Thrifty Announces Strategic Alliances With PRIMUS Financial Services And Other Partners
24 January 2000
Thrifty Car Sales Announces Strategic Alliances With PRIMUS Financial Services And Other Partners
ORLANDO, Fla., Jan. 24 -- Thrifty Car Sales, the nationally
franchised retail used car sales brand, has signed a first-of-its-kind
partnership agreement with PRIMUS Financial Services, and has also signed
agreements with other leaders in the automotive finance and related industries
to provide products and services to dealers who join the Thrifty Car Sales
dealer network.
New financial partners include:
-- PRIMUS Financial Services, a multi-billion-dollar financial services
division of Ford Motor Credit Company, and a leading automotive
financial services provider.
-- Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC), a leading floorplan provider for
independent dealers in the used car industry.
-- Banc One Credit Company, an affiliate of Bank One Corporation, the
nation's fourth-largest bank holding company, and an industry
specialist in automotive financing;
-- Manheim Automotive Financial Services, a division of Manheim Auctions,
is a leading provider of floorplan financing to independent used car
dealers and used car rent-a-car operators; and
-- TranSouth Financial Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The
Associates which recently reached an agreement to acquire Arcadia
Financial Ltd., a leading auto financing company with nearly
500,000 customers and more than $1.8 billion in loan originations in
the first three quarters of 1999. The acquisition will make The
Associates a market leader in the U.S. non-prime auto finance business.
Other new partners include:
-- Simoniz(R) USA, one of America's most recognized brand names in car
care products since 1911; and
-- CompuForce, a Tulsa-based company providing computerized customer
follow-up and tracking systems.
"Thrifty Car Sales is extremely proud of the line-up of partners we have
been able to secure for our network of franchised used car dealers," said Jay
Betz, President of Thrifty Car Sales. "Our goal is to build a program that
provides our dealers with all the tools they need. Together with our
inaugural partners, these new partners comprise a program that we believe is
unrivalled in the industry. They offer breadth an independent dealer won't
find on his own, and give branded dealers a means of supplementing their
existing offerings to aid in expansion."
PRIMUS Financial Services will provide comprehensive retail and floorplan
financing programs to qualified Thrifty Car Sales dealers. This agreement
marks the first time that PRIMUS has offered both retail and floorplan
financing to independently owned and operated used car sales dealers operating
under a national brand name.
"The result is that qualified Thrifty Car Sales dealers now have access to
a nationally administrated automotive finance program typically reserved for
new car dealers," said Betz.
Thrifty dealers will also have access to the company's credit application
processing system that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. PRIMUS
also provides private-label financial services to Subaru of America, Inc.,
Jaguar Cars, Inc., Mazda North American Operations, Kia Motors America, Inc.
and American Suzuki Motor Corporation in the U.S.
Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC), with over 14,000 contracted dealers,
will serve as another floorplan financing alternative for Thrifty Car Sales
dealers. AFC offers Thrifty Car Sales dealers convenient purchasing power at
over 400 auto auctions throughout the United States and Canada, and also
offers other related products and services to used car dealers.
Manheim Automotive Financial Services (MAFS) provides qualified Thrifty
Car Sales dealers the convenience of flexible floorplan financing for all
makes and models, regardless of year or mileage. Through MAFS, qualified
Thrifty Car Sales dealers may buy or sell at any of the Manheim auctions in
the U.S. and Canada with one convenient account.
Banc One Credit Company will provide a variety of retail financing
options, including prime, non-prime, subprime, lease and even special
promotional financing to qualifying Thrifty Car Sales dealers. Banc One
Credit Company is the second-largest bank-owned indirect provider of auto
financing and the fifth-largest indirect auto lender in the country. With
assets of $26 billion, the company services thousands of automobile,
recreation vehicle and marine dealers throughout the country. A subsidiary of
Bank One Corporation, Banc One Credit Company provides vehicle loans and
leases, as well as commercial banking services to its dealers. It can be
found on the Internet at http://www.bankone.com.
TranSouth Financial Corporation will provide non-prime and subprime retail
financing, offering an improved program to qualified Thrifty Car Sales dealers
over their "standard" used car dealer program. Historically, TranSouth has
focused almost entirely on programs for new car dealers.
Through its various retail finance providers, Thrifty Car Sales dealers
have access to special rate buy-down programs, national account credit centers
that offer priority status to Thrifty Car Sales credit applications, regional-
based pricing strategies and a multitude of other financial products and
services.
Additionally, Simoniz Specialty Markets Division, a subsidiary of
Simoniz(R) USA, will provide Thrifty Car Sales dealers with competitive rates
for Simoniz System 5 Environmental Service Contracts. This add-on product
protects the customer's vehicle from acid rain, tree sap, bird waste and UV
damage. The Simoniz agreement with Thrifty Car Sales represents the first
time the company's Simoniz System 5 product -- previously sold exclusively
through new car dealerships -- has been made available through a nationally
franchised retail used car sales brand.
CompuForce will provide customer follow-up and tracking systems designed
to help sales staff track customers before, during and after the sale.
All of the above partners join a premier list of Thrifty Car Sales
partners with product and service offerings that are above and beyond what is
normally available to independent used car dealers. Strategic partners who
helped launch the Thrifty Car Sales program are among some of the most well-
recognized names in the automotive industry and include:
-- Automobile Protection Corporation (APCO), an industry leader and
subsidiary of Ford Motor Co. APCO provides Thrifty Car Sales dealers
with a private label certification and limited warranty program, and
private label extended service contracts that include Powertrain,
Powertrain Plus and Stated Component coverages.
-- Bank of America Auto Group, the largest bank provider of automotive
dealer financial services in the U.S., provides retail financing
options, a used car lease program, and numerous financial products for
the automotive dealer's depository and business loan needs.
-- Bombardier Capital, the multi-billion dollar financing arm for
Learjet(R), SEA-DOO(R) and SKI-DOO(R), offers a customized floorplan
financing program that provides qualified Thrifty Car Sales dealers
with aggressively negotiated interest rates and program terms. Through
Bombardier Capital, Thrifty Car Sales also offers qualified dealers the
opportunity to conveniently finance cars purchased through the Thrifty
Vehicle Supply Group.
-- Monumental Credit Insurance Group, a leading insurance provider to the
automotive industry, and OwnerGUARD Corporation, a pioneer of gap
protection products since 1989, offer Thrifty Car Sales dealers
valuable back-end credit protection products for their customers.
Monumental Credit Insurance Group offers credit life, accident and
health coverage options; OwnerGUARD provides Thrifty Gap Protection, a
private-label product that pays a customer's loan balance in full when
the value of the vehicle is less than the amount owed and the consumer
experiences a total loss.
Thrifty Car Sales, Inc., with its affiliate Thrifty Car Rental, are
subsidiaries of Thrifty, Inc. Thrifty Car Sales operates a franchised retail
used car sales network that was launched last year, and is growing nationwide.
Thrifty Car Rental is one of the world's largest international car rental
franchise networks, consisting of over 1,200 locations in 67 countries around
the world. Thrifty, Inc. is a subsidiary of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group,
Inc. .