Why would I want to provide a Codeweavers interactive F&I facility on my website?

• More than 50% of customers still find a finance facility before contacting a Dealer (CapGemini Report 2008, AM Online Oct 2008)
• These 'Prosumers' represent incremental F&I business
• Each new finance customer represents possible incremental PPI sale
• Increased time spent on the Dealer's website - not on someone else's site
• Re-asserts Dealer finance in eyes of the customer
• Customers want to personalise their own deals (66% would be more likely to buy from a Dealer that allowed them to do this: CapGemini Report 2007 and 2008)

I'd rather wait until a customer came into the showroom and try and convert them or sell a higher rate

• Most of the time it is too late - the facility is arranged and in place
• Attempting a conversion at this point generally means there is little or no profit in the finance deal anyway (as it is based around cost)
• The 'Captive' customer that does not shop around for finance is a dwindling population (over 80% of customers now use the web for research: CapGemini Report 2008)
• The rate and the deal on the car is your 'Internet Deal' - if people want this deal then they have to apply for it or contact you on-line. This means that you can still capture those customers that simply walk into the showroom

What if a showroom customer goes on to my website after buying a car and sees my better 'Internet deal' on that vehicle?

• Get into the habit of removing the stock from your site as soon as it is sold! In this way it should never happen
• If it does happen, then simply remind the customer that the 'Internet deals' require application on-line. It may help to promote this fact on your website (as Autoworld does)

Is there any evidence that this works? Will I sell more finance and cars as a result?

• There is evidence that the time people spend on the site is much longer (e.g. Pentagon Motor Holdings)
• There is evidence that customers 'buy' cars on-line, and that when they do the vehicle is sold at or near to the screen price
• Codeweavers will track the amount of requests for calculations made by your web customers. Some Codeweavers Clients regularly request in excess of 1 million calculations a month, so the service is definitely something that customers appreciate using
• How effective it is will depend on several factors: how do you drive customers to your site? How quickly do you respond to customers and how well do you treat them once they contact you via your website? Are you pricing your vehicles and finance offerings competitively?
• Other financial services products can be webservices such as GAP, Motor Insurance etc

I have a HP calculator on my site. Isn't that good enough?

• No. Simply having HP will only direct a customer to a money comparison site - all you are presenting is a product that they can get anywhere else and it is likely that they will shop to compare your deal. By having residual value products next to the standard HP offering then you are presenting them with a tool that not only makes your cars more affordable but also shows finance products that are unavailable on any money comparison site
• From Codeweavers' experience, HP calculators on Dealers sites are generally inaccurate and non-compliant. They tend not to include fees, and do not reflect a real offering from a genuine Lender

What products can I offer on my website?

• Hire Purchase/Motorloan, PCP and Lease Purchase (which Codeweavers have re-branded as 'Low Payment Plan')
• Other Codeweavers products can also potentially facilitate Contract Hire and Personal Contract Hire, as well as full payout lease for Commercial Vehicles

Can I have my chosen Lenders’ calculations mirrored on my website?

• Yes, if the Lender features in our Panel of Lenders. Should your Lender not feature, then we can approach that Lender in conjunction with you to ask them to join the Panel.
  
  Note that it is also possible to have different finance products with different Lenders (e.g. one for HP, one for PCP and one for Lease Purchase) or the same Lender can be applied to all three products

What about my rates and terms/commission structure with those Lenders?

• These are replicated in order that you can effectively control the finance offering on a vehicle-by-vehicle basis. This is done via a simple tool provided by your web design/media company
• You can control the finance sell out price by: flat rate/yield, APR, or a monetary commission amount. Again, each finance product can have a different commission parameter

How does the customer get in touch with me once they are happy with their finance repayments?

• They can either call you or e-mail you (most customers prefer to do this) or they can complete and submit a secure finance proposal form. Once submitted, the proposal form is forwarded to you at a pre-designated e-mail address, and (subject to integration with your Lender) can also be forwarded directly to the Lender's underwriting system if you wish
• Codeweavers can provide you with numerous examples of best practice and ideas to persuade customers to take the next step and make contact with you

Can Codeweavers assist me with new cars, or is this offer only available for used stock?

• Codeweavers can assist you with new vehicle sales as well as used cars - just contact us at webenquiries@codeweavers.net for more information