Top 10 F&I Products

Today’s successful dealership will offer a wide range of F&I products to customers in order to maximize profit and offer the best customer experience. You should be continually reviewing your F&I menu with auto dealership consulting F&I to ensure that it is comprehensive and modern and includes the products customers want most.

Below are today’s 10 most popular and most profitable F&I products. If your dealership isn’t offering all of these options, you are losing money. If you and your team don’t fully understand all these products from both a sales and compliance perspective, you are at serious risk. Contact Max Zanan today for help in building a profitable and compliant F&I product menu.

#1) Service Contracts. Your dealer-branded service contract can be less expensive than the OEM service contract with the same or better coverage and a flexible or disappearing deductible. This is a key part of your F&I portfolio, which should also be reinsured on the backend for optimal profitability. E-rating and e-contracting allows your dealership to create real-time rates and pricing for customers and print contracts from your office printer, making the whole transaction very fast and efficient.

#2) Dealer-Owned Prepaid Maintenance. Prepaid maintenance programs increase customer retention and loyalty: customers will keep coming back to you for maintenance, and will often buy something else while they’re there! A good prepaid maintenance program helps to enhance your overall “why buy from us” story while also being a strong profit generator.

#3) GAP Insurance. This product is easily understood by most customers, who don’t want to be stuck owing more on a car than an insurance company would pay should it be stolen or totaled. Like other modern F&I products, both e-rating and e-contracting make this product fast and easy to create and sell.

#4) Tire & Wheel Protection. Tires and wheels are some of the most commonly damaged parts of a car, and consumers increasingly expect tire and wheel F&I products from dealerships. This product has no deductible and no payout limit and is easy for customers to understand.

#5) Key Replacement. Today’s car buyer should understand that modern car keys and key fobs are not cheap to replace due to the technologies and anti-theft features included in them. The key replacement F&I product should cover everything from the key to the reprogramming and roadside assistance as well.

#6) Interior and Exterior Protection. This is a tangible F&I product that consumers can easily see the value of. Interior/exterior protection includes coverage on paint fading, damage from bird droppings or tree sap, and interior damage from rips, burns, fading, and more. Like most F&I products, e-rating and e-contracting will make this a quick sale that customers will easily grasp.

#7) Anti-Theft. Additional anti-theft protection pays beyond the insurance settlement, with payouts available in amounts of $2,500, $5,000 and $25,000. This product covers theft/total loss and helps provide customers with peace of mind that they won’t be out of pocket anything in the event their vehicle is stolen.

#8) Lease Damage Waiver. This F&I product helps protect customers from losses incurred by damaging leased vehicles. Benefits are available in amounts of $1,500, $2,500, and $5,000. This product has a $0 deductible and can pay up to $1,250 in a single event.

#9) Lifetime Engine Warranrty.  This F&I product is an excellent marketing tool and helps improve service retention.  Your dealership guarantees the engine for as long as the customer owns a car; however, the customer must perform all scheduled maintenance according the owner’s manual at the selling dealer’s service department. 

#10) Ancillary Product Bundles. Remember that your F&I products don’t have to be all presented one-by-one. In fact, this is often the wrong way to sell F&I products as it creates information overload for many customers. Instead, consider different ways to bundle F&I products and package relevant products together to offer savings to customers and more overall sales for your dealership.

These are just some of the most popular and profitable F&I products available today. To learn more about developing a robust and compliant F&I department, contact Maz Zanan today for an initial consultation.