F&I down? Adding any products to help?

[Alex Snyder]

When interest rates are high, people tend to use their own lender or checkbook to buy a car. According to the data, cash deals are way up.

I'm curious about what your store is doing to give F&I more opportunities. Insurance, for example?

 

[Richie K]

We do what we can to sell service contracts, extended warranties, maintenance plans, tire & wheel protection, etc. We use both Chevrolet OEM products and an aftermarket cmpany called North American Auto Care (NAAC). We have pretty good success with these, but we are not like some dealerships who try to force people into warranties, or hide them in the numbers somewhere. We are fare in pricing and honest about what we offer. There is a stigma with such products, and of course the obligatory comments like, "we're trying to reach you about your car's extended warratny". We strive to build trust, and a few of us who work here personally use some of the products that we offer, so that helps to give real-world experience to customers. Our company has a lot of repeat & referral business. We have been family owned and in business for over 70 years. Building trust, and confidence is key. IMHO.

 

[levin233]

When interest rates are high, people tend to use their own lender or checkbook to buy a car. According to the data, cash deals are way up.

I'm curious about what your store is doing to give F&I more opportunities. Insurance, for example?

That's a great point about cash deals being up when interest rates are high! To adapt to this trend, our store has been focusing on offering more competitive insurance options to customers who are paying cash upfront. We've also been training our F&I team to highlight the benefits of additional protection products, such as GAP insurance and extended warranties, which can still provide value to customers even if they're not financing their vehicle. By doing so, we're able to provide more opportunities for our F&I team to engage with customers and increase revenue streams.