For this episode — our 50th — Nick takes a trip to the “back office” with Anne Holtzman, who is the senior vice president of claim and recovery at Allied Solutions. While Hurricanes Harvey and Irma happened several months ago, some auto finance companies — especially with collateral impacted by the storms — could not begin […] [Read More]

Private equity money is flowing into all aspects of F&I, not just high-level technology involving originations, but also the potentially lucrative vehicle-service-contract segment. Southfield Capital recently announced an investment in APC Integrated Services Group, a provider of consumer marketing of vehicle service contracts on behalf of dealers, manufacturers and other partner channels. A news release […] [Read More]

Ferocious. Finesse. A game that was equal parts silky and powerful. That was Dominique Wilkins on the basketball court. Practical. That’s Wilkins, the car shopper. Though he is big fan of cars — calling them likely his “biggest weakness” — Wilkins acknowledges, “I’m a little cheap, too,” when it comes to finding one.   “So […] [Read More]

When consigning a vehicle for retail sale, sellers face an important question: What, if any, investment should I make in improving the vehicle’s condition to maximize its sale value? The answer depends, first and foremost, on the specific condition of the vehicle but is certainly influenced by the unique preferences of the likely retail buyer […] [Read More]

The year has started with a big push in volume for newer used cars, as nearly 273,000 late-model units made their way into the auction market last month. And that includes massive lifts from some SUV and truck segments.  That’s according to the latest Guidelines report from J.D. Power Valuation Services, which said auction volume for […] [Read More]

Mark Fields remains involved in the automotive industry — in a heavy-duty way, as a matter of fact. Fields, who retired as president and chief executive officer of Ford last May, recently was appointed to the board of directors of FleetPride, one of the largest independent distributor of aftermarket heavy-duty truck and trailer parts. Fields certainly […] [Read More]

The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) looked at the cost of replacement parts for the Top 10 stolen vehicles from the 2016 model year and uncovered how lucrative illegal operations can be that chop up these units — and potentially take away business from your dealership’s service drive. NICB insisted that expensive parts will continue […] [Read More]

Senior executives at captive auto finance companies from around the globe recently gathered to discuss and debate the latest developments in FinTech in the auto finance industry at White Clarke Group’s third Auto Captives Summit held at The Shard, London in late January. The Auto Captives Summit 2018 centered on providing attendees with real-world examples for […] [Read More]

Industry experts like Swapalease.com executive vice president Scot Hall are trying to get a handle on the used-vehicle market — a segment that will be influenced by interest rates expected to continually increase in 2018, despite the recent stock market sell-off, and wholesale prices continuing to fall this year, mostly due to rising supply. Sharing additional […] [Read More]

In what certainly comes as good news given how many of these vehicles are resurfacing in the used-car market — particularly as off-lease units — J.D. Power reported that overall dependability of 3-year-old vehicles is up 9 percent year-over-year. And the dependability of vehicles is “without question, at its best level ever,” a company executive said. […] [Read More]