Credit Acceptance Submits Patent Application for Online Financing System

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich.--July 29, 2002--Credit Acceptance Corporation has submitted an application to the United States Patent Office for its proprietary online Credit Application Processing System (CAPS).
    Credit Acceptance provides its network of new and used automobile dealers with financing sources for consumers who want to buy an automobile but have limited access to credit.
    Internet-based CAPS empowers automobile dealerships with the ability to provide their customers with credit approval in less than thirty seconds for every product in their inventory 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Credit Acceptance guarantees credit approval through CAPS as long as the customer has as little as a 15% down payment and a regular source of income.
    "Arranging financing for consumers with low credit scores has typically been the most difficult part of the automobile sales process - both logistically and emotionally," said Keith McCluskey, President of Credit Acceptance. "Credit Acceptance recognized this problem and in mid-2000 began developing CAPS. We believe our system takes car financing to a new level of professionalism and efficiency. We look forward to a patent approval," Mr. McCluskey concluded.
    Without CAPS, the credit approval process can be cumbersome, requiring several hours or even days to deliver a credit decision to a customer with a poor credit rating. Any variation in the down payment or the vehicle means time-consuming new calculations and then waiting for a decision from the proposed finance company. With CAPS, once basic information, including customer income and credit bureau data is processed through Credit Acceptance's proprietary sub-prime scoring model, a financing option for every vehicle in the dealer's inventory is provided in less than thirty seconds.
    Credit Acceptance developed its Credit Application Processing System with help from leading technology companies, such as Oracle and EMC. The technology behind CAPS includes a database for all of Credit Acceptance's dealers storing their entire vehicle inventory on a central server located in Southfield, Michigan. The only equipment that is needed by the automobile dealer to utilize CAPS is a personal computer with Internet access.

    Credit Acceptance is an indirect sales financial services company specializing in products and services for a network of automobile dealers in North America and Europe. Credit Acceptance provides automobile dealers with financing sources for consumers with limited access to credit and delivers credit approvals in less than thirty seconds through the Internet. Other services provided to automobile dealers include marketing, training and a wholesale purchasing cooperative. Through its financing program, Credit Acceptance helps consumers change their lives by providing them an opportunity to strengthen and reestablish their credit standing by making timely monthly payments. Credit Acceptance has been in business since 1972 and is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol CACC. For more information, visit www.creditacceptance.com