DETROIT — Ally Financial revealed plans today to expand the offering of its flexible Ally Buyer's Choice product to 12 additional states this month.

Ally Buyer's Choice debuted in five states in November and now is available in the following 14 states as of today: California, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, Missouri, Maryland and Washington

Officials added the product becomes available on Dec. 12 in these three states: Arizona, New Mexico and Kentucky.

With the product available in 17 states by the end of December, Ally anticipates further expansion to additional markets across the country in the coming months. 

The company recapped Ally Buyer's Choice is designed to be an innovative financing product aimed to deliver the best of both worlds for consumers who want the advantages of both buying and leasing.

The product is available on new 2011 and 2012 General Motors and Chrysler vehicles.

Ally Buyer's Choice can allow consumers to own their vehicle including a fixed rate and payment with the option to sell it to Ally at the 48th month of their contract, at a pre-determined price.

Officials believe the product is ideal for consumers interested in purchasing a vehicle, rather than leasing, but provides the flexibility during the ownership experience to sell the vehicle to Ally, should their needs or preferences change.

Ally noted vehicle financing terms through Ally can range from 60 months to 84 months. At the 48th month, customers can choose to sell their vehicle to Ally or continue making monthly payments for the duration of the finance contract, if they wish to keep their vehicle.

The company went on to mention Ally Buyer's Choice also can provide another flexible financing option for dealers to offer customers, allowing them to meet a variety of customer needs. The product may reduce the customer's buying cycle time, increasing showroom traffic and vehicle service opportunities.

"Ally Buyer's Choice is a true differentiator in the market and provides great flexibility and choice for consumers," stated Tim Russi, executive vice president of North American operations for Ally Financial.

"Historically, consumers have only had two options when shopping for a new vehicle — financing or leasing. With Ally Buyer's Choice, we've created a third option to help meet a variety of needs for dealers and consumers," Russi continued.

Russi told sister publication, Auto Remarketing, Ally rolled out this product because it's all meant to help dealers sell more vehicles.

Elaborating upon the dealer perspective, Russi went to say, "This will drive some business to those who offer our product. Hopefully, it helps dealers generate incremental sales. For the consumers who elect to remarket the vehicle, we will end up remarketing these back to the dealers first. This will provide inventory opportunities for dealers."

Keith Donnelly, of Westbury Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge in Long Island, N.Y., shared with Auto Remarketing that he can definitely see the benefits.

"Vehicle auction prices are very high right now. Very high. Bringing a car back and being the grounding dealer is always a benefit. You can have a customer come in, sell him a car and have him come back in four years and buy another. This is a captive customer I can sell another car to. Then, as the grounding dealer, I also have the opportunity of buying the used car. It's a win-win-win," he said.

"I can make three sales out of a customer with this, and they like the lease option," said Donnelly. "You do the right thing, take care of the lease customer and they will buy again."