"The Score Lies!" Why Credit Scores are Failing First Time Buyers (& What The Top 1% of Dealers Are Doing)
In this episode of the Industry Spotlight, joining host Sam D'Arc are Ben Atkinson, VP of Auto Lending at Upstart, and Evan Driscoll, General Sales Manager at Audi Jacksonville to discuss why the credit score has become the most overrated number in auto lending and how a full-spectrum dealership running everything from $2,000 used cars to $400,000 Rolls-Royces gets first-time buyers approved at competitive rates with no money down.
Evan breaks down how a slow approval costs his store at least $1,000 per car per day in aging inventory, and how a 10-second automated decision changed the math.
Ben explains why Upstart evaluates 280 data points beyond the credit score, including income stability, deal structure, and loan-to-value, and why a buyer carrying negative equity with great credit can be a bigger risk than a first-time buyer with a strong job.
They also get into why 24/7 automated approvals matter most during the weeks traditional lenders go dark.
This episode of the Car Dealership Guy Podcast is brought to you by Upstart.
Topics:
04:30 Why Slow Approvals Kill Deals.
05:50 The $1,000 Cost Of One Extra Day.
08:00 How Soft Pulls Close More Deals.
09:50 Why Customers Love Soft Pulls.
11:20 The 10-Second Approval.
15:00 Why First-Time Buyers Get 7% Rates.
16:30 The 280 Data Points Beyond Credit Scores.
20:00 24/7 Automation Beats Banking Hours.
21:00 The Beach Chair Email That Enraged A Store.
24:30 Why Manual Credit Apps Are Dead.
26:00 One Portal Beats Five Logins.
29:00 People First, Tech Second.
Upstart - Unlike traditional auto financing, Upstart uses thousands of data points – not just credit scores – to approve more buyers, structure more profitable deals, and speed up funding. Learn more at here.
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