| | | WEEKLY REPORT | April 11, 2012 |
| | | | | | | Q&A
Why NADA chief offers his own leases
 Most dealers offer customers lease deals from captive finance companies. But NADA Chairman Bill Underriner goes a step further. Along with captives' deals, he offers customers competing deals through his own auto leasing company. ...  story
| Ally hiking underwriter staff to service dealers
 As auto lending comes back along with U.S. auto sales, Ally Financial, whose biggest automotive customers are General Motors and Chrysler, is hiring. Its U.S. customers also include the Fiat, Suzuki and Maserati brands. ... story
| Leasing buoys Hyundai's chart-topping loyalty
 The Hyundai brand is taking advantage of higher residual values to step on the gas in leasing. In turn, leasing is helping Hyundai build loyalty that ranks among the best in the industry. “Our loyalty is 55 to 60 percent,” John Krafcik, CEO of Hyundai Motor America, said last week at the New York auto show. ... story
| Fidelis co-owner pleads guilty to stealing, fraud
 One of the two brothers who owned and operated U.S. Fidelis, a direct marketer that sold automotive extended-service contracts directly to consumers, pleaded guilty last week to felony stealing, insurance fraud and other consumer-protection violations, according to the Missouri attorney general's office. ... story
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F&I BY THE NUMBERS
GM Financial loan volume
rebounds, delinquencies fall
GM Financial, the former AmeriCredit, has reversed declining loan volume and reduced delinquencies and repossessions as a percent of total loans since becoming part of General Motors in October 2010. Under GM, the company switched to a fiscal year ending Dec. 31. Dollars in billions. | | | As of Dec. 31 | | | Loans
outstanding | Change
from yr-ago | Delinquencies
and repos,
% of total | | 2011 | $9.7 | 11.9% | 7.5% | | | | | |
| | As of June 30 | | 2010 | $8.7 | -20.1% | 9.3% | | 2009 | $10.9 | -27.1% | 10.9% | | 2008 | $15.0 | -6.1% | 9.2% | | | | | |
| | Source: GM Financial |
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JAMIE LaREAU
Paper still trumps tablets for F&I menus … for now
| |  | 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 which medium for a menu they preferred.
Those who defended paper commented that it’s easy to make changes to contracts and thus build rapport with customers. Some said technology can be cumbersome.
But those who favored tablets say technology makes tweaking contracts easier, engages the customer in the process and allows for a polished presentation.
The big dealerships recognize this power of technology. Many public dealership groups are experimenting using tablets in service, sales and F&I.
So it stands to reason that folks favoring paper one day will bid farewell to it and embrace technology. Just like eventually I may have to put down my paperback to download a book.
Technology typically wins. And one day tablets will be the industry standard for F&I managers.
But regardless of the medium, the messenger is still the king.
“You could sit there in a clown outfit complete with a big red nose and draw your menu on toilet paper,” wrote an F&I manager in the comments section. “A talented F&I manager will still sell products and make money. Keeping your skills sharp trumps technology any day of the week.”
JIM HENRY
Loan extensions: Handle with care
| |  | 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 consumers, the FTC charged, the companies simply kept the money. Not only that, in some cases the companies are accused of telling consumers to stop making monthly payments, which if anything served to speed up the repossession process.
The companies are Hope for Car Owners in Folsom, Calif., and a company known variously as Vehicle Loan Modification, Auto Debt Consulting or Car Loans Modification, in San Diego, according to the FTC complaints.
There are no allegations the companies in question had any connection with auto dealers or with auto lenders.
But you need to pay attention because loan extensions are not that uncommon, according to SEC documents.
Ally Financial, the preferred lender for General Motors, Chrysler Group and others, said in its 2011 annual report that loans representing about 7 percent of its outstanding total had been granted an extension or a rewrite at some point. GM Financial, a subprime specialist, said that about 22 percent of a pool of loans that were being offered in a recent sale of asset-backed securities had been granted an extension.
What should a dealer say if a customer walks in and wants a loan extension?
The FTC advises consumers to contact their lender directly, instead of paying a fee to a middleman, said Malini Mithal, FTC assistant director of the Division of Financial Practices, in a phone interview last week.
That's a good response for dealers, too.
F&I PRESS RELEASES
» $300 Mobile Voucher for New BMW 3 Series Offered to BMW Financial Services Customers Through Ultimate Drive Smartphone App
» Toyota Financial Services Asks Recent College Grads and Those Soon to Graduate, 'How would you spread the word about our $1,000 College Grad Rebate to your peers?'
DEALER JOB LISTINGS
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F&I BY THE NUMBERS
Leasing growth slows at Nissan Acceptance
Leasing continues to grow for captive finance company Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp., but not as fast as it did in the last fiscal year, according to an SEC document filed last month. Leases include Nissan brand and Infiniti. | | | | | 9 mos.
ended Dec. 31 | Lease
originations | Year-ago
change | | 2011 | 161,082 | 14.1% | | 2010 | 141,161 | | | | | 12 mos.
ended March 31 | Lease
originations | Year-ago
change | | 2011 | 196,210 | 29.7% | | 2010 | 151,250 | -11.7% | | 2009 | 171,232 | -11.4% | | 2008 | 193,248 | -11.6% | | | |
| | Source: NMAC |
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