How much do car dealership Finance Managers make?

Feb 22, 2024

What is a car Dealership Finance Manager?

 

Dealership finance managers help customers obtain financing for both new and used car purchases by working with lending institutions and banks or, if the dealerships offers such a program, a dealership pre-approved lending program.

 

 

They work with financial lenders to get clients the best possible interest rates while still generating a profit for the dealership and are expected to maintain high ethical standards while selling additional products (such as extended warranty) on behalf of the dealership.

 

How Much Does an Auto Finance Manager Make ? Auto Finance Managers in U.S. Earn an Average Salary of $142,855 (according to average income reported by National Automobile Dealers Associations).

Finance Manager Job Description, Salary, and Training in a Talent Economy:

1. Automotive Finance Manager

 F&I Training (Finance & Insurance Management Training) Online  and Sales Management positions offer the most challenging and rewarding careers in the retail automotive industry today. Both require a mastery of customer service techniques, a thorough understanding of legal compliance, and, in the case of F&I, the ability to analyze credit and structure successful deals.



 

Training to become an F&I Manager usually takes around 30 days, and includes classroom training, or live online participation with instructors if you attend a formal training institute like Auto Dealer Institute for F&I Training . There are however so finance manager training websites that offer a more basic online course, often lacking any depth, or any real formal training with material that is outdated and a more self tutoring approach than a real training.


Courses that supposedly completely online do not prepare students for actual real situation job performance as students hardly receive full access to the F&I Training Center, adequate lessons with course material, F&I software and tools in industry, and working with leading industry expert instructors . Instead, these online website provide slick videos that students can Pause and Play on your own schedule, and hence pay only a few hundred Dollars. Real trainings costs higher because it prepares students real-life scenarios with high quality training. Not video reviews.

2. Finance Manager Training

Automotive Dealer Institute offers  Finance Manager Training courses job placement assistance program  with an over 90% job placement rate within 90 days of graduation across all 50 states. There are several careers you can consider and no doubt you are looking for the most marketable career for your future. There are very few  careers that offer average salaries of $142k+ (according to NADA) without a college degree  and that is why Finance Manager for an auto dealership or often referred to as F&I manager career, can do.

3. F&I Manager

The F&I Manager job title refers almost exclusively to the automotive industry. Other loan and insurance roles, including those at high street banks, mortgage banking, and credit unions, and others have different job titles pertaining to this role.

F&I manager is responsible for managing the financing and insurance department of an automotive dealership, which include car loan support, customer finance processing for a vehicle, and presenting special sales or offers for the vehicle that is being purchased from the dealership.

F&I Managers are tasked with the job of qualifying the buyer and communicating the benefits of add-ons services such as extended warranties.

Most dealerships, especially bigger ones, have their F&I department head to manage a team of other staff to plan and offer customer deals as well as work with the Internet Manager that offers specials on the Internet (dealership website) to bring in customers who many be interested in specials.

In general, in almost all larger dealerships, the F&I Manager negotiates directly with car buyers to try and get the best value for the dealership.

4. F&I Training

The primary qualifications for becoming an F&I manager include a high school diploma and several years of experience at an automotive dealership, either as a salesperson or sales manager (or Internet manager). In almost all dealerships (large or small) an F&I Manager needs to receive training before they can do this job, since there are many aspects of this role that a candidate needs to be made aware of, from loans processing to compliance laws.

As auto sales trends are changing everyday, many of the top dealerships want applicants to have a formal training with proper certification by a nationally recognized F&I School before even applying for the role. Dealership general managers also prefer applicants who have worked in a auto sales role, as well as those who have military training or a bachelor’s degree or management experience.

In some cases, if a candidate is highly qualified but not have any F&I experience, the dealership that hires them will have them go through a formal training to become qualified to perform the duties and responsibilities of this position including lending laws, compliance, and experience negotiating offers.

5. F&I School

It is quite obvious that anyone who is interested to become a Finance and Insurance Manager, (F&I Manager) needs a formal training to help car buyers choose financing and insurance options, as well as other services that they may be interested in at the time of purchasing a car (e.g. extended warranty). The training needs to include all aspects of customer service, loan paperwork processing and financial compliance.

A great F&I School will train their students to be able to perform all aspects of this position on behalf of the dealership, but also do a very convincing job helping customers choose the best options for their needs. Customer service is key to the success of this role in a dealership as this provides a great chance for repeat business or customer recommendations.

A great F&I School will train F&I Managers to :

  • Working directly with customers to explain and recommend loan processing, financing options, extended warranties, and other products and options
  • Finding competitive car loan rates for the purchase of the vehicles
  • Processing applications for vehicle financing and helping customers get approved
  • Verifying that all paperwork is completed correctly and filed properly
  • Ensuring a strong relationships with loan companies to offer competitive rates and flexible options for car buyers
  • Ensuring compliance with all car purchasing local, state and federal regulations
  • Training the sales team on available financing programs to ensure they promote them to potential buyers when they initially discuss car loans and pricing

6. Automotive F&I Training School

Automotive F&I Training Schools fall into 2 distinct categories:

  1. Reputable, academically respected Automotive F&I Manager Training schools like Auto Dealer Institute , or
  2. Preparatory, non-formal, un-accredited (often online course review) Finance Manager Training School

The professional and academically respected schools (such as Automotive Dealership Institute ) offer valuable training that stays with the student for decades and for the entirety of their career as an F&I Manager.

The preparatory schools are often very low cost, cheap in quality of training, course material is outdated (often) and is meant for basic knowledge for individuals with low budget for training. The fact is, you get what you pay for. These online preparatory courses are low-quality and inadequate.

Professional training offered by Automotive Dealership Institute is designed as a hands-on in a classroom or online remote participation but still connected to the classroom live in person during training. In-person or live remote training delivers a realistic scenario and environment to engage with instructors and produces highly trained individuals. This enables and empowers students to become highly knowledgeable and confident during their job interviews. For the same reasons, ADI offers a job placement assistance that has a success rating of %90+ within 3 months, according to its independent audit of trained F&I Managers by ADI ( Automotive Dealership Institute ).

  • Responsible for presenting financing options for sale of a vehicle in an open and fully transparent manner
  • Manage and process loan applications to make sure customers get their vehicle of their choice
  • Generate additional income for the dealership by selling customers  insurance products that protect their vehicle investment
  • Utilize a comprehensive menu selling process to help customers get exactly what they want while helping your dealership maximize the finance department’s overall profitability
  • Ensure that every eligible deal complies with all regulations
  • Explain all the details of the loans and offers to make sure customers are happy with their choice
  • Track portfolio with lenders, evaluate loan rates, and stay current with latest best offers
  • Review and inspect the flow of the paperwork on regularly to ensure a timely turnaround on all contracts, as well as the accuracy of all documents produced in the department
  • Demonstrate complete commitment to supporting the sales department in achieving its goals while also looking out for the customers and the dealership’s best interests as a whole

7. F&I Manager Training Certification

Once you have a formal  certified finance manager training from Automotive Dealer Institute , many other industries or sectors are always looking to employing an F&I management graduate with certified training from a licensed educational school.

F&I Certification ensures that the student has received complete training of the F&I job role and responsibilities, including loan processing, customer service, knowledge of how and when to discuss with customers regulations and disclosure of the entire transaction, including purchase price, ancillary product price and benefits, taxes, terms including any applicable interest rate and a thorough review of the contract.

8. Dealership Finance Manager Training

Through interactions with instructors in a classroom or through live remote participation, students learn more than content and material. They learn to work in a classroom with others simulating real working environment where they interact in an honest, ethical way with high degree of integrity. This classroom environment promotes a strong desire to succeed with knowledge and competence and team work but without complacency. Teamwork and team chemistry is a very important part of our school culture.

Students at Automotive Dealership Institute also learn time management and planning and organizational skills. They also learn better through active recall and practice sessions which help enormously during job interviews.

While our classroom training offers incredible instructor-student course material interactions for learning and practice, the professional environment empowers our students to become enthusiastic self-starters with a passion for customer service, selling and enjoy working with other people.

This is highly sought after in finance managers expected to work within a team.

Finance managers coordinate all activities regarding finance and insurance for customers, which includes working to help customers obtain financing, preparing all associated documentation, and selling extended service contracts and additional protection products. It would be ideal to get classroom training for the entire process with instructors and other classroom participants to learn ALL the details, rather than just brush over main topics. That is what makes Automotive Dealership Institute finance manager training so invaluable.

The training also prepares the students to ensure all deals are done in a timely manner and according to all legal requirements and dealership policies. Finance Managers are responsible for preparing and ensuring the accuracy of legal documents, selling products and services to new and used vehicle customers, and enhancing the customer experience while achieving maximum profitability for the dealership. They need excellent training by professional and experienced instructors to be able to do all this.

These skills during formal training added to real knowledge from experienced instructors and classroom practice sessions makes for highest learning environment. People learn much better through classroom interactions and as a team, rather than as an individual going through reading material, in most cases.

Get trained by the best in the industry to launch your new career. Call 1-877-998-7200 to get more information or feel free to visit the  F&I Training overview  page on the ADI website.

The Automotive Dealership Institute is a certified institution that has integrity and qualified faculty.

9. Finance Manager Training Online

Thousands of dealerships are open all across the United States, and these dealerships sell millions of cars every year.

Individuals working in these positions spend their days helping customers to find the financing and insurance coverage they need to help them purchase the car they want and protect the asset in the event of an accident.

Auto dealerships rely on these individuals to make money in the form of interest, thus increasing the dealership’s profits.

10. F&I Training Courses

In the auto industry, as in the case with many other industries, sales professionals that want to develop their careers further with potential for a higher-income as well as a career that has endurance, do understand the need for training. Every penny spent for a formal, structured, and hands-on training from expert instructors is worth its weight in gold.

Automotive Dealer Institute (ADI) is the most respected, trusted, and the licensed and independent F&I school in the USA, with over 32 years hands-on training experience by industry recognized F&I experts. Courses are designed and structured under the supervision of previously experienced dealership General Managers who know all the ins-and-outs of F&I.

With training at The Automotive Dealership Institute, you’ll get the best possible training to prepare you for a lucrative career in automotive finance.

With training at The Automotive Dealership Institute, you’ll get the best possible training to prepare you for a lucrative career in automotive finance.

If you are considering becoming an F&I Manager and work for a car dealership , Auto Dealer Institute can help. We provide Auto F&I Manager Training courses and we are the only licensed, independent F&I Training center in US. or over 32 years. Our Automotive Finance and Insurance Management training program has been teaching students the necessary skills to become a successful automotive finance and insurance manager, internet sales manager, desk/sales manager, or dealer representative.

 

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