Is the finance figure on your windscreen compliant?
Motor finance compensation payments are now not expected until 2027. The FCA has confirmed that legal challenges to its scheme will be heard in February, and payments are on hold until then. But firms have been told to keep preparing, and the rules on how finance is advertised haven't changed. For dealers, that means getting ready now and making sure every finance figure a customer sees is right.
6 things dealers should do now to stay compliant on car finance
Know where your finance records are. Find deal files and commission paperwork going back to 2007, including from old systems, closed sites and businesses you've bought. Lenders may ask for them.
Pick one person to handle lender requests. Give every finance partner a single contact, log each request and reply on time, so nothing gets lost between sites.
Keep the paperwork for manufacturer support. Make sure you can show how past dealer support payments were made and what they were for.
Brief your sales and reception teams. Customers who are worried can complain to their lender for free and don't need a claims firm. Staff should pass that on and not give advice on individual claims.
Make commission disclosure easy to see. Customers should be able to see how you work with lenders at every stage of the sale, not just in the small print.
Make sure every finance figure is accurate. If an advert shows a monthly payment or interest rate, it must also show a representative example that's just as prominent, and the figures must be ones customers can actually get. That applies to the windscreen as well as your website.
The price on the car has to be right
Point six is the one dealers most often get wrong. Rates change, offers end and cars get repriced, but a paper label with last month's monthly payment can sit on a car for weeks. If a customer sees one figure online and a different one on the forecourt, they start to doubt both, and the advert may no longer be compliant.
Rallye Digital's wireless pricing displays fix that. Each display shows the cash price, the monthly payment and a key finance example, all taken from the same approved data as your website. When a price or rate changes, every display updates remotely, so the figures on the car always match what's online. Customers can see straight away which cars fit their budget, and you know every figure is accurate and compliant. Groups with more than one site can update every location at once.
What it's done for Van Mossel
Van Mossel Esplanade put Rallye Digital displays on all 75 of its used cars. Comparing six months before with six months after, using their own figures, they reported:
Zero pricing errors
Half the time spent repricing
Finance penetration up 20%
Average profit per used car up 13%
Cars selling 16% faster
Brendan Cole, Head of Business, said: "We can rely on the accuracy of pricing."
Whatever happens with the compensation scheme, dealers will still need finance figures they can stand behind. Getting your records in order and putting accurate prices on every car is the place to start.
Want to see it on your forecourt? Contact Rallye Digital for a free live demo at sales@rallyedigital.com or call 01422 525432.
This article is general information for dealership teams, not legal or regulatory advice.