All articles by Richard Brown
Richard Brown
Not somebody else’s problem
Motor Finance met with dealer finance pioneers to discuss the outsourcing of F&I expertisein a climate where the increasing time cost of compliance is putting pressure on dealers abilityto pass on finance selling skills to forecourt staff. In this sixth round table discussion hosted by Motor Finance and Frontline Solutions, panellists were invited to the offices of Correlation Risk Partners in the City of London, to debate best practice and common mistakes in outsourcing, the role of business managers and the work conducted by external industry bodies.
Meet the new regulator
Regulator-in-waiting the Financial Conduct Authority promises to be more aggressive and more sector-specific than its predecessors, but there is little sign yet that the coming regime will make special distinctions for the motor finance industry By the end of 2012, after the erosion of public trust in financial services following payment protection insurance, split capital trusts, mortgages and pensions mis-selling, the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which part-regulates the motor finance industry, will be no more.
How was new plate day for you?
September, like March, is a rush period for consumer car purchases. For 72 hours around 1 September, no dealer has time to take our calls. Any day but today,” we are told
Non-prime moves mainstream
As more UK consumers have shifted into the non-prime bracket through either credit score deterioration or more stringent credit criteria among prime lenders, so too has the vehicle mix funded by the subprime sector changed. Where once subprime lending might have been perceived as weighted towards deals on aspirational or sports vehicles, the focus has certainly moved to cars associated with middle-income families and professionals.
Dear diary: standing with my back to the future
The shining new cars, the torrents of money in a room full of attractive and well-dressed people
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Room for improvement in perception of dealer finance
Although most car buyers are looking to dealers for information on car purchases, there is still work to be done in improving public perception and understanding of point of sale finance, an extensive study of 532 car owners conducted by multi-marque lender Alphera Financial Services has claimed. Some 61% of people surveyed said they relied on dealers as their main source of information on car purchases, while 74% said they preferred to deal with a person when purchasing a car.
Jigsaw aims to fill gap in education
Jigsaw is to leave its current location south of Stoke-on-Trent, where the company was founded 11 years ago, to take on new premises at the Genesis Centre site in Chatterley Valley, five miles north of the centre of Stoke. Jigsaw sales director Kurt Bradbury said: “Feedback from our dealers was that they felt informal, on-site training for the basics, such as cash and bank conversions, were not being provided by their core lenders.
Brokers and supermarkets lead the way online
Car finance brokers and car supermarkets are taking the lions share of online searches for motor finance, says marketing analysis firm Pinehearst Digital in a report published this month. The report, UK Top 30 Online Motor Finance Companies, found nearly half of all clicks on 754 key search terms, across all search engines, lead to comparison websites or car finance brokers (a category making up nearly a third of all clicks) in the reports top 30 sites.
Alphera research: dealers have opportunity to educate public at POS
Although most car buyers are looking to dealers for information on car purchases, there is still work to be done in improving public perception and understanding of point of sale finance, an extensive study of 532 car owners conducted by multi-marque lender Alphera Financial Services has claimed. Some 61% of people surveyed said they relied on dealers as their main source of information on car purchases, while 74% said they preferred to deal with a person when purchasing a car.