BANDON, Ore. — The average FICO score for a new-vehicle buyer hit its lowest level since May 2006, according to the latest CNW Research data. This figure came in at 722 in March and includes buyers who financed, leased and paid ... [Read More]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Strategic Marketing recently announced it is now offering direct mail with a no-risk, money back guarantee. This program can give dealers assurance that their advertising funds will be protected and refunded by Strategic Marketing if a certain return ... [Read More]

SARASOTA, Fla. — CarBiz announced today that it has launched a new lease-here, pay-here Web site. CarBiz officials said they offer a variety of services to consumers and dealers from buying cars to providing financing and leasing, as well as operating ... [Read More]

ORLANDO, Fla. — Philadelphia-based VINtek, a provider of automotive collateral management services and direct auto finance solutions for banks, credit unions and other auto finance lenders, announced the launch of its Dealer Monitoring Program. The new offering is a risk ... [Read More]

CLEVELAND — The rising demand for used vehicles and loosening of financing will soon translate into increased demand for new-vehicle sales, according to the latest report from KeyBanc. Driving this expected ramp up of demand are improving retail auto financing and ... [Read More]

BATON ROUGE, La. — AppOne, a part of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, announced today that Wachovia Dealer Services, a Wells Fargo Co., has joined its platform. Wachovia Dealer Services, the fifth-largest auto finance company in the nation, will purchase automotive retail ... [Read More]

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. — RouteOne announced that it has completed integration with DealerCentric. DealerCentric can enable dealers to capture and convert leads to credit applications and qualify online or offline consumers to specific vehicles and lender programs at the beginning of ... [Read More]

LOS ANGELES — Westlake Financial Services recently announced its expansion into a new state — the Louisiana market. This brings Westlake's operations to a total of 36 states. Contracts for Louisiana will be accepted starting April 20. Geoff Branda, vice president of IT ... [Read More]

IRVINE, Calif. — During the fourth quarter of 2008, Consumer Portfolio Services reported it purchased $7.3 million of contracts from dealers, compared with $33.6 million during the third quarter and $265.8 million during the fourth quarter of 2007. Overall for the year, ... [Read More]

BATON ROUGE, La. — AppOne, a part of Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, announced that it has added the first credit union on its credit union platform. Joining this platform is Dow Louisiana Federal Credit Union. Using the AppOne platform, DLFCU is ... [Read More]