According to the J.D. Power and

Associates 2002 Canadian Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study, released

Aug. 27, there have been improvements in the interpersonal skills

of the credit staff and in the speed and accuracy of processing credit

applications at Canadian dealerships.

The study finds that 83 percent of dealers are "very" or "somewhat"

satisfied with their retail credit provider - a 7 percentage point improvement

over 2001. Both banks and automotive manufacturer finance companies, known

as captives, show improvements in retail credit performance, with 82 percent

of dealers saying they are satisfied with banks and 85 percent of dealers

giving a similar rating to captives.

"The banks and captives have improved their responsiveness in processing

retail credit applications and in offering appropriate plans that meet very

competitive market conditions," said Mike Tamayo, manager of research

projects at the J.D. Power and Associates Toronto office. "As a result, the

banks have improved their satisfaction ratings by 8 percentage points over

last year, while the captives have improved by 4 percentage points."

GMAC earned top satisfaction rankings in retail credit, retail leasing and

floor planning for the second consecutive year.

The 2002 study also surveyed dealers to evaluate the online capabilities of

their finance providers. Almost two-thirds of dealers say they interact with

them online.

"Interestingly, one-third of dealers say the extent of provider e-business

capabilities has a big impact on their decision to do business with that

organization," Tamayo said. "As e-commerce continues to gain acceptance

among dealers, we anticipate the online capabilities of finance providers to

grow as well."

In another of the study's key findings, floor planning continues to be the

most important area of the dealership's business. However, while 37 percent

of dealers say floor planning is their most important business area, this

represents a 13 percentage-point decline in importance since 2000. Retail

credit continues to gain in importance, with 27 percent of dealers saying

this is their top business priority-up from 19 percent in 2000.

Based on responses from 880 dealer principals, the 2002 Canadian Dealer

Finance Satisfaction Study measures satisfaction levels with finance

providers in five areas: retail credit, retail leasing, wholesale leasing,

floor planning and account management.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a

global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors

including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer

satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on

responses from millions of consumers annually.