Car Financing - The F&I Department
OK, you've finally gotten through the front end part of buying
your car. You have worked hard done some tough negotiating and
feel like you have negotiated a good and fair deal on your car
purchase and trade-in. Now it's time to head into the dealer's
F&I (finance and insurance) department and go through the
formality of signing the financing paper work on the back end of
the deal.
You may have noticed a couple of terms: front end and back end.
I used these terms to illustrate a point to you. From a car
dealer perspective there are two distinct parts (profit centers)
to each deal. The front end of the deal is the new car price,
your trade in, any dealer add on's that they got you to buy with
your new car, etc. All of this, most everyone is indeed familiar
with. The second part of the deal, the back end, is not a place
to let your guard down. The back end is the F&I department. The
F&I manager is every bit as responsible for making sales numbers
and profit margins as everyone else at the dealership and they
are sales people NOT financial advisers and their purpose is to
help maximize the profit on the deal.
Don't assume that you are going to be offered the best possible
interest rate you can get by the F&I manager. Quite the
opposite! Adding a point or two (or more) to your contract
interest rate above what you qualify for is a serious profit
maker for the dealer.
Also keep in mind that all of your hard work negotiating your
deal on the front end has been by in large verbal and perhaps a
handshake. True, as a result, you may have a signed buyers order
or worksheet that the salesperson and or manager have signed off
on, but it is in the F&I department where all of this gets put
into contract form.
Stay focused. Some dealers and salespeople may even imply that
in order for the deal to get approved, you have to finance
through their finance department. You don't. In fact, if you
have done your homework and found a better financing offer, you
should take it. At the very least, you know what numbers you
qualify for, and as such you should ask the car dealership to
try to better what you already have.
Read the contract. Sound so basic, but most people don't. Don't
just assume that everything that you negotiated with the
dealership on the front end will make its way to the back end of
your car deal. If you've had a long day negotiating to get the
price you want, don't give it all back in the F&I department by
getting lazy at this very crucial time.
Without question, the single biggest mistake car buyers make is
failing to prepare. That, and setting your expectation that car
buying and the negotiating process within can take at best
several hours to accomplish. Know that you are going to be at
the dealership for a while can help you stay energized and
focused. Do your homework. Know your credit score. Get your
financing pre-approved and see if the dealer can beat what you
already have. Be familiar with all the areas of potential sales
and profit that the dealer can potentially land. Know what
extras (if any) you will and will not pay for. Make sure the
contract in the F&I department reflects all the negotiations
that you have worked to accomplish before hand. Then, finally,
remain on your toes and don't drop your guard once in the F&I
department.