Spotlight on Vehicle Affordability

Spotlight on Trius FCU

Spotlight on Portland Local No. 8 FCU

Spotlight on First Eagle Federal Credit Union

Spotlight on First Northern Credit Union

Paul Biles, VP of Financial Services, Business Development, & Indirect Lending at First Northern shared this comment at the 2023 AFG User Conference this month:

Rising vehicle prices are creating an affordability crisis. Many car buyers are priced out of the market. The average new vehicle payment is over $700, and the average used vehicle payment is over $500.
First Northern Credit Union’s Driving Sense alternative offers monthly payments up to 40% less than conventional financing!

Spotlight on Sikorsky Credit Union

Zach Hasselbarth, consumer lending manager at Sikorsky recently shared this in a panel discussion webinar:

“We’ve seen a lot of people coming off leases, who are familiar with leases, but love the vehicle. There’s a lot of good equity in the vehicle, so they want to keep it. But again, having that lower payment is a great option. So we’ve had a lot of people come off a lease buyout with the larger trucks, the ones that cost $60,000 to $70,000.  You’re looking at the Silverados, the Ford F-150s.

All those have been very beneficial with our borrowers because they continue to keep that low payment. And then with that, you know, they’re able to get that car they want, keep it for a couple of years, and then have the option if they don’t want to wait full term, they could trade it in tomorrow if they want. They have the vehicle. All those are good benefits and perks.

We’ve also noticed, we are starting to get some families involved. We just had a husband and wife who closed yesterday on their two auto loans because they thought the product was so great. They pulled the other one in to do it.”

Spotlight on McDonald Auto Group

Leslie Hansen, Finance Director at McDonald Auto Group, shared this testimonial about the AFG program:

“I highly recommend having a partnership with Auto Financial Group.

For many years, McDonald Auto Group and I have been using the AFG program with Frankenmuth Credit Union’s Driving Sense.  The portals that AFG has created for each of our dealerships are easy to navigate.  The submission of information is straightforward and printing of the documents uncomplicated. We have greatly benefited from this partnership by putting together deals that didn’t work on a standard retail contract or a standard lease.

Just recently, we partnered with Michigan United Credit Union and their lease program.  Although there were multiple credit union lease options to use, our decision to use this particular credit union was solely based on the fact that they used AFG for their guaranteed values and the excellent AFG dealer support that was provided.

The excellent training provided by AFG was a win for the lease program with all five of my stores including finance managers and office staff.  Almost immediately, our Chevrolet store was able to pick up 4 additional sales because of the AFG guaranteed values that beat any manufacturers residual and payment. Auto Financial Group has proven to be an excellent partner for us and an important part of our sales and customer retention strategy at McDonald Auto Group. AFG would be a tremendous asset to any dealership looking to pick up additional sales by offering unique options to their customers.  AFG has my highest recommendation.”

Spotlight on Community Resource FCU

Community Resource Federal Credit Union has an excellent blog and they recently featured the AFG program as part of an entry on auto loans. Click below to read the full entry:

Spotlight on Royal Ford

Ronnie Harrington, Finance Manager at Royal Ford, shared this testimonial about the AFG program:

“A discussion between dealership co-workers about a recent sales transaction revealed some awareness worth sharing.  It was assumed the customer was closed at longest term of 96 months to get the lowest monthly payment. As it turned out, the payment was for the AFG Auto Advantage loan for a 72-month term saving the borrower two years on term and overall, and a lower monthly payment.

We can put the borrowers in a better position using the AFG program. It offers the borrower a lower monthly payment and puts them in a possible better position if they wanted to trade the vehicle in prior to maturity.”

Spotlight on Straits Area FCU

Damon Proctor, Consumer Lending Supervisor, shared this testimonial about Straits Area FCU’s experience with the AFG program:

“AFG has been crucial to our auto portfolio in the past 18 months because of the rise in vehicle prices. Many of our members are on a fixed income. By having the AFG option, we are able to get more members into a vehicle they want for the payment that fits their budget. Since SAFCU is involved in many small communities, word spreads quickly of how SAFCU was able to help get the member a vehicle that many other financial institutions could not. The AFG program has bettered our reputation and given us another option to create the best possible member experience that we strive to achieve each day.”

Spotlight on Trius FCU

Spotlight on Autoflex

Spotlight on PA Central FCU

Spotlight on Riata Ford