Finance source for smaller dealers

[irina_n]

Hello Everyone,
My name is Irina. I opened a used car dealership about 4 years ago in SoCal.
We try to specialize in modified cars. We also have regular cars in stock (no salvage). About 20 - 25 cars on the lot.
Business is doing great but we've always struggled when customers wanted to finance with us.
We have small amount of lenders that we signed up with (Westlake (so bad), Tustin Community Bank, Signal auto etc)

We've been trying to get into CUDL but they require above $3 million is gross sales a year. We are not quite there yet.

A lot of local credit unions are working with dealers like us only through CUDL.
A lot of lenders have unacceptable high APR and terms are bad for us and for prime customers.

I can't turn customers away anymore and tell them go get finance with your credit union first and then come back and buy the car from us.
It's very inconvenient and unprofessional.

Does anyone have any kind of source or platform or maybe smaller credit unions in SoCal (Los Angeles area) that can work with us? through route one for example?
Or anything similar like CUDL?
We really need more finance sources for Prime deals.

Thank you in advance.

 

[Alex Snyder]

The answer to your question changes monthly. You may find one fantastic lender, and then they decide their paper is too risky, so they start turning things down. They also go through management changes. DRIVRZ Financial was a great alternative to CUDL for used car leases, but they seem to have management problems. I still recommend looking at them, but be warned that they have not been easy to work with post-sale.

Chase, Ally, and US Bank can be quite favorable to particular models of cars. The credit unions can be a bit more reliable on an annual basis. Many maintain a simple markup on prime and approve the same way all year. And there are LOTS of credit unions out there. Just because you're in SOCAL, doesn't mean there could be one in Vermont that would work well for your customers.

Unfortunately, the banking industry looks like a wreck if they can't figure out how to rebalance their investments. It is probable that more will probably collapse or be forced into mergers/acquisitions later this year. This means we may see funding issues.

Tighten your CIT by being more diligent with paperwork upfront. If you're not using a Dealertrack or RouteOne for approvals and quick funding, this would be a good time to look at those solutions.

 

[Tallcool1]

Credit Acceptance has a Gold and Platinum Program for Prime Customers. The rate might be a little bit higher, but those deals don't have fees like Westlake does.

Go into one of those Credit Unions that do business with CUDL. If you can get one of them to write you a letter of recommendation, the $3M number goes away.

 

[irina_n]

The answer to your question changes monthly. You may find one fantastic lender, and then they decide their paper is too risky, so they start turning things down. They also go through management changes. DRIVRZ Financial was a great alternative to CUDL for used car leases, but they seem to have management problems. I still recommend looking at them, but be warned that they have not been easy to work with post-sale.

Chase, Ally, and US Bank can be quite favorable to particular models of cars. The credit unions can be a bit more reliable on an annual basis. Many maintain a simple markup on prime and approve the same way all year. And there are LOTS of credit unions out there. Just because you're in SOCAL, doesn't mean there could be one in Vermont that would work well for your customers.

Unfortunately, the banking industry looks like a wreck if they can't figure out how to rebalance their investments. It is probable that more will probably collapse or be forced into mergers/acquisitions later this year. This means we may see funding issues.

Tighten your CIT by being more diligent with paperwork upfront. If you're not using a Dealertrack or RouteOne for approvals and quick funding, this would be a good time to look at those solutions.

Thank you for the reply.
Chase only works with franchise dealers, Ally requires dealer to have a service unit/department on site. US bank - like a credit union - we have to send customer in and wait for the loan paperwork to process(usually few days).

I never heard about drivrz. Will look into them. Thanks for the info

 

[Grateful&Blessed]

Hello Everyone,
My name is Irina. I opened a used car dealership about 4 years ago in SoCal.
We try to specialize in modified cars. We also have regular cars in stock (no salvage). About 20 - 25 cars on the lot.
Business is doing great but we've always struggled when customers wanted to finance with us.
We have small amount of lenders that we signed up with (Westlake (so bad), Tustin Community Bank, Signal auto etc)

We've been trying to get into CUDL but they require above $3 million is gross sales a year. We are not quite there yet.

A lot of local credit unions are working with dealers like us only through CUDL.
A lot of lenders have unacceptable high APR and terms are bad for us and for prime customers.

I can't turn customers away anymore and tell them go get finance with your credit union first and then come back and buy the car from us.
It's very inconvenient and unprofessional.

Does anyone have any kind of source or platform or maybe smaller credit unions in SoCal (Los Angeles area) that can work with us? through route one for example?
Or anything similar like CUDL?
We really need more finance sources for Prime deals.

Thank you in advance.

This is interesting to me as I finance a lot of handicap (modified) vehicles. How are your vehicles typically modified. What’s the upfit?

 

[irina_n]

Credit Acceptance has a Gold and Platinum Program for Prime Customers. The rate might be a little bit higher, but those deals don't have fees like Westlake does.

Go into one of those Credit Unions that do business with CUDL. If you can get one of them to write you a letter of recommendation, the $3M number goes away.

Yes, credit acceptance rate is high and usually customers with good credit want lower rate (which they can get at their credit union).
and thank you for the tip - I will contact sales reps from credit unions we worked with and will try to ask for a letter of recommendation.

This is interesting to me as I finance a lot of handicap (modified) vehicles. How are your vehicles typically modified. What’s the upfit?

Mostly vehicle modified for off-road trail. Lifted trucks, SUV, and Jeep.

 

[Dart Motors]

Hi I am trying to get CUDL to sign us up. Had to call daily for a month to get the rep to finally answer to start the process. Finally started the process and he is no longer with the company.... so the new rep takes over. 3 weeks later received an email from a credit union wanting to sign us up thru cudl. However he does some report from the state and informs me that we only financed 40 cars in the last 12 months,Which is wrong it is 249. Not sure where this info came from. It has been a nightmare to get cudl to help us. They do not answer phone calls /text or emails for days.
so I started calling Credit unions to sign up directly.

I am Illinois and use a broker type co, they sign up with credit unions and submit apps.
Use them for our good credit customer, We do all paperwork sell all product. They set prices and
keep 50% of backend.

so I just came on here to say I am starting to hate Cudl lol

 

[Tallcool1]

Hi I am trying to get CUDL to sign us up. Had to call daily for a month to get the rep to finally answer to start the process. Finally started the process and he is no longer with the company.... so the new rep takes over. 3 weeks later received an email from a credit union wanting to sign us up thru cudl. However he does some report from the state and informs me that we only financed 40 cars in the last 12 months,Which is wrong it is 249. Not sure where this info came from. It has been a nightmare to get cudl to help us. They do not answer phone calls /text or emails for days.
so I started calling Credit unions to sign up directly.

I am Illinois and use a broker type co, they sign up with credit unions and submit apps.
Use them for our good credit customer, We do all paperwork sell all product. They set prices and
keep 50% of backend.

so I just came on here to say I am starting to hate Cudl lol

Send me an email [email protected]

I will call someone at CUDL in your behalf. Someone that WILL help you.

In the email, send me your contact info. We can make this happen! If you financed 200+, I assure you it will happen!

 

[Dart Motors]

Send me an email [email protected]

I will call someone at CUDL in your behalf. Someone that WILL help you.

In the email, send me your contact info. We can make this happen! If you financed 200+, I assure you it will happen!

HI thank you, I would really appreciate any help.

 

[Lending Mojo]

This is interesting to me as I finance a lot of handicap (modified) vehicles. How are your vehicles typically modified. What’s the upfit?

Hi there. I've been in the lending space for several years and I can help you with vehicles you can't get financed. We sign up any used car dealer...all qualify. Modified vehicles, salvage, older, high miles...etc. Please visit our site LendingMojo.com and submit your information. Someone would be happy to explain our program to you. Free to join by the way