Terms of Malaysian auto finance deals poorly explained

How much did you understand about your car loan before you signed on the dotted line?

JD Power recently published their findings on Malaysian customer satisfaction with the terms of their auto finance deals which showed that nearly half (43%)of Malaysia new-car buyers do not fully understand the terms of their auto finance product.

The inaugural J.D. Power 2017 Malaysia Auto Consumer Finance Study, SM measured customer satisfaction with their automotive finance provider by examining six key factors (in order of importance): interaction; on-boarding; billing & payment; finance deal; origination; and finance advisor.

Satisfaction levels during the purchasing process varied greatly between customers whose finance application was handled by a finance advisor vs. a car salesperson. On a 1,000-point scale, a finance advisor has an average score of 777, compared with a salesperson’s average score of 735.

Among customers who selected an Islamic auto finance product, more than 30% say they “definitely would” use the same finance provider for their next purchase, compared with 22% among customers who purchased a conventional auto finance product.

The following were additional findings of the study:

* Higher satisfaction drives loyalty: With a country average of two cars per household, 55% of customers who were delighted with their experience (overall satisfaction scores of 852 or higher) say they “definitely would” use the same provider for their next auto finance product, compared with only 5% of those who were dissatisfied (650 or below).

* Islamic auto finance products: Overall satisfaction was higher among customers buying such products than among those buying conventional auto finance products (758 vs. 744, respectively).

* Finance company vs. dealer financing: Nearly one-third (32%) of new-car buyers who purchase a finance product directly from a finance company are more satisfied than those going through a dealer to arrange financing (759 vs. 742, respectively).

Study Rankings

CIMB Bank ranked highest with an overall satisfaction score of 772. CIMB Bank performed highest across all six factors.

Maybank ranked second (759), performing particularly well in the on-boarding and billing & payment factors. AM Bank ranked third (757), performing well in the finance advisor factor.

The 2017 Malaysia Auto Consumer Finance Study was based on responses from 2,683 new-car buyers who had financed a vehicle in the past 12 months. The study was fielded between January-March 2017.