How much do F&I Managers make in Car Dealerships in 2020?

F&I managers have a demanding job. The position requires patience, long hours, and the ability to negotiate with lenders and customers.

 F&I Managers are also responsible for protecting the car dealership from paperwork liability.

Due to the importance of the position, F&I Managers are among the highest paid car dealership employees with yearly salary increases of three to five percent.

F&I Manager Pay plans and Commission

Like most highly paid careers, it can be tough to become an F&I Manager.

When a car dealership is reviewing an F&I applicants resume, they will be looking for several things. 

1. Their personal history of success in the industry (how well they have done at other F&I jobs?)
2. The F&I training they have received (are they F&I Certified?)
3. Their stability (are they leaving jobs every 6 months looking for greener pastures?)

Assuming you meet the qualifications, let’s take a look at how much you can expect to earn (on average).

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How much do F&I Managers make?

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.

The average salary of an F&I manager is approximately $132,786.

Yeah, that’s a pretty big number and is one of the greatest draws to the profession. 

With an average annual salary of over $130,000 per year, it’s easy to understand why a lot of people want to join the field.

One way to start that process of becoming an F&I Manager is to sign up for F&I Training.

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 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.

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, according to PayScale.

Turnover and Retention 

Employee turnover has increased considerably 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.

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 sometimes 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 less-than moral tactics to deliver the car in question.

These F&I managers earn a lot of money, sometimes in excess of $150,000 per year.

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.

UPDATED: August 11, 2020.

We are awaiting the release of NADA’s 2020 Workforce Study. This study will update F&I Salaries for 2021.

Once the study is released, we will update this article on how much F&I Managers make in car dealerships to reflect 2020-2021.