Cinch
Cinch Auto Finance describes itself as focused on auto loans, and says its mission is to help dealers help customers get financing quickly. Its dealers page lists underwriting support, funding, payoffs and titles, with hours and contact details for the underwriting staff.
Cinch: Indirect auto loans
Its customer pages offer payments, payoffs and e-statements online.
| Product or service | Function |
|---|---|
| Indirect auto loans | Financing offered through dealers. |
| Underwriting | Staff available for program guidelines and applications. |
| Funding | Funding and payoff processes for dealers. |
| Customer account tools | Online payments, payoffs and statements. |
Cinch: product details
Cinch Auto Finance says on its home page that auto loans are all it does, that it started in 2005, has originated over $10 billion in auto loans to hundreds of thousands of customers and works with more than 2,500 franchised and independent dealers in 27 states. The site separates visitors into customers, who can pay, pay off and download e-statements through an online account, dealers, who find information on underwriting, funding, payoffs and titles, and job seekers.
Its stated aim is to help dealers get customers financing quickly.
Because it is an indirect lender, Cinch buys retail installment contracts from dealers instead of selling software. A dealer evaluating it should ask which credit tiers and vehicle types it buys, what its buy rate, reserve and participation arrangements are, how quickly it funds after a complete package arrives, how stipulations are communicated and how titles are returned.
Compare those answers across several lenders for the same sample deal.
The figures on the page are the lender's own. A store should also ask how Cinch reports contract status to the dealership, what its policies are on early payoff and on chargebacks if a customer cancels an add-on product, and which states it is licensed in, since the page says coverage is 27 states.
Cinch's customer pages cover payments, payoffs, e-statements and account history, which shows that servicing is handled in-house by the lender. For the dealer that matters after the sale: ask how payoff quotes and title release requests are handled, how fast a title is mailed after payoff and who to call when a customer disputes a payment, because those calls land at the store first.
Also ask whether Cinch buys loans on both new and used vehicles, what the maximum term and advance are for each credit tier, and how it handles dealer-participation and reserve in the states where it operates. Check the references.