Confessions of an Auto Finance Manager (You have to read this!) - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

2Muchmark · 03-24-2009, 12:56 PM

Hi Everyone,

While googling for a way to finance my own customer's purchases for our software, I came across this :

Confessions of an Auto Finance Manager: In the Back Rooms of America's Car Dealerships

It is written from someone who used to be a car salesman and Finance Manager at a car dealer, and its a real eye-opener as to the tricks that car salesmen and especially, the "loader" as I like to call them, do to take more money out of each car buyer. It's several pages long but well worth the time.

Some of the older folk like me probably already know most of these things, but if there are any youngin's reading this who are about to buy their first Camaro, READ THIS FIRST. It may save you thousands.

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...8/article.html

cam2fst4u · 03-24-2009, 01:16 PM

Good read!

Outrun · 03-24-2009, 01:36 PM

Very good read! Here are the key points of the article:

Quote:

10 Things Not To Do in F&I

1. Don't agree to be a monthly payment buyer. If you do, you'll quickly lose control of negotiations as they pack payments and hide the real cost of the car.

2. Don't buy a car without first checking pricing guides such as Edmunds.com's TMV. Print out this information and take it with you to the dealership.

3. Don't buy the extended warranty. The bumper-to-bumper warranty will last for at least three years/36,000 miles. The powertrain warranty will then cover all the things that make the car go down the road, often for up to 75,000 miles.

4. Don't buy the extended warranty (if you really want it) for the first price they offer. Mark-up is about 100 percent, so there is plenty of room for negotiating.

5. Don't enter the F&I room unless you have independent financing or you have recently checked your credit report and investigated what your bank or credit union will offer for a rate. Otherwise, how will you know what interest rate you deserve?

6. Don't buy paint protection (it's just a glorified wax job) or fabric protection or VIN etching or LoJack (unless you have an irreplaceable collector's car). These are high-profit items for the dealership and can always be purchased somewhere else if you decide you really want them.

7. Don't pass up gap insurance if you're leasing (unless it's already in the contract).

8. Don't forget to run your monthly payment numbers using an online computer to get a rough idea of what your car payment will be.

9. Don't believe that the F&I guy is really your friend, even though he acts like it.

10. Don't believe the F&I guy if he tells you that you have to buy the extended warranty to qualify for low or no-interest financing. I've used this line a few times before. And it's not true.

lakers171 · 03-24-2009, 01:51 PM

nice i will print this out and keep it in my pocket when im going in great find and thanks for the honesty, its nice knowing there's good salesmen out there still.

Haloman1346 · 03-24-2009, 01:53 PM

Enjoyed reading that.

Think I'm going to read my Bears jersey and see if he says "How bout them bears?"

My reply is: "Im a Jags fan, dont ask me another question."

cam2fst4u · 03-24-2009, 01:54 PM

i was looking for the "confessions of a car salesman" on there but couldn't find it... I printed it out and gave it to my sales guy and he hasn't worn a white shirt or "bling" since...lol...

Iwantone2 · 03-24-2009, 01:56 PM

great find!! this article was very informative and i'm sure it will be helpful in the near future. Thanks for the post!!

KoTToN · 03-24-2009, 02:02 PM

That was a very good read, the part about the guy jumping over the desk and choking out the manager had me lmao! You dont know how many times Ive wanted to do that at my local dealership.

carfansince73 · 03-24-2009, 02:04 PM

Here in FL we don't get to negotiate on extended warranties. Everyone gets the same rip-off price to make it "fair" to everyone.

:(

Be careful about #7 though. When we bought our Honda Pilot, the dealer offered gap insurance for about $5.95/month over the life of the loan. I got it through my car insurance company for about $12/year.

After reading this whole thing, I had to laugh. I guess I was one of those prepared customers that didn't contribute a dime to the Fin Manager's commission at my local Honda dealer. I already had financing done before I came in. I got gap insurance though Progressive. I didn't buy any alarms, wheels, paint protectant, scotchguard, clearbras, nothing because they are marked up so high. Like I said before, since we can't negotiate extended warranty prices in FL, I offered to buy one if he'd take the difference between their price and the wholesale prices available in other states off the price of the truck. He didn't, so I didn't buy one. He didn't seem happy, but I enjoyed it.

Grimelock2009 · 03-24-2009, 02:06 PM

Read it all, good insight

Camaro's from Dave · 03-24-2009, 02:40 PM

While I think it is a good read like anything else it is only one persons experience. Not to say what I read wasn't true to some extent. But take it with a grain of salt.

PQ · 03-24-2009, 02:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carfansince73

Here in FL we don't get to negotiate on extended warranties. Everyone gets the same rip-off price to make it "fair" to everyone.

:(

Be careful about #7 though. When we bought our Honda Pilot, the dealer offered gap insurance for about $500 over the life of the loan. I got it through my car insurance company for about $15/year.

When Bonnie bought her Lexus the Gap Insurance was 215.00 for the life of the loan. I was surprised. I went ahead and bought it. It was only good for about 5 months because I made 2 1/2 times the payments each month so I got out in front anyway but I don't plan on doing that with my Camaro.

The part about educating yourself on the price of the vehicle is kinda moot with this car though. Most of the rest I was well aware of. Problem is, I didn't read this article 20 yrs ago when I bought my first new car. The monthly payment thing and them filling it up in the F&I office is a perfect descrition of back then with me. I remember him asking me what I wanted my payments to be and I remember telling him 450.00 and I can remember him saying something like, "Wow, you're in luck we were able to get it done for 449.67. lol What a dumb a$$ I was. Hell I thought they did me a favor.

Good time for a facepalm on myself.

And great post right about now for this forum.

Missile Man · 03-24-2009, 03:00 PM

My closer experiance with my last car purchase was kind of fun. Yes, he told me all the things I needed to buy, and tried to raise the interest rate on me with creative financing. The car I was buying had a Karr security system installed which he said he would only charge about $400 or $600 for. I said I didn't want it, and to remove it. He said it would cost alot to have it removed so he included it for free. Go figure...........

MontyCarlo · 03-24-2009, 05:44 PM

1. Don't agree to be a monthly payment buyer. If you do, you'll quickly lose control of negotiations as they pack payments and hide the real cost of the car.

Could someone explain to me what I should do instead? This will be my first new car since college, when I had the luxury of letting Colonel Dad handle all the negotiating.

03-24-2009, 12:56 PM	#1
2Muchmark Drives: 2013 2SS RS 1LE Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Montreal Posts: 857	Confessions of an Auto Finance Manager (You have to read this!) Hi Everyone, While googling for a way to finance my own customer's purchases for our software, I came across this : Confessions of an Auto Finance Manager: In the Back Rooms of America's Car Dealerships It is written from someone who used to be a car salesman and Finance Manager at a car dealer, and its a real eye-opener as to the tricks that car salesmen and especially, the "loader" as I like to call them, do to take more money out of each car buyer. It's several pages long but well worth the time. Some of the older folk like me probably already know most of these things, but if there are any youngin's reading this who are about to buy their first Camaro, READ THIS FIRST. It may save you thousands. http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying...8/article.html

03-24-2009, 02:04 PM	#9
carfansince73 Drives: Carefully Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 1,213 View My Garage	Here in FL we don't get to negotiate on extended warranties. Everyone gets the same rip-off price to make it "fair" to everyone. :( Be careful about #7 though. When we bought our Honda Pilot, the dealer offered gap insurance for about $5.95/month over the life of the loan. I got it through my car insurance company for about $12/year. After reading this whole thing, I had to laugh. I guess I was one of those prepared customers that didn't contribute a dime to the Fin Manager's commission at my local Honda dealer. I already had financing done before I came in. I got gap insurance though Progressive. I didn't buy any alarms, wheels, paint protectant, scotchguard, clearbras, nothing because they are marked up so high. Like I said before, since we can't negotiate extended warranty prices in FL, I offered to buy one if he'd take the difference between their price and the wholesale prices available in other states off the price of the truck. He didn't, so I didn't buy one. He didn't seem happy, but I enjoyed it. __________________ 2010 1SS RS, LS3, SIM/Black, painted rally stripes, AAC sidemarkers, Sunroof, B.A. sound sys; 20x9.5 & 20x11 SV1-C5's; MGW short shifter; Hotchkis Track Pack; Corsa catback; Kooks 1 7/8"; ADM Street; Magnacharger TVS2300 - 548rwhp/512rwtq 1100- 2/18/09; 3800- 6/15/09 VIN#18308; Delivered 6/29/09!!!!! 2014 CTS-V Sedan, Black/Black, Auto, Recaros, Ultra-view, Red Brembos. Stock Last edited by carfansince73; 03-24-2009 at 02:45 PM.

03-24-2009, 03:00 PM	#13
Missile Man Drives: 2010 2SS/Black Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Tucson, AZ Posts: 608	My Experiance My closer experiance with my last car purchase was kind of fun. Yes, he told me all the things I needed to buy, and tried to raise the interest rate on me with creative financing. The car I was buying had a Karr security system installed which he said he would only charge about $400 or $600 for. I said I didn't want it, and to remove it. He said it would cost alot to have it removed so he included it for free. Go figure........... __________________ 2010 Black 2SS L99 Mods: * CAI Intake * Magnuson MP2300 TVS Supercharger/RDS Spacer * Vector Motorsports Tune * Stainless Power LT/Hi Flow Cats/Tru X-* Pipe/36" J-Pipes/40 Series * R1 Concepts ceramic pads and slotted/drilled rotors

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03-24-2009, 01:16 PM	#2
cam2fst4u Drives: 08 SS trailblazer,08 Silverado Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: stanley va Posts: 6,268 View My Garage	Good read!

03-24-2009, 01:51 PM	#4
lakers171 SoCal MAYHEM Drives: 2010 2LT/RS IBM Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hawthorne, Ca Posts: 2,831 View My Garage	nice i will print this out and keep it in my pocket when im going in great find and thanks for the honesty, its nice knowing there's good salesmen out there still.

03-24-2009, 01:53 PM	#5
Haloman1346 Banned Drives: 2010 Camaro SS Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Tavares, Fl Posts: 255	Enjoyed reading that. Think I'm going to read my Bears jersey and see if he says "How bout them bears?" My reply is: "Im a Jags fan, dont ask me another question."

03-24-2009, 01:54 PM	#6
cam2fst4u Drives: 08 SS trailblazer,08 Silverado Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: stanley va Posts: 6,268 View My Garage	i was looking for the "confessions of a car salesman" on there but couldn't find it... I printed it out and gave it to my sales guy and he hasn't worn a white shirt or "bling" since...lol...

03-24-2009, 01:56 PM	#7
Iwantone2 Voice Of The Voiceless Drives: CGM 1SS RS Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: OC Cali Posts: 9,617 View My Garage	great find!! this article was very informative and i'm sure it will be helpful in the near future. Thanks for the post!! __________________

03-24-2009, 02:02 PM	#8
KoTToN Drives: 2005 SilveradoSS AWD Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Orange County -CA Posts: 426	That was a very good read, the part about the guy jumping over the desk and choking out the manager had me lmao! You dont know how many times Ive wanted to do that at my local dealership.

03-24-2009, 02:06 PM	#10
Grimelock2009 Drives: 2010 Camaro Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Goodyear AZ Posts: 255	Read it all, good insight

03-24-2009, 02:40 PM	#11
Camaro's from Dave Drives: chevy Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: NC Posts: 28	While I think it is a good read like anything else it is only one persons experience. Not to say what I read wasn't true to some extent. But take it with a grain of salt.

03-24-2009, 05:44 PM	#14
MontyCarlo Drives: 2010 2LT/RS auto IBM Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 1,259	1. Don't agree to be a monthly payment buyer. If you do, you'll quickly lose control of negotiations as they pack payments and hide the real cost of the car. Could someone explain to me what I should do instead? This will be my first new car since college, when I had the luxury of letting Colonel Dad handle all the negotiating.