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Onyx Acceptance Reports Record Earnings and a $0.25 Dividend for the Second Quarter

Diluted Earnings Per Share Increase 253%

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., July 26 -- Onyx Acceptance Corporation announced today its financial and operational results for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, and declared a $0.25 dividend.

Net income and earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $3.7 million and $0.60 respectively, compared to $921 thousand and $0.17 for the quarter ended June 30, 2003. Financial highlights for the quarter were:

   *  Net Income increased $2.8 million, or $0.43 per diluted share.
   *  Total Revenues increased 12% over the second quarter of 2003.
   *  Operating expense ratio declined to 2.6% and 2.8% for the quarter and
      six-month periods ended June 30.
   *  Net Charge-offs decreased by 39% to 1.33% annualized versus the second
      quarter of 2003.
   *  30+ day delinquency decreased to 0.90% versus 1.37% as of
      December 31, 2003.
   *  A $0.25 dividend was declared.

"We are extremely pleased with the financial and operational results of the quarter. The excellent performance of our portfolio has produced a steady rise in our quarterly cash flows and a reduction in collection related expenses. We look forward to continued improvement in all facets of the Company during the second half of 2004," said John Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer.

Revenues:

Total revenues for the second quarter 2004 increased to $28.7 million compared to $25.6 million for the second quarter of 2003. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, total revenues were $56.7 million, compared to $50.1 million for the same period in 2003. Total revenues are comprised of net interest income, service fee income and securitization gains. Net interest income was $6.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2004, compared to $7.2 million for the same period in 2003. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, net interest income was $12.7 million, versus $14.3 million for the same period in 2003. The decrease in net interest income is principally due to the increase in the balance of the Company's renewable unsecured subordinated notes outstanding. Service fee income was $14.3 million for the second quarter of 2004, compared to $13.2 million for the second quarter of 2003. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, service fee income increased to $27.4 million, versus $26.4 million for the same period in 2003. Service fee income is principally comprised of contractual servicing fees earned on Managed Receivables. Managed Receivables include contracts held for sale and investment, contracts sold on a whole loan basis and outstanding securitized contracts. Managed Receivables were approximately $3.5 billion as of June 2004, versus $2.9 billion as of June 2003. Service fee income also includes investment interest, late fees, extension fees, document fees and other fees charged to the customer. The gain on the second quarter securitization decreased to $7.5 million compared to a gross gain of $8.3 million for the same period in 2003. The decrease in gain was principally due to a reduction in the interest rate spread on the 2004-B securitization. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, total gains were $16.6 million, versus a net gain of $9.3 million for the same period in 2003.

Operating Expenses:

Operating expenses were $22.0 million, or 2.6% of managed receivables for the second quarter of 2004, versus $23.6 million, or 3.3% of managed receivables for the same period in 2003. For the six-month period ended June 30, 2004, total operating expenses were $45.8 million, compared to $46.0 million for the same period in 2003. The decrease in total operating expenses stems from a reduction in collection related charges resulting from improvements in the Company's delinquency and loss rates.

Portfolio Performance:

Total 30+ day delinquency as a percentage of the serviced portfolio decreased to 0.90% at June 30, 2004, versus 1.37% as of December 31, 2003. Annualized net charge-offs as a percent of the average serviced portfolio decreased to 1.33% for the second quarter of 2004, from 2.19% for the same period in 2003. The Company's serviced repossessed inventory decreased to $11.9 million or 0.42% of the serviced portfolio at the end of June 2004, from $16.0 million or 0.55% of the serviced portfolio at June 30, 2003. The Company's allowance for estimated credit losses on securitized assets was 3.6% at June 30, 2004, and 4.1% at December 31, 2003.

Contract Purchases:

Contract purchases, including Onyx Gold volume, for the quarter ended June 30, 2004 were $687.6 million, compared to $425.5 million for the second quarter of 2003.

Dividend:

The Company's Board of Directors voted to approve a cash dividend of $0.25 per share for the second quarter of 2004. The dividend will be paid on August 27, 2004 for shareholders of record as of August 13, 2004.

Stock Repurchases:

During the second quarter, the Company purchased 166,000 shares of its Common Stock as part of its stock repurchase program authorized by its Board of Directors in April 2004. Repurchases may continue from time to time at prevailing market prices, through open market or unsolicited negotiated transactions, depending upon market conditions. The Company may discontinue purchases at any time that management determines additional purchases are not warranted.

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, including statements regarding the Company's cash flow, revenue and growth opportunities, the performance of the Company's outstanding portfolio and securitization transactions, the Company's expected loss, charge-off and delinquency rates, the continued availability of liquidity sources in coming quarters and the performance of the economy in the United States. Other important factors are detailed in the Company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004 and annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003.

For information about Onyx Acceptance Corporation, please visit the Investor Relations section of our website at www.onyxco.com.

               ONYX ACCEPTANCE CORPORATION and SUBSIDIARIES
              CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

                                          (UNAUDITED)       (UNAUDITED)
                                         (In Thousands)    (In Thousands)
                                            June 30,        December 31,
                                              2004              2003
  ASSETS
    CASH & CASH EQUIVALENTS                   $31,552           $15,434
    RESTRICTED CASH                             1,489               500
    CONTRACTS HELD FOR SALE --(1)             150,291           195,347
    CONTRACTS HELD FOR INVESTMENT --(2)         8,966             8,812
    CREDIT ENHANCEMENT ASSETS                 181,634           182,344
    OTHER  ASSETS                              13,911            11,378

             TOTAL ASSETS                    $387,843          $413,815

  LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
    LIABILITIES
      DEBT                                   $206,852          $264,782
      OTHER LIABILITIES                        95,284            69,114

             TOTAL LIABILITIES                302,136           333,896

             TOTAL EQUITY                      85,707            79,919

             TOTAL LIABILITIES AND
                EQUITY                       $387,843          $413,815

    (1)  Net of Unearned Discounts
    (2)  Net of Unearned Discounts and Allowance

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

                              Three Months Ended        Six Months Ended
                                  June 30,                 June 30,
                                (In Thousands)           (In Thousands)
                              2004         2003         2004        2003
  REVENUES:

   Net Interest Income       $6,909       $7,181      $12,657    $14,321
   Gain on Sale of
    Contracts, net            7,516        5,205       16,591      9,332
   Service Fee Income        14,310       13,188       27,403     26,426

  Total Revenues             28,735       25,574       56,651     50,079

  EXPENSES:

   Provision for Credit
    Losses                      442          396          755      1,254
   Operating Expenses        21,986       23,603       45,776     45,998

  Total Expenses             22,428       23,999       46,531     47,252

  Income before Income
   Taxes                      6,307        1,575       10,120      2,827
  Income Taxes                2,554          654        4,079      1,174
  NET INCOME                 $3,753         $921       $6,041     $1,653

  NET INCOME PER SHARE --
   BASIC                      $0.71        $0.18        $1.15      $0.32
  NET INCOME PER SHARE --
   DILUTED                    $0.60        $0.17        $0.97      $0.31
  BASIC SHARES
    OUTSTANDING           5,259,141    5,088,806    5,257,741  5,087,800
  DILUTED SHARES
   OUTSTANDING            6,295,642    5,383,121    6,238,389  5,270,199

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

                                     June 30,           December 31,
                                      2004                 2003

  Delinquency Experience
                               Number of               Number of
                                Contracts     $        Contracts     $

  Serviced Portfolio          274,343    $2,849,279    280,459  $2,843,446
  Managed Portfolio            30,600      $631,585      9,614    $198,281

  Serviced Delinquency

            31 to 59 days       3,397       $18,319      4,664     $28,084
            60 to 89 days         816         4,136      1,047       5,889
            90 days or more       644         3,213        943       4,955

            Total               4,857       $25,668      6,654     $38,928

   Delinquency as a
   percentage of number and
   amount of serviced portfolio
   Net of Repossessed
   Inventory and Bankruptcies    1.77%         0.90%      2.37%       1.37%

                                Three Months              Six Months
                                   Ended                     Ended
                                  June 30,                  June 30,
  Loss Experience
                              2004         2003        2004          2003

  Average Portfolio
   Serviced during
   the period              $2,842,317   $2,892,493   $2,844,977   $2,896,998

  Gross Charge-offs           $13,468      $19,092      $29,987      $41,355

  Recoveries                   $4,007       $3,256       $7,940       $6,807

  Net Charge-offs              $9,461      $15,836      $22,047      $34,548

  Net Charge-offs as a
   percentage of averaged
   serviced portfolio
   outstanding during
   the period.*                 1.33%        2.19%        1.55%        2.39%

  *Annualized

  Onyx Acceptance Corporation

  The table below illustrates the cumulative net credit loss performance of
  each of the securitized pools outstanding for the period from the date of
  securitization through June 30, 2004 stated as a percentage of the
  original principal balance.

  MONTH
  1     00-A    00-B    00-C    00-D    01-A    01-B
  2     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  3     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  4     0.02%   0.02%   0.01%   0.00%   0.00%   0.01%
  5     0.04%   0.04%   0.03%   0.02%   0.02%   0.03%
  6     0.11%   0.10%   0.06%   0.07%   0.07%   0.10%
  7     0.18%   0.17%   0.11%   0.15%   0.12%   0.18%
  8     0.37%   0.30%   0.26%   0.26%   0.20%   0.30%
  9     0.63%   0.44%   0.41%   0.39%   0.31%   0.39%
  10    0.87%   0.67%   0.65%   0.50%   0.47%   0.50%
  11    1.05%   0.90%   0.85%   0.65%   0.60%   0.65%
  12    1.27%   1.11%   1.08%   0.85%   0.77%   0.77%
  13    1.59%   1.38%   1.29%   1.03%   0.95%   0.89%
  14    1.82%   1.57%   1.42%   1.25%   1.14%   1.04%
  15    2.03%   1.84%   1.65%   1.41%   1.31%   1.19%
  16    2.25%   2.08%   1.93%   1.62%   1.47%   1.33%
  17    2.48%   2.26%   2.16%   1.86%   1.64%   1.43%
  18    2.64%   2.42%   2.42%   2.04%   1.78%   1.55%
  19    2.80%   2.69%   2.65%   2.20%   1.96%   1.67%
  20    2.98%   2.96%   2.97%   2.41%   2.10%   1.80%
  21    3.25%   3.20%   3.25%   2.60%   2.25%   1.94%
  22    3.52%   3.44%   3.48%   2.75%   2.36%   2.09%
  23    3.69%   3.69%   3.70%   2.92%   2.49%   2.23%
  24    3.91%   3.94%   3.95%   3.03%   2.61%   2.35%
  25    4.12%   4.18%   4.18%   3.16%   2.75%   2.47%
  26    4.32%   4.39%   4.37%   3.32%   2.86%   2.57%
  27    4.52%   4.57%   4.54%   3.45%   3.01%   2.67%
  28    4.71%   4.74%   4.74%   3.59%   3.12%   2.77%
  29    4.87%   4.91%   4.88%   3.71%   3.27%   2.87%
  30    5.04%   5.07%   5.03%   3.86%   3.41%   2.96%
  31    5.23%   5.22%   5.18%   4.00%   3.52%   3.04%
  32    5.35%   5.36%   5.33%   4.09%   3.60%   3.11%
  33    5.48%   5.53%   5.43%   4.20%   3.69%   3.19%
  34    5.61%   5.67%   5.57%   4.28%   3.78%   3.28%
  35    5.74%   5.80%   5.67%   4.39%   3.87%   3.35%
  36    5.85%   5.91%   5.77%   4.47%   3.93%   3.41%
  37    5.96%   6.04%   5.90%   4.55%   4.03%   3.48%
  38    6.06%   6.15%   5.99%   4.64%   4.10%   3.51%
  39    6.16%   6.24%   6.09%   4.73%   4.16%   3.56%
  40    6.25%   6.35%   6.17%   4.81%   4.20%
  41    6.33%   6.43%   6.24%   4.85%   4.24%
  42    6.41%   6.53%   6.31%   4.91%   4.28%
  43    6.48%   6.60%   6.39%   4.95%
  44    6.54%   6.67%   6.47%   4.98%
  45    6.59%   6.76%   6.53%   5.02%
  46    6.62%   6.82%   6.60%
  47            6.86%

  MONTH
  1     01-C    01-D    02-A     02-B    02-C    02-D
  2     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%    0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  3     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%    0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  4     0.00%   0.00%   0.01%    0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  5     0.02%   0.02%   0.01%    0.01%   0.01%   0.01%
  6     0.05%   0.04%   0.02%    0.04%   0.06%   0.03%
  7     0.11%   0.08%   0.07%    0.10%   0.11%   0.07%
  8     0.18%   0.14%   0.12%    0.17%   0.17%   0.15%
  9     0.29%   0.22%   0.19%    0.23%   0.26%   0.30%
  10    0.38%   0.32%   0.26%    0.33%   0.34%   0.37%
  11    0.48%   0.44%   0.34%    0.41%   0.42%   0.44%
  12    0.59%   0.51%   0.39%    0.49%   0.51%   0.51%
  13    0.70%   0.59%   0.48%    0.58%   0.60%   0.59%
  14    0.78%   0.69%   0.56%    0.68%   0.70%   0.67%
  15    0.89%   0.77%   0.64%    0.75%   0.79%   0.75%
  16    1.00%   0.85%   0.74%    0.84%   0.89%   0.79%
  17    1.11%   0.94%   0.83%    0.93%   0.98%   0.88%
  18    1.23%   1.03%   0.91%    1.02%   1.07%   0.99%
  19    1.34%   1.10%   1.00%    1.10%   1.16%   1.07%
  20    1.45%   1.19%   1.12%    1.16%   1.29%   1.15%
  21    1.58%   1.30%   1.20%    1.26%   1.38%   1.22%
  22    1.71%   1.39%   1.27%    1.34%   1.48%   1.30%
  23    1.84%   1.51%   1.39%    1.44%   1.60%
  24    1.92%   1.59%   1.49%    1.52%   1.69%
  25    2.02%   1.67%   1.60%    1.60%   1.76%
  26    2.13%   1.73%   1.69%    1.66%
  27    2.25%   1.80%   1.76%    1.73%
  28    2.33%   1.89%   1.82%    1.77%
  29    2.43%   1.96%   1.93%
  30    2.52%   2.01%   1.99%
  31    2.62%   2.06%   2.02%
  32    2.72%   2.09%
  33    2.81%   2.14%
  34    2.89%   2.19%
  35    2.92%
  36    2.97%
  37    3.00%

  MONTH
  1     03-A    03-B    03-C     03-D    04-A    04-B
  2     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%    0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  3     0.00%   0.00%   0.00%    0.00%   0.00%   0.00%
  4     0.00%   0.01%   0.00%    0.01%   0.02%
  5     0.01%   0.02%   0.01%    0.02%   0.05%
  6     0.02%   0.04%   0.03%    0.05%   0.09%
  7     0.07%   0.06%   0.08%    0.08%
  8     0.11%   0.12%   0.11%    0.15%
  9     0.17%   0.21%   0.18%    0.21%
  10    0.24%   0.27%   0.23%    0.27%
  11    0.31%   0.35%   0.31%
  12    0.39%   0.42%   0.35%
  13    0.44%   0.49%   0.42%
  14    0.50%   0.54%
  15    0.59%   0.60%
  16    0.67%
  17    0.74%
  18    0.81%
  19    0.89%