Specialized VSC Provides New Avenue into Under-Served Consumer Market
EFG Companies, the innovators behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, announced today the launch of a new product designed to increase avenues of finance income into a severely under-served consumer market – Best ReGuards.
Best ReGuards is an extensive vehicle service contract from EFG, designed specifically for independent dealers, many of whom have a very loyal and referral-centric customer base, but often don’t have a deep bench of F&I products. This program sets the stage for independent dealers to capture a greater share of wallet by meeting their customer’s economic and vehicle protection needs.
EFG custom-developed Best ReGuards according to the needs of the independent dealership’s customer base by focusing on the most critical components of a used vehicle that are often the most costly to repair:
- Transmission
- A/C
- Engine
- Electrical
- Seals/Gaskets
According to “FORBES”, many consumers are spending as their incomes rise, but are unwilling to borrow more money than absolutely necessary. When weighing the pros and cons of purchasing a used car with more years and higher miles, customers of independent dealers are concerned with not only price, but what the dealership can offer them at a reasonable price that others don’t, such as consumer protection products. These consumers may not be able to afford a traditional vehicle service contract, but they are still very interested in purchasing mechanical breakdown protection for their vehicle.
Independent dealerships are well positioned to tap into this growing consumer market. NADA predicts 2014 used car sales to top 42 million units nationwide, setting the stage for more intense competition.
“The independent dealership segment provides EFG a strategic opportunity to take what we’ve done extremely well for 37 years and immediately answer a rapidly-growing demand in the market,” said John Pappanastos, President and CEO of EFG Companies. “Our products give independent dealers a more valuable toolkit to address each customer’s specific need when it comes to taking care of their vehicle and protecting their pocketbook. We also act as a very strong extension of the dealer’s customer service through our in-house claims administration group that operates according to above-industry standard target SLAs. This translates to enhanced customer retention and loyalty.”
Bill Gusa, Managing Partner of Olympic Dealer Marketing, worked closely with EFG on the development of Best ReGuards. “As supply is expected to outpace demand in 2014, our independent dealership partners needed to expand their product portfolio,” Gusa said. “Considering how few independent dealers have the access to provide F&I products, our desire was to give our clients the opportunity to increase their product portfolio and generate greater profits by providing a quality consumer protection product.”
EFG plans to launch a Best ReGuards limited powertrain warranty companion product in the second half of 2014.