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Onyx Acceptance Reports First Quarter Earnings

    FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., April 26 Onyx Acceptance
Corporation announced today its financial and operational
results for the quarter ended March 31, 2001.  Net income and earnings per
diluted share for the quarter were $884.8 thousand and $0.17 respectively,
compared to $1.7 million and $0.26 for the first quarter of 2000.

    During the first quarter, the Company recorded a gain on sale of contracts
of $9.3 million, or 37.2% of total revenues, compared to $12.8 million or
50.0% of first quarter 2000 revenues.  The reduction of the gain was
principally due to management's decision to target higher credit-worthy
customers and reduce its reliance on initial gain on sale accounting for its
reported financial results.  As a result, the gain on sale as a percentage of
contracts securitized declined to 2.3% for the first quarter of 2001, compared
to 3.0% for the same period in 2000.  Total revenues remained relatively
stable at $25.0 million as higher service fee income offset the reduction in
gain on sale revenue.  Service fee income, which includes late fees, document
fees and net excess cash flows generated from the sold portion of the
portfolio, increased significantly to $14.2 million compared to $8.7 million
for the same period of 2000, an increase of 63.2%.  Management expects that
fee revenue will continue to increase with the growth of the portfolio.

    Contract purchases for the quarter ended March 31, 2001 were
$430.5 million, compared to $468.7 million for the same period in 2000.  The
reduction in volume for the first quarter reflects management's ongoing focus
on credit quality.

    Net interest income for the quarter was $1.5 million compared to
$4.0 million for the same period in 2000.  The reduction in net interest
income was principally due to the combined effect of a lower weighted average
annual percentage rate on contracts held during the warehouse period and the
prefunded structure of the securitization executed during the quarter.

    Operating expenses totaled $21.6 million or 3.14% of the average serviced
portfolio of $2.8 billion for the first quarter of 2001, compared to
$20.7 million or 3.69% of the $2.2 billion average serviced portfolio for the
same period in 2000.  "Our continuing improvement in operating efficiencies
demonstrates the success of our servicing technology and the results of
renegotiated contracts with our major service providers," said John W. Hall,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Onyx Acceptance Corporation.

    Total delinquencies as a percentage of the period-end serviced portfolio
decreased to 2.29% from 4.14% at year-end 2000.  Annualized net charge-offs as
a percent of the average servicing portfolio increased to 2.68% during the
first quarter of 2001, from 2.33% for the same period in 2000.  "Our
improvement in delinquency clearly demonstrates that our focus on credit
quality and underwriting standards is paying off.  We are gratified to realize
such a material improvement of $47.7 million or a 185 basis point reduction in
total delinquency from the previous quarter and are confident that our loss
ratios will also decline in the forthcoming quarters," said Mr. Hall.

    Onyx Acceptance Corporation is a specialized automobile finance company
based in Foothill Ranch, CA.  Onyx provides financing to franchised and select
independent dealerships throughout the United States.

    This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected.  The most significant among these risks and
uncertainties are (a) the Company's level of delinquencies, gross charge-offs
and net losses, (b) the Company's ability to achieve adequate interest rate
spreads, (c) the effects of economic factors on consumer debt, and (d) the
continued availability of liquidity sources.  Other important factors are
detailed in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 2000.



                   ONYX ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION and SUBSIDIARIES
                  CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

                                                 (UNAUDITED)     (AUDITED)

                                                  March 31,    December 31,
                                                    2001           2000
    ASSETS
      CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS                     $5,941,300     $3,129,699
      CONTRACTS HELD FOR SALE
       - Net of Allowance (1)                    187,501,629    170,755,532
      CREDIT ENHANCEMENT ASSETS                  156,549,962    146,012,701
      OTHER ASSETS                                11,465,086     11,482,058

        TOTAL ASSETS                            $361,457,977   $331,379,990


    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
     LIABILITIES
      DEBT                                      $251,087,387   $233,152,110
      OTHER LIABILITIES                           51,657,166     42,634,891

        TOTAL LIABILITIES                        302,744,553    275,787,001

        TOTAL EQUITY                              58,713,424     55,592,989

        TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY            $361,457,977   $331,379,990

     (1) Net of Unearned Discounts


                   ONYX ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION and SUBSIDIARIES
                        CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                                   (UNAUDITED)

                                                     Three Months Ended
                                                          March 31,
                                                    2001           2000
    REVENUES:

      Net Interest Income                         $1,451,024     $3,958,226
      Gain on Sale of Contracts                    9,318,774     12,756,654
      Service Fee Income                          14,248,111      8,679,431

    Total Revenues                                25,017,909     25,394,311

    EXPENSES:

      Provision for Credit Losses                    334,110        433,564
      Interest Expense                             1,539,632      1,446,433
      Operating Expenses                          21,631,640     20,654,877

    Total Expenses                                23,505,382     22,534,874

    Income before Income Taxes                     1,512,527      2,859,437
    Income Taxes                                     627,700      1,186,660
    NET INCOME                                      $884,827     $1,672,777

    NET INCOME PER SHARE - BASIC                       $0.18          $0.27
    NET INCOME PER SHARE - DILUTED                     $0.17          $0.26
    BASIC SHARES OUTSTANDING                       4,989,504      6,179,922
    DILUTED SHARES OUTSTANDING                     5,132,111      6,349,518


                   ONYX ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION and SUBSIDIARIES
                            DELINQUENCY AND LOSS RATES
                                   (UNAUDITED)
                              (Dollars In Thousands)

                                    March 31,              December 31,
                                       2001                    2000
    Delinquency Experience
                              Number of               Number of
                              Contracts       $       Contracts        $

    Servicing Portfolio        279,513  $2,784,411     269,372   $2,690,606

    Serviced Delinquency

        31 to 59 days            4,116     $38,021       7,424      $71,681
        60 to 89 days            1,415      13,167       2,285       23,085
        90 days or more          1,405      12,579       1,749       16,748

        Total                    6,936     $63,767      11,458     $111,514

    Delinquency as a percentage
     of number and amount of
     contracts                   2.48%       2.29%       4.25%        4.14%

    Net of Repossessed Inventory and Bankruptcies


                                Three Months Ended
                                    March 31,
    Loss Experience
                                2001         2000
    Average Contracts
     Serviced during the
     period                 $2,758,385  $2,238,058

    Gross Charge-offs          $20,907     $15,054

    Recoveries                  $2,419      $2,002

    Net Charge-offs            $18,488     $13,052

    Net Charge-offs as a
     percentage of contracts
     outstanding during the
     period.                     2.68%       2.33%

    *Annualized


                            Onyx Acceptance Corporation
    Static Pool Information for securitized pools outstanding
     for the period from the date of securitization through March 31, 2001

    MONTH               97-2   97-3   97-4   98-1   98-A   98-B   98-C
        1              0.00%  0.00%  0.00%  0.00%  0.00%  0.00%  0.00%
        2              0.00%  0.00%  0.00%  0.01%  0.01%  0.00%  0.02%
        3              0.02%  0.02%  0.01%  0.02%  0.03%  0.02%  0.02%
        4              0.07%  0.09%  0.04%  0.08%  0.07%  0.08%  0.04%
        5              0.22%  0.13%  0.11%  0.14%  0.14%  0.19%  0.15%
        6              0.32%  0.24%  0.20%  0.24%  0.23%  0.33%  0.27%
        7              0.59%  0.36%  0.28%  0.40%  0.37%  0.45%  0.46%
        8              0.80%  0.47%  0.43%  0.53%  0.42%  0.61%  0.57%
        9              0.91%  0.62%  0.55%  0.68%  0.51%  0.82%  0.74%
       10              1.07%  0.73%  0.72%  0.85%  0.70%  0.95%  0.94%
       11              1.26%  0.81%  0.87%  1.04%  0.85%  1.10%  1.12%
       12              1.42%  0.94%  0.95%  1.20%  1.01%  1.20%  1.30%
       13              1.58%  1.10%  1.08%  1.33%  1.17%  1.36%  1.54%
       14              1.68%  1.23%  1.19%  1.46%  1.37%  1.48%  1.73%
       15              1.80%  1.38%  1.36%  1.61%  1.48%  1.64%  1.90%
       16              1.97%  1.58%  1.42%  1.71%  1.59%  1.89%  2.10%
       17              2.10%  1.68%  1.52%  1.88%  1.76%  2.05%  2.28%
       18              2.23%  1.77%  1.64%  2.01%  1.96%  2.22%  2.51%
       19              2.35%  1.91%  1.75%  2.17%  2.07%  2.37%  2.71%
       20              2.48%  2.04%  1.85%  2.25%  2.25%  2.50%  2.83%
       21              2.59%  2.11%  1.97%  2.41%  2.37%  2.67%  2.95%
       22              2.72%  2.20%  2.08%  2.52%  2.48%  2.79%  3.08%
       23              2.81%  2.31%  2.12%  2.63%  2.65%  2.92%  3.25%
       24              2.85%  2.41%  2.23%  2.75%  2.76%  3.06%  3.39%
       25              2.93%  2.51%  2.36%  2.86%  2.81%  3.14%  3.45%
       26              2.96%  2.59%  2.41%  2.98%  2.95%  3.23%  3.57%
       27              3.09%  2.71%  2.52%  3.06%  2.99%  3.28%  3.72%
       28              3.17%  2.79%  2.55%  3.15%  3.03%  3.35%  3.81%
       29              3.22%  2.92%  2.62%  3.19%  3.12%  3.45%  3.91%
       30              3.26%  2.94%  2.71%  3.26%  3.13%  3.50%
       31              3.33%  3.01%  2.77%  3.33%  3.18%  3.57%
       32              3.39%  3.04%  2.81%  3.40%  3.24%
       33              3.48%  3.08%  2.85%  3.42%  3.26%
       34              3.51%  3.11%  2.88%  3.46%  3.28%
       35              3.54%  3.20%  2.93%  3.53%
       36              3.55%  3.21%  2.91%  3.56%
       37              3.56%  3.23%  2.94%  3.59%
       38              3.56%  3.24%  2.98%
       39              3.58%  3.25%  3.00%
       40              3.58%  3.27%  3.01%
       41              3.58%  3.32%
       42              3.59%  3.34%
       43              3.60%  3.36%
       44              3.61%
       45              3.61%
       46              3.62%


    MONTH  99-A    99-B    99-C    99-D   00-A   00-B    00-C    00-D    01-A
      1   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%  0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
      2   0.00%   0.00%   0.01%   0.00%   0.00%  0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
      3   0.02%   0.03%   0.03%   0.01%   0.02%  0.02%   0.01%   0.00%
      4   0.05%   0.07%   0.06%   0.04%   0.04%  0.04%   0.03%   0.02%
      5   0.11%   0.14%   0.16%   0.09%   0.11%  0.10%   0.06%   0.07%
      6   0.21%   0.27%   0.28%   0.15%   0.18%  0.17%   0.11%
      7   0.35%   0.43%   0.47%   0.24%   0.37%  0.30%   0.26%
      8   0.49%   0.60%   0.64%   0.43%   0.63%  0.44%   0.41%
      9   0.63%   0.85%   0.83%   0.59%   0.87%  0.67%   0.65%
     10   0.81%   1.07%   1.09%   0.76%   1.05%  0.90%
     11   1.04%   1.34%   1.31%   0.99%   1.27%  1.11%
     12   1.29%   1.56%   1.47%   1.20%   1.59%  1.38%
     13   1.49%   1.79%   1.62%   1.41%   1.82%
     14   1.72%   1.90%   1.77%   1.52%   2.03%
     15   1.90%   2.08%   2.00%   1.70%
     16   2.10%   2.23%   2.08%   2.00%
     17   2.26%   2.42%   2.29%   2.17%
     18   2.46%   2.63%   2.48%   2.40%
     19   2.59%   2.71%   2.61%
     20   2.71%   2.89%   2.73%
     21   2.83%   3.08%
     22   2.88%   3.21%
     23   3.03%   3.31%
     24   3.21%
     25   3.28%
     26   3.34%