Fixed Ops Journal - August 2020 - F18

FIXED OPS JOURNAL

LOANS

continued from Page 16

loan, and dealerships enjoy higher dollar
amounts on repair orders because customers feel reassured about payment.
Lately, many more consumers seem to
need reassurance.
"Since COVID-19, we've seen a 25 to 30
percent increase in customers using the
A way to pay
service," says Robert Rendino, sales direcSunbit and DigniFi are the 2 largest providers of auto repair loans at franchised
tor at Clear Lake Nissan in League City,
dealerships. Here is a look at how the companies typically operate.
Texas, a suburb of Houston. "People are
DIGNIFI
SUNBIT
getting laid off. Hidden behind COVID is
Amount financed
$1,200-$1,700
$800-$1,000
the recent drop in oil prices, and many
people here are tied to the oil industry."
Approval rate
60%
90%
The increased fears of layoffs, Rendino
Dealership
customers*
4,000
3,000
says, have led people to spend more conDealership fees
4.5% of all loans or a monthly
3% of every
servatively and invest more in repairs.
subscription of $199-$1,850
loan
"Our salespeople present trade offers to
service customers facing a big bill, say a
*Approximate
Source: DigniFi and Sunbit
$2,800 transmission repair," says Rendino.
At least four times in one month, "customers turned down the trade and used DigniFi to finance the repair. Typidealerships had signed up to use ExpressWay," Canales says. Since
cally, that would never happen."
March, about 600 more have joined.
If consumers are more interested, so are dealerships.
More than 4,000 dealerships now use DigniFi's core products.
"From November of 2019 until the beginning of March, roughly 200

Money in their pockets

"During the worst part of 'stay at home,' we saw a drop of 20 to 30 percent in payment plans volume," says Tal Riesenfeld, vice president of
sales at Sunbit and one of its co-founders. However, he notes that this
was during a 50 percent drop in foot traffic.
Fewer people were walking into the dealerships, Riesenfeld says, but
"more of them were trying to keep money in their pockets and leveraging financing."
Riesenfeld also adds that
"About 75 percent of our
April was Sunbit's largest-ever month for oncustomers are using
boarding dealerships -
more than 240. About
Sunbit, and we're
3,000 dealerships now use
averaging about $600 a
the system.
Both companies have
ticket."
observed that customers
tend to spend more on reRUBEN SERNA, parts and service
pair orders financed
director, Rock Honda
through their systems, a
trend that has continued
during COVID-19.
"About 75 percent of our customers are using Sunbit, and we're averaging about $600 a ticket," says Ruben Serna, parts and service director
at Rock Honda in Fontana, Calif. Historically, Serna says, "the average
ticket is usually about half that."
Use of the system is up considerably, Serna adds.
"About 40 percent of customers were using it last year. We're seeing
about $80,000 a month lent on parts and labor," he says.
Serna believes that both the increased demand for payment plans and
the increased service spending are tied to COVID-19 concerns.
"People are trying to make ends meet and take care of their family," he
says, "but a vehicle that's safe is a necessity now." 

Drive productivity
Trend Reports:
% Track shop equipment use
% Maximize profits and productivity
% Set goals and identify missed opportunities

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AUGUST 2020

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Fixed Ops Journal - August 2020

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