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45% of used-vehicle loan terms ‘frighteningly’ long at 84 months, up from 25% in 2021

With high vehicle values ​​and high interest rates compromising affordability, buyers — particularly entry-level ones — have been forced to extend borrowing time frames, Ross said. “Consumers are looking to stay in a consistent monthly payment range to what they used to previously, so the only thing they have is to elongate that loan term,” he said. Ross, Karwel and Abraham saw little relief in sight for buyers as both new- and used-vehicle inventories remained tight. UPSIDE: MORE F&I SALES For dealers, however, the longer loan timelines are creating opportunities. Finance and insurance products, once pitched when selling new-vehicle sales,…

Automotive News

F&I talks over video a good option for car buyers

Jonathan Jordan, director of retail strategy for F&I product provider JM&A Group, said his company launched its so-called virtual F&I offering in 2018. He told Automotive News in late January the company had logged more than 23,000 transactions where the F&I manager and customer had never actually met — with about 20,000 occurring in the past two years. The video chat feature at first focused on the notion “customers don’t want to come to the dealership,” Jordan said. But this hypothesis was found to be incorrect, he said. “What I like to say is ‘it’s not that they don’t want…