping and transparency for auto loan deals.
The auto finance track at next week's Consumer Bankers Association conference in Austin, Texas, ...
     Continue reading "F&I's newest battle: Online shopping" » Mar 14, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Trick question, 'responsible' answer

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, March 7
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Here’s a trick question: What does it mean if auto loan delinquencies are low and remain flat? Has auto lending reached equilibrium?
Probably not, said Peter Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion’s financial services business unit.
Turek explained that delinquencies are expressed as a perce ...
     Continue reading "Trick question, 'responsible' answer" » Mar 7, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Speak up for less paperwork

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Feb. 22
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
The F&I Department floats on a sea of paper that seems to get deeper all the time. Can anybody do anything about it? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week unveiled a new Web site aimed at getting public feedback on how to streamline regulations: consumerfinance.gov/regcomments. ...
     Continue reading "Speak up for less paperwork" » Feb 22, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Clock is ticking on Chrysler's finance deal with Ally

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Feb. 15
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
It's no wonder talk is heating up about the possibility that the Chrysler Group may be shopping for a new partner to handle its captive finance functions: The clock is ticking.
According to SEC documents, the Chrysler Group has until April 20 to decide whether it wants to make a change in its current arrangement that makes Ally Financial its g ...
     Continue reading "Clock is ticking on Chrysler's finance deal with Ally" » Feb 15, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Will leasing's rise spell sleepless nights?

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Feb. 8
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
There can be too much of a good thing, and that includes leasing.
Several dealers at last week's American Financial Services Association Vehicle Finance Conference in Las Vegas said they would like a bigger comeback for leases.
But some lenders at the same conference said they're leery of leasing and don't want ...
     Continue reading "Will leasing's rise spell sleepless nights?" » Feb 8, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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Rising used-car prices shouldn't hurt F&I

Posted 7:27 am U.S. ET, Feb. 8
blogs Jamie LaReau covers auto dealers for Automotive News
 
The cost of used cars will keep rising this year. But that doesn't mean customers won't have the funds to buy those pricey F&I products on the back end.
The National Automobile Dealers Association expects the used-car supply to remain tight, keeping prices up. In some vehicle segments, such as minivans and near-luxury vehicles, prices could increas ...
     Continue reading "Rising used-car prices shouldn't hurt F&I" » Feb 8, 2012 7:27 am U.S. ET
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New regs a 2012 wild card

Posted 12:01 am U.S. ET, Feb. 1
blogs Jim Henry is a special correspondent for Automotive News
 
Auto lenders are cautiously optimistic about 2012. But they're worried about the potential for new government regulations -- which could affect auto dealers.
"The one big potential cloud is the regulatory environment," said Marguerite Watanabe, president of consulting firm Connections Insights. She was scheduled to moderate a panel discussion today ...
     Continue reading "New regs a 2012 wild card" » Feb 1, 2012 12:01 am U.S. ET
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