This fall, Acura Financial Services introduced five new Acura Care branded ancillary products. These new products offer your dealership powerful retention tools. “They will have a complete package of products to offer that has the look and feel of Acura, and that carries weight with Acura clients,” says Jon Eldridge, assistant vice president of Sales and Marketing, American Honda Finance Corporation (AHFC).
The products are administered by Safe-Guard Products International, a leading provider of vehicle protection products. Safe-Guard reports service retention with branded products is 13 percentage points higher than with generic, nonbranded products. “We know that vehicle maintenance can enhance retention because the dealers do a good job,” Eldridge says.
“The goal for all of these products is to support sending these clients back to the originating dealership, or an authorized Acura dealer, where they will use genuine Acura parts,” he explains. The client gets peace of mind that their vehicle has been serviced or repaired correctly, and the dealer gets not only the initial F&I sale but also the opportunity to continue earning that client’s business in the service department.
For details on each product, see the dealer brochure located on the Safe-Guard portal accessed through the Interactive Network (go to the Bus Mgr/AFS landing page, click on AFS Finance Products) or ask your AHFC dealer relations manager.
In addition to administering the products, Safe-Guard offers robust dealer training on each of the new products. “We want to provide every tool we can to help our dealers be successful,” Eldridge says.
The new products are available in most states now. They are expected to be available nationwide in Q1 2024.