TORONTO — In the process of educating Canadian dealers about the buy-here, pay-here business, one particular response Mark Dubois received from a dealer surprised him.

"One dealer said that he didn't want to consider buy-here, pay-here because he didn't feel he was 'mean enough' to be in the buy-here, pay-here business," said Dubois, who had been conducting presentations in Ontario the past two weeks to teach Canadian dealers about BHPH, including a workshop at this week's Auto Remarketing Canada conference presented by CarProof.

So how did Dubois respond to this dealer's trepidation?

"You know, nothing could be further from the truth, because the best buy-here, pay-here operators develop relationships with their customers; they help them with their financing terms, work with them when they can't make their payment in full and nowhere in there is that stigma of being mean or being confrontational with your customers," he told SubPrime Auto Finance News sister publication Auto Remarketing Canada on site as this week's conference.

This was just part of the message Dubois has been spreading in his discussions with dealers in Canada. While the BHPH has a significant presence in the U.S., it has yet to gain a stronghold in Canada. Suggesting there may be untapped potential for BHPH  in Canada, Dubois — who is the director and moderator for Buy Here Pay Here Performance Groups at Performance Inc. — is leading an effort to educate dealers there about this segment. To learn more, read Auto Remarketing's previous article about this program.

During his workshops, Dubois has been sharing with dealers how operating BHPH is different than retailing cars; what kind of capital is needed for BHPH; the best way to structure such a business; and more.

And the concern expressed by the aforementioned dealer wasn't the only thing to surprise Dubois during his workshops.

"I'm actually quite surprised with the response," he shared, saying interest among dealers has been "tremendous."

Dubois added: "I was surprised to learn that there are dealers in Ontario that have buy-here, pay-here financing and as many as 700 active accounts on the books. That's huge.

"So, there are dealers who are already doing it," he continued. "It's just somewhat few and far between."

That's the crux of Dubois' mission. He sees the potential for BHPH in Canada. It's just a matter of educating dealers to help them determine if the segment is right for them.

Some dealers will find that BHPH makes sense for them. Others won't. Dubois aims to give them the tools to help them make that decision on their own.

"My objective is not to talk anybody into the buy-here, pay-here business or tell them that this is the best thing that could they could ever consider, but quite the opposite," he explained. "You need to consider what the business is, you need to do your capital projections and then decide whether you have an appetite for this and whether this is something you want to move forward with," also noting that they need to understand there are resources out there for them to help.

When asked what challenges dealers have brought up, Dubois said: "I think that the biggest challenge is just the comprehension that buy-here, pay-here is the finance business, not the car business as we know it. Probably the most feedback I had was dealers coming up to me afterward and saying, ‘You know what? I get it now.'"

And with a firm understanding on the concept, dealers can move forward and craft a BHPH strategy, if they so choose, Dubois emphasized.
That's where the next steps for Dubois and Performance Inc. come into play.

First, Dubois will work in a consultant's role with some of the dealers who have asked for help in building their BHPH business. Then, he will look to do more workshops in western Canada.

"We've seen a lot of interest by email and by communication from dealers in Western Canada, so we'll probably migrate to the West once we understand if and what restrictions there are," he continued.