Leasing is also big business in the luxury automotive sector, and several Mercedes-Benz dealerships have “Delivery Specialists” to assist consumers with the turn-in process for trade-ins and vehicles coming off lease, according to the spokeswoman. The specialist walks the customer through his or her new vehicle’s features while the paperwork is processed, she said. That saves time at the end of the transaction when the consumer is eager to drive away.
Porsche Financial’s Dupper estimates that on average, 35% to 40% of the captive’s consumers choose to lease a vehicle rather than purchase, due to Porsche’s high residual values.
“Once people have established that relationship with Porsche Financial Services, or any captive, and they’re kind of accustomed to all the benefits of leasing, that just becomes part of the process for them,” he said.
As a lease approaches maturity, Porsche Financial Services contacts the customer six months ahead to explain their options and the benefits of signing another lease with the captive, Dupper said.
“We have a program at Porsche Financial Services where if a customer comes in and buys a car and leases it with us again, we’ll waive up to three payments,” he said. “It’s a standard program element.”
Dupper said that the company’s regional sales managers pay visits to the dealerships at least once a month, or more frequently depending on size and location, to discuss customer feedback, what improvements can be made to the process, what products are needed, or what could be changed or modified. As a result, the captive recently began offering an “ultra-low-mileage” lease program for only 5,000 miles annually, based on dealer feedback.
“We [also] got feedback about foreign investors and businesspeople being a bigger percent of population, so we came up with some underwriting programs and guidelines around how to look at those people, and how to make that process a little bit easier,” Dupper said. “So that give-and-take process happens all the time.”
Communication and dealer relations are also top priorities for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, Fulton said
“We’re continuously asking dealers for feedback and they are not shy in telling us when we do things right, and where there are opportunities for improvement,” he said.
There are several ways MBFS communicates with its dealers and F&I managers, including in-store visits, regional finance forums, and a larger gathering held once every two years, according to Fulton.
“We bring all of our F&I managers from across the country, anywhere from 450 to 500 F&I managers, and it gives us a chance to listen to their feedback,” he said. MBFS won three J.D. Power and Associates awards this year for Dealer Satisfaction with Finance Sources, Fulton said.
“We want to keep getting better, and we know that if we don’t keep making adjustments to how we service our dealers and support our customers, we know the competition’s not too far behind,” he said.