Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
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agents affiliated with CNA National."
Once again, the Platinum Award went to Portfolio, making the company a Double-Platinum Winner. Additionally, it is the only provider in this segment to win an award every year since the cate- gory was introduced in 2008. "We have experienced record growth the past three years, so we believe that dealers have come to understand how valuable a dealer-owned program is to both their profit strategy in the dealership and the dealer's personal goals of building wealth," said Steve Burke, president and CEO of Portfolio. "We are honored to have our dealers rank us so high in this annual survey … We want to thank all of them for letting the industry know how well Portfolio works for them."
Prime Credit Finance Captive
After a brief absence from the Awards in 2011, BMW Financial Services returned to win the Diamond Award, an award the company also claimed in the 2009 and 2010 Dealers' Choice Awards.
The Platinum Award went to first-time winner Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, while the Gold Award went to yet another first-time winner in the category, Volkswagen Credit.
Honda Financial Services, which previ- ously held a spot in the top three for five consecutive years, was nudged into fourth place but still scored well above average, followed by Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation in fifth place and Ford Motor Credit in sixth. In what is perhaps a reflection of a year rife with setbacks for the manufacturer, Toyota Motor Credit fell to seventh place, after
companies earned above-average scores this year across three categories—the highest number of above-average rankings ever in all
D 36 auto dealer monthly
year. Twenty companies earned above-average scores this year across three categories—the highest number of above-average rankings ever in all finance
D
spending seven straight years as an award-winner. TD Auto Finance (formerly Chrysler Financial) also turned in an above-average finish and ranked eighth in the group.
Prime Credit Finance Non-Captive
This year's Diamond Award went to SunTrust. This marks the first-ever Diamond Award win for the company, which previously won Platinum in 2009. "SunTrust is proud to be recognized with Auto Dealer Monthly's top award in their Prime Credit Finance – Non- Captive category. Providing exceptional and timely service to clients is what sets SunTrust apart, and we believe that's the reason auto dealers rated us so highly. We want to thank all these dealers for the opportunity to serve them – and their customers – and we look forward to continuing our work with them in the future," said Jeff Hooper, SunTrust Executive Vice President for Consumer Lending.
Also returning to the top three for the first time in several years is the Plat- inum Award winner, Bank of America. The company was 2007's Diamond Award winner in the category.
ealers are certainly much happier with finance companies in general this year. Twenty
ealers are certainly much happier with finance companies in general this
categories. Eight ranked in the Prime Captive Credit Finance and six each in the Non-Captive Prime Credit and Subprime Credit categories.
Chase Bank, which has made a total of five award-winning appearances in this category since the DCA's inception, moved up from last year's fourth-place finish to win the Gold Award. Local credit unions are more popular than ever, coming in fourth this year, the highest they've ever ranked. Wells Fargo Auto Finance and Capital One Auto Finance finished in fifth and sixth places, respectively.
Subprime Credit Finance
After winning the Platinum Award last year, Regional Acceptance Corporation reclaimed the Diamond Award in 2012, which it previously held in 2010. Additionally, the company has won a total of seven awards in this category. "Over the years we have strived to build and maintain strong relationships with our dealers. We have offered buying consistency, funding stability and deal structure flexibility," stated Ron Wooten, senior vice president and chief administrative officer of Regional Acceptance Corporation. "These things have allowed dealers to deliver more deals and deals with higher profitability. We believe the survey results show that our dealers view Regional Acceptance as a reliable and
finance categories.
Eight ranked in the Prime Captive Credit Finance and six each in the Non-Captive Prime Credit and Subprime Credit categories.
