CARY, N.C. -

A new residual-based financing program from the creators of the CarMark Certified Pre-Owned program, called CarMark Auto Finance, is hitting its stride just in time for dealers to take advantage of the opportunity during the profitable first months of the new year, according to company officials.

“The first few months of a new year represent an excellent time for residual-based financing on pre-owned units,” noted Bill Zadeits, CarMark Auto Finance principal. “The recent drop in wholesale prices caused by seasonal market readjustment provides a buying opportunity, with values normally increasing going into the spring market.”

CarMark Auto Finance is a fully insured, walk-away balloon payment program created through a partnership with Auto Financial Group of Houston. Available in terms from 24 to 72 -month, the program allows buyers to take advantage of monthly payments that are significantly lower than conventional finance payments. When the final balloon payment is due, the buyer can pay off the balloon through a trade-in, private sale, refinance or they can simply walk away.

Highlights of the CarMark Auto Finance program for dealers and consumers include:

•    Monthly payments up to 40 percent lower than conventional financing
•    Shortens terms and helps dealers do business with their buyers more often because the consumer returns quicker to the dealership
•    Owner can trade, sell or refinance the vehicle at any time

“We know that dealers don’t do CarMark Auto Finance deals just because they like us,” said David Ruggles, CarMark Auto Finance sales manager. “They do these deals because it makes sense to their buyers and to their dealership. Dealers who ‘get it’ are using CarMark Auto Finance balloon payments to steal deals from competitors who are asleep at the wheel.”

Ruggles added that pre-owned sales have been a consistent sweet spot for the program, with dealers who use the program’s residual-based payments on pre-owned inventory finding that they have little or no competition on vehicles that are the best fits with the program.

He also highlighted a number of those current “best fit” vehicles for the CarMark Auto Finance program:

In addition to working well for dealers, the CarMark Auto Finance program has already proven successful for a number of financial institutions, with 11 new credit unions signing on to the program in the past five months. Together these credit unions manage more than $6 billion in assets and serve more than 548,000 members.

Benefits of the program for credit unions and other financial institutions include:

•    Residual value insurance
•    Compatibility with existing indirect programs
•    Automated quoting system
•    Automated end-of-term process
•    Higher yielding loans
•    Positions financial institutions to recapture vehicle financing currently being lost to competitive low-payment financing option

Zadeits noted that while both CarMark Auto Finance and the CarMark Certified Pre-Owned program are both products of POADA LLC, dealers can participate in the finance program without being a part of the certified program and vice versa.  “However,” he said, “The two programs complement each other in numerous ways for both the dealer and the consumer.”

Dealers or financial institutions interested in finding out more about the CarMark Auto Finance program can visit www.carmarkautofinance.com/demo to access a monthly payment calculator that allows them to input any vehicle to compare monthly payments with CarMark Auto Finance and conventional financing.

To request additional information about the CarMark Auto Finance program, or to find out how your dealership or financial institution can offer the CarMark Auto Finance program to your customers, call Bill Zadeits at (800) 608-7500, ext. 117 or email info@carmarkautofinance.com.