How much do F&I Managers make in Car Dealerships?

F&I managers have a demanding job that requires a lot of patience, customer service, and the ability to negotiate with lenders and customers.

The responsibility of protecting a car dealership from liability also falls into an F&I Managers hands.

With all of this responsibility, you’re probably wondering – How much do F&I managers actually make?

Types of F&I Managers

Most car dealerships hire F&I managers based on their history of success in the industry, the F&I training they have received, and their customer service skills.

Most F&I Managers are paid via a “pay plan”. This pay plan dictates the parameters of their commission and gives the manager goals to achieve in order to earn more money.

How much F&I managers make also depends on the TYPE of manager that they are. Here are a few different managerial types:

Clock Watchers, Lone Wolves, and the Super Hero

Clock Watchers are managers who do just enough to keep their job. These managers have an interest in just getting through the day and avoiding every situation that pushes them to make a tough decision. When it comes to how much F&I managers make, these F&I Managers are typically the lowest earning.

Then there is the Lone wolves. These are the creative (and perhaps a bit unethical) F&I managers. They are good at structuring and striking deals with lenders, but they are also quick to loosen the ethical purse strings through sleazy tactics to sell the car in question.

These F&I managers earn a lot of money, sometimes in excess of $150,000 per year, because they are willing to waive their ethics.

The final type is a Superhero. A true professional in the job. They are aggressive with lenders, kind to customers, and excellent sales people. Ethics are important to them, and they are able to make deals while staying compliant with local and federal laws. They also keep their dealership safe from liability.

Earnings Estimate For F&I Managers

According to research conducted by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), an F&I Managers salary can range from $60,000 to $150,000 per year, and the average that an F&I manager makes per year is $132,786.

The range in an F&I manager’s salary may be caused by dealership traffic, pay plan, commission, and other factors. Commission is earned when a manager meet specific sales quotas.

F&I Manager Salary Is On The Rise

According to statistics, the average estimated salary of an F&I manager in the United States has increased from $61,000 in 2013 to over $100,000 in 2019.

How much do AutoNation F&I Managers Make?

Salary estimates at AutoNation are calculated without considering stock bonus, company car, and other perks that some dealerships may allow.

An F&I manager at AutoNation averages $113,427 per year.

How Much Do F&I Managers Make In Comparison To Other Dealership Managers?

The annual compensation for dealership managers has been increasing at the rate of one percent per annum across the industry.

However, the average compensation of an F&I manager is nearly 4% higher than that of an ordinary manager in any department in the dealership.

This estimation makes the position of the F&I manager one of the most lucrative positions in the industry.

Turnover and Retention 

Employee turnover has considerably increased in the industry. Some dealerships report F&I turnover as high as 32%. This benefits the F&I manager, as the demand for quality F&I managers increases, so does the salary.

F&I Manager Hours

Nearly all car dealership are open for business during the weekends, and on average 10 hours per day.

In the past decade, dealership schedules have increased an average of one hour per day. The good news is that the longer you spend at the dealership, the more time you have to meet customers, sell product and beat quotas.

The F&I Manager position has proven to be a lucrative career. And as we spoke about earlier, you get to choose what type of F&I manager you want to become. This will translate to the amount of effort you will be put in, and the income you receive in return.