Auto Financial Group announces new lease option
HOUSTON, TX (October 27, 2016) — Auto Financial Group, Inc. (AFG), an online provider of innovative financing products for credit unions and banks, announced today that they have begun offering vehicle leasing in addition to their very popular walk-away balloon loan program.
“We chose specific states around the country where leasing offers a distinct advantage over our walk-away balloon loan program, which has been one of our traditional product offerings,” said Richard Epley, CEO of AFG. “Leasing makes more sense for some consumers in these states, because sales tax laws are more favorable to leasing, and because manufacturers are willing to offer big incentives to people who lease.”
Consumers in Florida, California, Michigan, Illinois, Washington, Massachusetts, Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania can take advantage of AFG’s new lease program, with more states coming in the future.
One of the biggest advantages to leasing a vehicle involves the amount of sales tax, which varies by state. In some states, consumers pay sales tax on the total value of the vehicle. In others, the buyer only pays sales tax on his or her monthly lease payment, instead of the total cost of the vehicle, which is considerably lower.
“In most of the states we’ve chosen, the sales tax is calculated on the monthly payment,” Epley said. “When you buy a car in Michigan, for example, you pay six percent sales tax on the sales price of the vehicle. But, if you lease a car in Michigan, you pay only six percent of the monthly payment.”
Another distinct advantage to leasing a vehicle is being able to take advantage of manufacturer incentives.
“Some manufacturers will use incentives for leased vehicles, which are done on specific models and during specific times,” Epley said. “The incentive can drop the cost by as much as $3,000 per vehicle, which will considerably lower a consumer’s monthly lease payment.”
According to Maury Dikker, Leasing Director for AFG, some credit unions and dealerships will offer both AFG’s lease option and AFG’s Balloon Lending program.
AFG has been offering residual based financing since 1999 and expects to see additional growth by now including vehicle leasing. “We take 100% of the residual value risk and completely manage the end-of-term process. The goal is to provide our partners with the best products for their consumers,” said Dikker.
About Auto Financial Group (AFG)
Auto Financial Group (AFG), a Houston-based company, provides an online, residual based, walk-away vehicle financing product called AFG Balloon Lending, as well as vehicle leasing and vehicle remarketing to financial institutions across the United States. AFG's residual-based financing solutions provide the advantages of lower payments, flexible terms, in the case of the balloon loan, actual ownership of the vehicle and several end-of-term options, including the option to surrender the vehicle and walk away in lieu of paying the final loan payment. The financial institution receives higher loan yields, a competitive residual based financing alternative, and AFG manages the entire end-of-term process. The AFG Remarketing program is a proven solution for financial institutions that offers the greatest financial return to their clients by matching assets to the selling network with the greatest number of buyers. For more information about AFG call toll free at 877-354-4234, or visit www.autofinancialgroup.com.
