J.D. Power: Lender Support Fuels Sales Increases
For the second consecutive year, BMW Financial Services ranked highest in leasing and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services ranked highest in floor planning in J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study, which also noted increased adoption of e-contracting technologies.
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. — Dealer satisfaction has increased in all finance provider areas for the second consecutive year, with product offering contributing to increases in satisfaction, according to the J.D. Power 2013 U.S. Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study released today.
Overall dealer satisfaction with prime retail credit lenders was 890 on a 1,000-point scale, an increase of 5 points from 2012. Retail leasing satisfaction was 896, up 5 points from 2012. Floor planning satisfaction increased the most among the three award-eligible lending areas, climbing 11 points from 2012 to 924 in 2013.
Increased adoption of such process innovations as e-contracting, combined with improvements to dealer support and a solid product offering, contributed to satisfaction increases. The study finds that 30 percent of lenders offer dealers such options, with 39 percent of dealers who are using these options indicating they will give more business to their e-contracting lender.
BMW Financial Services ranked highest in leasing and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services ranked highest in floor planning, both for a second year in a row. In prime retail credit, Alphera Financial Services ranked highest in dealer satisfaction.
"In addition to more improved services, competition and new entrants into the market provide dealers with more choices and product innovations," said Michael Buckingham, senior director of the auto finance practice at J.D Power. "This combination also creates a highly competitive marketplace for dealers to select their finance provider and increase vehicle sales."
Although satisfaction in the auto financing industry is improving, the study found that sales representative excellence, organizational speed and efficiency, and service excellence separated the lenders with average satisfaction scores from those with high scores.
"Indirect auto finance lending is a relationship business between dealer and lender," Buckingham said. "A customer-focused staff is a cornerstone for success."
To view the full study, click here.
More Auto Finance
July Was Hot for Auto Borrowers
Credit proved readily available for many, but most loans left buyers in negative territory, Cox Automotive said.
Read More →
Dealer Lender Preferences Revealed
When lenders provide consistent, fast service, their overall satisfaction scores with dealers greatly improve, according to JD Power research.
Read More →
Auto Refi Savings Surge
Consumers with 84-month auto loan terms who refinanced saved the most on monthly payments, according to a new report by auto refinancing provider Caribou.
Read More →
Subaru Enters Lending Business
The automaker follows other brands in adding captive financing in the U.S., and says the move will strengthen its position here.
Read More →
Positive Equity Reaches Record High
Mainstream vehicle owners who bought a car seven years ago are likely to have positive equity when trading in for a new vehicle, according to second-quarter Edmunds data.
Read More →
Dealerships Are Paying the Price for Extended Car Loans
Growing negative-equity scenarios mean such lengthy terms should be addressed in a forward-looking way to make them work for the dealer and the consumer down the road.
Read More →
Trade-Ins in Negative Equity Reach New Heights
As such trade-ins rise in frequency, so do monthly loan payment amounts and interest rates, according to second-quarter data compiled by Edmunds.
Read More →
Auto Credit Plentiful
June numbers show lenders are readily granting access, including to risky borrowers, as consumers leverage themselves to take on high prices.
Read More →
Automotive Consumers Sink Further in Debt
Most financing metrics hit records in the second quarter as more buyers locked themselves into long terms and high monthly payments.
Read More →
Porsche Financial Services Shifts Structure
After 36 years with Porsche, the Financial Services Chief Financial Officer Konrad Riedl is retiring, and the department is realigning its management structure.
Read More →