Car shoppers can earn a Black Friday Bonus of $1,000 with a little legwork

NEW YORK, Nov. 19, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Outside Financial revealed today that the average new auto loan arranged at a car dealership contains $1,882 in undisclosed fees and markups.  The Outside Financial Markup Index, which tracks these markups, found that they have increased by 8% over September 2018. 

"One of the easiest ways to save a lot of money for the holiday shopping season is to visit your local bank or credit union to arrange your car loan before you go to the dealership to buy your car," said Jon Friedland, Chair of Outside Financial.  "Auto dealers are embedding loan fees at record rates to make up for declining car sales margins. The result is that walking into the dealership with pre-arranged financing has never been more important." 

Sonia Steinway, CEO of Outside Financial, added, "Unfortunately, most car buyers don't realize that dealers now make more money selling financing than they do selling cars. And there are no legal requirements that dealers disclose that they are marking up a borrower's loan, let alone by how much. Car buyers need to prepare themselves by shopping as much for a loan as they do for a car. That's true year-round, and especially during the busy holiday season when most of us want to save a few extra dollars. At Outside Financial, we focus on empowering car buyers to make smarter financial decisions. We are proud to work every day to bring the same transparency and competition to car loans as consumers enjoy in almost every other major financial transaction."

About the Outside Financial Markup Index
The Outside Financial Markup Index analyzes public data from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Reserve Bank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the National Automobile Dealers Association, DealerStrong, and Auto Finance News, combined with interviews of automobile finance executives.  The Index details consumer costs on auto loans arranged by dealerships for new car purchases.  It is updated monthly and is subject to minor revisions for up to 4 months. The Index is available at https://www.outsidefinancial.com/auto-loan-markup-index.

About Outside Financial
Outside Financial empowers car buyers to understand their financing options and connect to the right lender, outside the dealership. The company partners with financial institutions that share their consumer-first values. For more information, visit www.OutsideFinancial.com. 

SOURCE Outside Financial