Consumer Car Buying Advice Blog

The Florida based auto retailer attempts to bolster sagging sales by introducing their own lite version of a payment assurance plan.

Hyundai Assurance Plan

Here at Auto Credit Express, we all know about the successful Hyundai Assurance plan (we say successful since Hyundai  managed to keep its year over year February sales decline below 2%) . This plan, available on all new Hyundai Vehicles, covers borrowers during the first 12 months of ownership. During that time, Hyundai will cover up to $7,500 in negative equity if you have to return your car due to involuntary unemployment, physical disability, loss of license due to medical impairment, international transfer, self-employed bankruptcy or accidental death.

Recently, Hyundai upped the ante with the offer to pay a lease or loan for 3 months following a job loss and, if the customer is unable to find work, the turn-in program kicks in.

This is all well and good if you’re a Hyundai dealer. But what if you’re a dealer and Hyundai is only one of your brands or, worse yet, isn’t one of your franchises at all?

Today, AutoNation, the largest dealer group in the U.S., answered that question.

Will “Assurance Lite” be enough?

AutoNation’s program, called “Payment Protection” is shorter than and not nearly as comprehensive as the Hyundai’s Assurance plan. Unlike Assurance, the ANPP plan will cover payments of up to $500 per month for six months while the buyer looks for a new job. In order to qualify, the customer must have owned the vehicle for 90 days before the job loss and be unemployed (via involuntary termination) for at least 30 days before benefits kick in.

One of the advantages to the AutoNation plan is that it covers both new and used vehicles, where Hyundai Assurance only covers new vehicles. On the negative side, there is no provision in the AutoNation plan for returning the vehicle if the customer exhausts the benefits and is still unable to make car payments.

The Bottom Line

The latest customer protection plan from AutoNation is certainly a step in the right direction. Although it doesn’t have any provision for walking away from the vehicle without further obligation, it is a step in the right direction. Whether it’s enough to regain consumer confidence, only time will tell.

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