*Pre-Loaded F&I Products Another common practice is pre-loading F&I products during payment negotiations. It seems only natural to discuss with customers during the sale negotiation and some dealers are even incentivizing the practice. Like rustproofing and paint sealant, some products are non-cancellable and therefore either disallowed by some finance companies as a line item on the RISC or required to be included in line 1. The problem with this is deal documentation should be contiguous whereas all documents that can reflect individual product pricing, should do so especially the agreed-upon sales price which should reflect on line 1 of the RISC. In short, the Buyer’s Order should itemize these adds. Every effort must be made to prove the payment wasn’t packed by the dealership. Naturally, any hard adds such as bed liners, running boards, etc. would become a part of the vehicle but allowable soft adds should be itemized in section 4. Margin compression and competition-not to mention F&I-is a large part of why pre-loads have gained traction. Nothing wrong with selling a protection product at the sales desk but how it’s disclosed throughout the deal and documented, does matter. Listen, in everything you do in the F&I office, all effort to maintain the ethical integrity of each deal should be practiced to such a degree that you’re not consciously thinking about it. Our actions observing ethics should be so automatic as to avoid these things in the first place even to the point that all staff is fully trained and aware. Training and accountability will prevent a hairy deal from ever making its way to your desk in the first place and that starts with you. Don’t expect the sales department to have the same convictions and understanding when tripping over these things. Make it your place to train them but also explain why certain things must be off-limits. You have to remember that customers always want things to go their way and often do not care what you have to do to accommodate their wishes. We must adhere to ethical practice else we become like the dealers we read about in trade journals writing those big settlement checks with some even going to prison. F&I 8
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