BHPH dealer Oak Motors’ applications up 30%, approvals fall

Buy here, pay here dealership Oak Motors is slowing approval of credit applications as long-term affordability concerns persists and despite increased volume.

Anderson, Ind.-based Oak Motors’ applications were up 30% year over year at the beginning of September, according to data the dealership group provided to Auto Finance News. The dealership group did not specify the number of applications. The increase comes despite a drop in sales and amid a decline in approvals at the dealership group, which has five locations in Indiana, Executive Board Member Tiger Okeley told AFN.

“We've seen about a 20% decrease in sales, and that's by design,” he said, without providing specific sales numbers. Oak Motors focuses on identifying consumers who can commit to long-term deal structures that are beneficial to the consumers and the dealership, he said.

While the BHPH dealership sells as many vehicles as it wants to sell, success depends on finding customers capable of keeping up with weekly payments, Okeley said.

“If they stop paying us, it didn't matter if we sold them a car,” he said. The bottom line is “we didn't get paid.”

BHPH is attractive to customers with risky credit profiles or those who don’t have access to traditional financing, Okeley said. Some BHPH dealerships offer customers a chance to rebuild their credit to qualify for traditional financing down the road.

In fact, an inaugural survey of 1,015 consumers across the country published by Oak Motors on Aug. 15 revealed that 32% of consumers avoided applying for an auto loan due to concerns about their credit score this year.

Hear more about Oak Motor’s credit survey results, market trends and the state of the buy here, pay here market in this week’s podcast.

This episode is sponsored by The Work Number by Equifax.

Auto Finance Summit, the premier industry event for auto lending and leasing, returns Oct. 15-17 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. Learn more about the 2025 event and register here.