---

The Red Chip Review Initiates Research Coverage on Onyx Acceptance

5 April 1999

The Red Chip Review(TM) Initiates Research Coverage on Onyx Acceptance; Noted Small-Cap Stock Research Firm Calls Onyx A Discovery Stock

    FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., April 5 -- Onyx Acceptance
Corporation announced today that The Red Chip Review, which
selects and publishes reports on undervalued, small market-cap stocks they
believe offer potential for growth, has initiated coverage on the Company.
    "Too many distinctive specialty lenders are painted with the same brush as
the sub-prime lenders hit last summer with problems," said Marcus W. Robins,
CFA, Editor In Chief, The Red Chip Review.  "This Company's management style
and their audit approval system are such that the $0.95 in trailing EPS should
eventually be positively reflected by the shares with time."
    The Red Chip Review is a stock research firm focusing on small cap stocks.
The Firm is based in Portland, Oregon, (1-888-REDCHIP).
    Onyx Acceptance Corporation is a specialized automobile finance company.
The Company is a leader in prime and near-prime automobile lending.  It
provides financing to new and select used car dealerships.  Onyx services
dealers from its 16 Auto Finance Centers, which are located 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 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, 1997,
and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Qs for the periods ended March 31, June
30, and September 30, 1998.
    For information about Onyx Acceptance Corporation and to view a recent
investor presentation, please visit our website at http://www.onyxco.com.