Dealer Lender Preferences Revealed

While competitive loan rates matter, auto dealer finance professionals value the lender experience just as much, if not more, according to new research.

The JD Power 2026 U.S. Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study found that dealers prefer working with lenders that provide fast decisions, consistent answers, self-service tools and first-contact resolutions.

“Lenders that can remove those points of friction have a better opportunity to earn more of a dealership’s business,” said JD Power Senior Director of Automotive Finance Intelligence Patrick Roosenberg.

The study found that while a competitive rate is the most common reason dealerships choose a lender, other factors, like ease, speed of approvals, and sales representative relationships collectively make up 70% of their decision-making. And overall satisfaction nearly quadruples when lenders provide consistent decisions.

How lenders resolve problems affects their overall satisfaction scores. Lenders who resolved questions or issues upon first contact scored 841 on a 1,000-point scale compared to 599 when a second contact is needed. And dealers reported nearly 20% of interactions required a second contact.

Self-service financing proved to be a popular desire on the part of dealers, 74% saying they want to mostly or fully self-serve. Restructuring credit applications was the top task dealers said they want to manage on their own.

The lenders with the highest overall dealer satisfaction scores based on the survey are: