Having a successful collections department has been one of the most labor-intensive parts of a buy-here, pay-here dealership for decades.

Could using artificial intelligence help BHPH operators and other professionals in collections? Leedom Group thinks so, which is why the company recently announced the nationwide rollout of AIVA DealerTeams.

It’s an AI-powered digital collections platform purpose-built for BHPH dealers. Its flagship product, Ava, is a digital collections agent that can reach past-due customers by text around the clock, while also handling routine outreach, negotiating payment arrangements, and escalating to human collectors only when a real conversation is needed.

The launch comes as the company moves through an active onboarding pipeline, preparing to board its first 100 dealer clients in the coming weeks.

“Most BHPH dealers don’t have a collections problem. They have a consistency problem,” Leedom Group said in a news release. “With default rates commonly above 35% and recovery odds falling the longer an account goes untouched, the dealers who win aren’t necessarily better negotiators; they’re faster and more consistent.

“Ava closes that gap: the moment an account goes past due and is assigned, she reaches out by text in the dealership’s own name, negotiates a payment arrangement, and sends a secure, branded payment link — with no coverage gaps from staff turnover, vacations, or after-hours accounts,” the company continued.

Leedom Group pointed to industry benchmarks that indicate live collector contact often costs $8 or more once wages and overhead are counted

The company said Ava can perform the same, fully documented process for less than $1.

How can the tool do all that for less?

Leedom Group noted that Ava is trained on 1.9 million real collections conversations, can connect to virtually any DMS or LMS, and is fully monitored for compliance with the FDCPA, CCPA, and ECOA.

Furthermore, the company said AIVA DealerTeams rides on the same messaging infrastructure as sister company TextMaxx Pro, which handles millions of messages every month.

Leedom Group shared an example of efficiency that unfolded over a recent holiday weekend.

The company recapped that one dealer client’s office was fully closed — doors locked, staff off, phones unmanned. Ava wasn’t.

While the dealership was closed, Leedom Group said Ava handled more than 300 SMS conversations with past-due customers and resolved over 30 collection issues, securing payments the entire time the office was dark.

“One customer’s reply captured the shift: ‘Dang, y’all don’t get off for the holiday,’” the company said.

“We built AIVA DealerTeams because we’ve seen firsthand, for decades, what happens when a dealership’s best people are stretched too thin to touch every account, every day,” Leedom Group founder Chris Leedom added. “Ava doesn’t replace a dealership’s collections team. She gives it the backup it’s always needed, so experienced collectors can focus on the accounts that actually need a real conversation.

“As we’ve monitored every test situation, that’s exactly the result we’re seeing. Ava works 24/7 to resolve your collection issues. This is the future of BHPH collections — period,” Leedom went on to say.

For more details or to request a demo, go to aivadealerteams.ai.