As consumers continue to regain their financial footing in the wake of the economic crisis, businesses continue to feel the pressure to drive more sales. Nowhere is this more evident than in the automotive industry. Franchise dealers are seeing more credit-challenged customers come through their doors to purchase cars. Unable to qualify for traditional auto loans, many of these customers are looking for special financing to help them afford their vehicle purchases. What’s more, they’re looking for franchise dealers to provide this special financing.

Traditionally, franchise dealers have been hesitant to extend deep sub-prime lending to customers with credit challenges — and understandably so. While offering the potential for more profit, these types of loans also come with higher risk including increased rates of delinquencies and default, added expense and staff resources spent on locating and recovering delinquent vehicles, as well as vehicle damage and complete vehicle loss.

Despite these risks, increasing numbers of franchise dealers are realizing that in order to stay competitive in a still-lean economy, they will need to bring in more customers including those with credit issues. And that means offering more special financing options like six-year auto loans. So how do dealers mitigate the risk inherent in these types of loans in the event consumers over-extend themselves, as we’ve seen happen the housing market?

Finding the Solution to Low-Risk Special Financing

Spireon is committed to providing the answer to that question. A leading provider of Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and Business Intelligence Solutions that connect businesses to their mobile assets and workforces, Spireon has helped optimize the fleets of customers in the trucking, transportation, logistics, enterprise, rental car fleets, buy here pay here, and local delivery fleet industries. Now the company extends its powerful, scalable and affordable GPS-based asset tracking and information platforms to the franchise dealer market.

Spireon’s solutions combine high-sensitivity GPS technology and cost-effective, scalable Software-as-as-Service tools to connect franchise dealers to the information they need to expand loan portfolios while minimizing risk. With Spireon’s easy-to-install, sleek GPS devices in their vehicles, dealers have the ability to track in real-time the location and movement of their vehicle assets, not only on the lot but once they’ve been financed by a customer.

Using a simple, intuitive web-based interface and dashboards, dealers can instantly access a wealth of vehicle information on-demand, via their desktops, laptops, smart phones or other mobile devices. Beyond vehicle location, Spireon’s information platform serves up a rich level of data such as when a vehicle has stopped moving and for how long, when a vehicle leaves or enters a specific geographic boundary, as well as complete vehicle histories. Dealers can even run a variety of reports that provide valuable insight into dealership’s loan portfolio performance.

Reducing Recovery Costs, Rebuilding Credit

More than a tracking device, Spireon’s solution provides a proactive tool that allows franchise dealers to change customer behavior. The solution sends customers automated reminders whenever a payment is pending or overdue. The system even allows dealers to remotely disable delinquent vehicles on those extreme cases, then re-enable them once a payment has been received.

Combined, these powerful features and functionality provide value not only for the dealer, but also for the customer. With the ability to locate vehicles on-demand and in real-time — and having the ability to disable them when necessary— dealers can dramatically reduce the staff time and costs associated with vehicle repossession and recovery. Delinquent vehicles are recovered faster, minimizing the chance for damage and total loss.

For customers, Spireon’s solutions support efforts to rebuild their credit scores. Automated payment reminders keep customers on top of their payments, while also encouraging them to contact dealers to make arrangements in the event they cannot make an on-time payment.

Last but certainly not least, Spireon’s vehicle asset tracking and information platform simply allows franchise dealers to compete more effectively. With improved risk mitigation, dealers can now expand their loan portfolios to offer special financing with greater confidence and with more competitive rates. This in turn allows them to differentiate their dealerships by saying yes to more customers other dealers are turning away. And by helping challenge-credit customers rebuild their credit, dealers have a greater opportunity to transform these customers into higher value car buyers.

Survey Says: Dealers and Customers Embrace Asset Tracking Solutions

It all sounds good, but does a solution like Spireon’s really work to bring in more customers and increase vehicle sales, while reducing risk? The numbers say it does. In a recent survey conducted by the Payment Assurance Technology Association (PATA), participating dealers that use GPS devices to track their vehicle assets reporting the following positive results:

• 98% of participating dealers reported that their customers rarely or do no object at all to having a GPS installed in their vehicles at the time of sale.
• 53% of dealers surveyed said that GPS technology improved the credit ratings of over 20% of their customers.
• Over 84% of surveyed dealers said that using the device helps them put their customers into higher value cars with less risk.
• 68% of surveyed dealers reported that using GPS devices allows them to finance customers with smaller or deferred down payments.
• 78% of surveyed dealers reported that GPS devices allow them greater flexibility in their criteria for granting credit.
• 84% of surveyed dealers said GPS devices with a disable feature proactively help their customers stay on track with payments.

Spireon’s solution for franchise dealers delivers the features and functionality that make special financing not only feasible, but profitable. What’s more, Spireon backs its products with deep automotive industry experience, patented and proven technology with over 1.5 million subscribers today, a solid financial spreadsheet, and a serious commitment to ongoing research, development and product innovation.

Download the brochure below to learn more about "GoldStar GPS Solutions for Automotive Dealers".

GoldStar Automotive GPS Solutions