2008 Boat & Motor Dealer of the Year If boat and motor dealers are suffering in these turbulent economic times, then their finance and insurance (F&I) departments are experiencing the greatest suffering. It’s not only difficult to find a lender, but it’s become even more difficult to secure a loan. That being said, dealers shouldn’t despair of their F&I departments. Marine Connection Inc. in West Palm Beach, Fla., the winner of Boat & Motor Dealer’s 2008 Dealer of the Year award for dealerships with more than $10 million in annual revenues, said that times are tough for F&I, but it’s still making a profit. “F&I is an integral part of our marine business,” said Mark Lassila, Marine Connection’s president/owner. In 2007, Marine Connection’s F&I department consisted of two business managers that generated nearly half of the dealer’s net profits (47 percent). While those profit numbers dropped considerably in 2008, F&I was still a profit contributor and expects to be one in 2009. Marine Connection still employs two full-time business managers in F&I, but they are spending a lot more time and effort these days trying to fit customers and their boats with finance and insurance. The responsibilities and accountabilities
Although the goals of F&I departments around the country are the same now as they were two years ago—to complete the sale and educate customers about all service and warranty options––the way it goes about meeting these goals has changed dramatically. Finding new financing options The biggest challenge for today’s F&I departments are in finding lenders. Lassila puts it in these terms, “We used to have about a dozen lenders to choose from, and now we’re lucky to have three or four,” said Lassila.
Because it’s so difficult to get financing, Marine Connection’s F&I team is creatively searching for other financing options. It’s looking to local credit unions and banks. It’s using whatever means it has available to get financing for its boat customers. Other financing challenges
Finally, something is occurring with F&I that Lassila never expected even 12 months ago—people who bought boats from the dealer are returning to Marine Connection and begging Lassila to buy them back. People may be losing their homes, but they still have the titles to their boats. So, with money being tight, these people approach Lassila and Marine Connection to buy them back. “We’re buying back a $50,000 boat for $25,000 and reselling it for $30,000–if we can,” said Lassila. Still adding to the bottom line
Marine Connection’s Lassila is one owner who supports F&I in good times and in bad.
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For F&I departments to be successful, they must work closely with the sales team. This is exactly what occurs at Marine Connection, where the sales force focuses on the customer, and F&I supports them in:
Marine Connection still has relationships with national lenders, such as GE, Bank of America, and Bank of the West, but getting these banks to lend money for boats in Florida seems to be like pulling teeth. Why? 
Another significant change in the F&I business involves the lending process itself. At the beginning of 2008, lenders were giving pre-approved loans to boating customers and requiring no money down. Today, Lasila said, those pre-approvals have long disappeared, and customers need to put down between 15-20 percent on their purchases. “We’re working hard to get approvals, but customers have got to put some of their own money into the loans,” Lassila added. 
