So, who does $1,000-per-vehicle-sold F&I numbers these days? A 4-figure benchmark advocated as an every-dealer goal by Lithia Motors, Inc. CEO Sidney DeBoer and F&I consultant and trainer Ron Martin, the $1,000 average eludes the vast majority of dealers.

But individual dealers and dealer groups do top the $1,000 rung on the F&I ladder. Publicly-owned Group 1 Automotive notched $1,006 per vehicle sold out of F&I revenues in the first quarter of this year – a record for publicly-owned dealer groups.

The top 3 F&I producers among the highest-revenue dealers for 2002 also passed the big barrier, including a mind-boggling $2,191 average from powerhouse Galpin Ford, North Hills, Calif. The San Fernando Valley dealer accomplished an F&I average boost from $2,091 per vehicle sold in 2001 despite a decline in new-unit sales to 14,194 last year, from 14,370 the year before. It was apparent that zero percent loan buyers invested their savings on interest rate into service contracts and maintenance plans at the Galpin store.

Finishing third among top dealers for the second year in a row in total revenues, Galpin met a Ford vehicle sales downturn by raising F&I revenues to a record $31.3 million. The two dealers who exceeded Galpin for win and place spots in gross income also found their way into 4-figure results as far as finance and insurance revenue is concerned.

Repeat champion Longo Toyota, El Monte, Calif., made up for a subpar $569 yield performance in F&I in 2001 by edging past the $1,000 market to a $1,056 average. An intense effort in the F&I department, which had slowed down as the Penske Auto Group store boosted its new-vehicle sales past the 19,000 mark for the first time in 2001, brought about last year’s surge.

A new second place runner-up on the list of top dealers, Fletcher Jones Motorcars, Newport Beach, Calif., also stayed above the $1,000 mark, although the Mercedes-Benz store retailed far fewer cars than either No. 1 Longo or No. 3 Galpin. Fletcher Jones edged up from $1,059 to $1,135 last year, thanks to increased service contract and security system sales.

A lesson from the Fletcher Jones showing, whose volume in 2002 amounted to 5,012 new units against Longo’s 19,416 and Galpin’s 10,740, said Martin, is that “every transaction should be approached to maximize F&I revenue without regard to volume gains or declines.”

DeBoer’s publicly-owned group of midsize dealers in the western states has been a steady performer in the $900+ bracket for the Medford, Ore.-headquartered group. “Lithia emphasizes maintenance contract and extended warranty sales,” DeBoer said. “We keep our F&I managers focused on the $1,000 target, but we’ll be moving well past $1,000 at some point. And I can see $1,500 as a goal one day, but not real soon.”

Menu selling throughout the Group 1 system enabled the Houston-based group to realize the elusive $1K goal, says Ben Hollingsworth, chairman, president and CEO. Resource Training, the Aon Corp.-owned F&I provider in Glenview, Ill., introduced a menu sales training course this past year and has found that proper applications at the dealerships consistently raise F&I yields “dramatically,” according to spokesman Rob Mancuso.

AutoNation, Inc., the largest megadealer, based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., saw its F&I results increase in direct response to a network-wide menu program, according to Chairman and CEO Mike Jackson. AutoNation entered a “full-disclosure” menu-type F&I process soon after it was embarrassed by a service-contract “packing” scandal at a California Chevrolet dealership, and the result has been an emphasis on sales practices that make customers feel F&I products are “vital enough to be purchased,” Jackson added.

Another publicly owned megadealership group that has improved F&I sales per vehicles sold – near the $900 level – is Sonic Automotive, based in Charlotte, N.C. Several Florida dealerships were investigated by authorities after F&I malpractices were alleged by consumers, and Sonic revamped its F&I system network-wide, adopting menus and retraining of managers.

For most dealers, says Martin, the profits contribution of $1,000 per vehicle yields is ample reason to work towards that goal.