Vantage Point Blog

Guest blog by: Tony Dupaquier, Director of The Academy With the right program, the right incentive plan, and the right ongoing training, you can staff any dealership with solid F&I managers who will exceed expectations. But true superstars – the people who just...

According to a recent survey, four times as many consumers would prefer to watch a video about a product over reading about it. This is just another reminder that technology lives in everything we do nowadays, and dealers can use it to their advantage. Here’s another...

A recent Ward’s Auto article touched on a point we feel strongly about here at RoadVantage: People. Lately, much of the buzz in our industry has focused on technologies, and if/when/how to better integrate them into our processes. But at the same time, we can’t lose...

We have all heard it before: customers who walk through the door to F&I and immediately state that they won’t be purchasing any products, they believe they are all a scam or have no value, and they don’t even want to hear it — all before the F&I manager can...

This week, we came across a news item from a local NBC station about a couple deciding to purchase a vehicle service contract when their factory warranty was up, because they wanted to ensure they were protected if something went wrong. So far, so good. Then, the...

It’s impossible to escape this fact. In every publication, including Automotive News, there is at least one article pointing to Millennials as the fastest-growing car-buying population in the United States. By 2020, they will make up about...

When it comes to F&I programs, the importance of the claims department can’t be overstated. The employees in the claims department are on the front lines – day in and day out – interacting with the customer and shaping the customer experience. Here at RoadVantage,...

Co-written by: Melissa Anderson & Terry Sandlin At NADA, RoadVantage announced our new Dealer Training Program designed to help dealers engage today’s Internet-educated customer. For this initiative, we are partnering with The Academy, an Austin-based training...

If Experience Counts, Count on RoadVantage. It’s the theme of our new campaign, and you may have already seen some of our new ads featured in industry publications: a photo of myself and my partners here at RoadVantage, smiling for the camera. It’s nice to see the...

2017 is going to be an exciting year. This is the year that NADA — the National Automobile Dealers Association — turns 100 years old. We are looking forward to being in New Orleans later this month for NADA’s annual conference and learning more about what’s in store...

2017 is underway, so let’s take a moment to share what we’re looking forward to in the upcoming year. First, we are preparing for the NADA forecast that calls for around 17.1 million new vehicles in the next 12 months, which is on par with 2015 and 2016 numbers. As...

It’s hard to believe, but this year we celebrated our 5th anniversary. As we wrap up 2016, we wanted to take a moment to look back at some of the accomplishments we are most proud of. It is humbling to see how far we’ve come in such a short period, and we’d like to...

As 2016 comes to a close, here are some of the key moments in review: An Inside Look at Claims at RoadVantage - A behind-the-scenes look at RDV's approach to claims. Did you know that 97{137f86425451f0eed4391b215cab1f0aedcc26ced4aeb45d9a5267c3194b8614} of RDV claims...

When we launched our GPS product earlier this year, we knew it was a great product, and we knew it could help consumers and dealers alike. One dealership who tried it found out first hand, and shared their story with us — Lustine Dodge in Woodbridge, VA. This...

In a recent article in Dealer Marketing Magazine, it was pointed out that there continues to be a fairly large discrepancy between the “ideal” length of time dealerships believe customers should move through a deal and the actual time it takes. More than a quarter of...

This week is the annual Thanksgiving holiday, in which those of us in the United States come together to celebrate our connections with each other, and everything in our lives that we are thankful for. This year, RoadVantage celebrated by hosting a food drive for the...

A recent Cox Automotive study found one of the biggest obstacles we face in F&I is low consumer awareness. Customers simply don’t know about F&I products – what they are, and how they bring value. This is one of the single most difficult issues in our industry...

Ward’s Auto had a great blog a few weeks ago that, on the surface, might not seem to be much about F&I. Most of it is spent talking about the writer’s personal journey, but the message he is sending is clear: we often don’t realize what actually motivates us. We...

In a recent Automotive News article, it was pointed out that leasing accounted for 31.4 percent of new-vehicle transactions in the second quarter this year, compared with 26.9 percent in the 2015 period, which is a new record high. For dealerships and F&I...

In a recent issue of Dealer Marketing Magazine, Jim Maxim, Jr. had a great piece called “5 Steps to Better F&I Results” that broke down the ways in which dealerships, and specifically, F&I managers can streamline processes to get better results. The point that...

A recent article in Wards Auto noted that with the arrival of the fall season, so too has the sell-down season arrived dealerships across the country. As dealers clear out their remaining 2016 stock to make room for the incoming 2017 models, and as OEMs push...

Recently, Automotive News hosted Dwayne Wiggins, F&I University Trainer at American Financial & Automotive Services Inc., and Jim Maxim, Jr., President & Co-Founder at MaximTrack Technologies, on a Webinar that focused on driving F&I sales in the used...

In a recent article, Digital Dealer put together some information about the car-buying habits of today’s consumers that is critical to the industry moving forward. They conducted several surveys and gathered a wealth of information about what people want in their...

This week, as part of our ongoing Employee Spotlight series, we meet another member of the team that has helped build RoadVantage into the company it is today. Today’s Spotlight is on our Senior Vice President of Sales, Randy Ross. Randy started his automotive career...

RoadVantage regularly seeks feedback from our agents and dealers to make sure we’re providing the best customer service possible. We ask our agents and dealers why they’ve chosen RoadVantage, and about their experience working with RoadVantage. We’ve learned a great...

It’s almost that time of year again: the annual Industry Summit at the Paris Las Vegas. RoadVantage is gearing up for another great show, and looking forward to a few especially exciting moments. First and foremost, we’re looking forward to meeting with individuals...

According to a study done by Beepi Inc., which looked at consumer perception of the entire automotive purchasing experience, the vast majority of consumers hate buying cars. A staggering 87{137f86425451f0eed4391b215cab1f0aedcc26ced4aeb45d9a5267c3194b8614} said that...

RoadVantage regularly seeks feedback from our agents and dealers to make sure we’re providing the best customer service possible. We ask our agents and dealers why they’ve chosen RoadVantage, and about their experience working with RoadVantage. We’ve learned a great...

Our Summer Series on the People of RoadVantage would not be complete without a look at some the amazing talent that has helped make RoadVantage the company it is today. Our first Employee Spotlight is our Senior Vice President, Reese Hillard. Reese is a...

July is Vehicle Theft Protection Month, so we wanted to take this opportunity to raise awareness of the issue, and offer a few suggestions on ways to keep your vehicle safer. Vehicle theft is on the rise. According to the FBI’s Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime...

RoadVantage regularly seeks feedback from our agents and dealers to make sure we’re providing the best customer service possible. We ask our agents and dealers why they’ve chosen RoadVantage, and about their experience working with RoadVantage. We’ve learned a great...

With the year half gone, we thought this was a good time to check in and take another look at the trends we touched on in our January blog post. The Economy. We live in interesting times. It’s an election year. The United Kingdom just voted to leave the European...

RoadVantage regularly seeks feedback from our agents and dealers to make sure we’re providing the best customer service possible. We ask our agents and dealers why they’ve chosen RoadVantage, and about their experience working with RoadVantage. We’ve learned a great...

This month, we are celebrating five very successful years, and winning our second Dealers' Choice Award. We’ve worked hard to create a culture where agents’ feedback is welcomed and encouraged, and we do our best to incorporate that into our offerings. We’ve...

In our most recent blog post, we mentioned that our very own Brad Blizzard, National Vice President of Sales, was part of one of the Agent Summit educational panels. Here’s a closer look at that panel and some of the points that were made. The panel was called Profit...

Now that Agent Summit has wrapped for another year, let’s take a brief moment to look at some of the highlights from the show. One of the biggest sessions at a show is typically the keynote speaker, and Agent Summit was no different. Dave Anderson, author of “4 Simple...

By: Phil Mullen, National Sales Manager Last week, RoadVantage announced a new product that is the first of its kind on the F&I market – a GPS system that has been coupled with a theft protection benefit. I want to take a few minutes to explain our philosophy...

Now that the dust from NADA has settled — and as we prepare for Agent Summit — we wanted to take a few minutes to look at the main themes we saw trending most strongly throughout the show. 1. Technology. One of the interesting themes at NADA was that dealer technology...

At RoadVantage, one of the things that truly sets us apart from anyone else in the industry is our passion for providing the best customer experience. We believe in having a great product, but even the best product in the world means nothing if the dealers, agents and...

Innovation is something no dealership can truly afford to ignore. The most recent JD Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) Study relays a similar message: “Use of technology—i.e., tablets and computer displays—by dealers during the sales process can substantially...

Often, when giving presentations to customers, F&I managers focus on product features and benefits. They talk about what it is, how it works, what it costs…And when those customers aren’t interested, F&I managers are left wondering: Were the features not...

By: Frank Diaz, Claims Director In the RoadVantage claims center, we strive daily to do our part to ensure that our customer service is second to none. RoadVantage has made a commitment to providing superior protection and an exceptional customer experience, and we...

One of the greatest challenges to overcome in the F&I office is helping dealership customers understand the value proposition behind F&I products. Customers have just gone through the process of selecting their next vehicle – a major purchase decision – and as...

When a vehicle service contract is sold and the dealership customer walks out the door, in theory everyone is happy. The customer has peace of mind knowing that if problems strike, they will be covered, and the F&I manager has the satisfaction of knowing they have...

A story in Automotive News, published in late November, referenced a J.D. Power study which came to a surprising conclusion: Gen Y buyers are just as likely to buy F&I products as any other generation. For years now, we’ve all been hearing the warnings that Gen Y...

With most of the East Coast of the United States still recovering from the recent “Snowpocalypse” that hit in late January, now is a good time to take a closer look at how F&I can help consumers protect themselves against the hazards that come with extreme...

January is a natural time to reflect upon what we’ve completed, and what lies ahead. 2015 was another banner year in the automotive industry as a whole, as well as in the greater world of F&I, and at RoadVantage in particular. New vehicle sales rose to a new high,...

New vehicle auto transactions can be separated into three types of deals: finance, lease and cash. F&I products have historically been sold with finance deals, more so than cash or lease deals. We’ve been watching the trends however, and we see a shift toward...

In November, dealers gathered in Austin, Texas, for one of the regional Dealer Compliance Summit meetings being held around the United States. Sponsored by four of the magazines that cover our industry — Agent Entrepreneur, F&I and Showroom, Auto Dealer Today and...

F&I products are becoming an increasingly important part of the revenue stream for dealerships. It’s a fiercely competitive market, and with companies like Kelly Blue Book and TruCar telling consumers the rock-bottom price they should negotiate for,...

The F&I office is evolving. When our industry first started out, every customer was walked through a paper sheet that detailed each product and its benefits. Over time, as the computer became more mainstream, the paper menu was moved to the screen, although many...

It’s hard to get away from the debate about online F&I these days. There are some very good arguments on both sides of the aisle, but I don’t think we can afford to just ignore it anymore. The fact is, people like to shop online. They are researching the cars they...