- F&I – Finance and insurance.
- F & I Manager – The person in the dealership that has you sign the contracts and will attempt to up-sell you with extended warranties and insurance products.
- FAB – This term is for Feature, Advantage, Benefit. A FAB Statement will present a vehicle’s feature like run-flat tires, the advantage that it provides (allows you to drive an extra 50 miles on a flat tire), and how that benefits the buyer (you’ll be able to make it safely home or to the shop should you ever get a flat tire).
- Fairy* – Internet customer that walks in with all their car buying research in a folder.
- F.D.R.S – A extremely insulting word to a client since it stands for “Filthy, Disease-Ridden Swine” or a person who never repays a creditor who gives them a chance. “You qualify for our F.D.R.S. program,” the dealer may say. They will attempt to obtain bank clearance, but the automobile will be chosen by the dealer.
- Fence Jumper, Climber, Ups in the Wire – Car salesman term to describe an individual that has just completed a car buying transaction.
- Firm Grip* – Car salesman term for when a customer is buried in their trade. (owes way more than what it is currently worth.)
- First Pencil – Lingo used to describe the first offer written on paper that is presented to the customer to begin the negotiation process.
- Five-Pounder – This term can have any number in front of the “Pounder.” A pound represents $1000. A five-pounder would be $5,000 in gross profit on the car deal. Some dealers only count the frontend profit, but some will count the front and backend of a car deal for the total pounds.
- FLEET Manager – An individual that is employed by a car dealership that handles high volume sales through businesses, state, or city agencies.
A FLEET Manager will normally contact small businesses, city or state agencies that require vehicles to conduct business. FLEET Managers are normally not commission based so they can provide deep discounts when selling multiple cars to one buyer.
Some car buyers believe they will get a better deal if they work with a FLEET Manager. Some people on the internet sell books and information on the best way to buy a car is from one of these individuals. This is not always correct.
First, you need to find a FLEET Manager. Not all car dealerships have a FLEET Manager employed at their location. You can contact a car dealer and ask to speak with someone in their FLEET Department.
You have to be careful doing this because if they don’t have a FLEET Department they may just pass you off to someone acting as a FLEET Manager. This does commonly happen to unsuspecting car buyers. I know of Sales Managers that have business cards made up giving them the title just to sell you a car.
In a car dealership, the running joke of what FLEET stands for is Full List Each and Every Time!
Car buying tip – FLEET Managers and their departments are being phased out and replaced by Internet Managers. Using a FLEET Manager as your dealer contact can be beneficial when buying your next new vehicle as long as you’re sure you’re dealing with one.
By law, all car dealers pay the same price for their new vehicles from the manufacturers. The secret to getting the lowest price on a new car is educating yourself on the car buying process. If you’re not sure what you’re doing when trying to buy a car the FLEET Manager or any other car salesman will still try and take advantage of you.
- Flip, Flipped, Flipping – Slang used by car salesman when they switch a customer from one car to the other or switch a customer from their prearranged financing to the dealer’s financing.
- Floorplan – This is a dealer term used to describe the money the dealership borrows to finance vehicle inventory. The dealer pays interest on this until a vehicle is sold and the floorplan is reduced. This is one of the many reasons why dealers try to turn their inventory over in so many days.
- First Time Buyer – Term used to describe an individual that has never financed or purchased a vehicle in their lifetime.
Click here to learn how to buy a new car at the lowest possible price.
- FNG* – The clean version would be: Effin New Guy.
- Fresh Up – Term used to describe when a customer first contacts the dealership or arrives in person. Example: “Hey boss, just got a fresh up that hit the lot.”
- Friday Car – Car salesman slang used to describe a new car that has a “not-so-common” problem. The salesman may say the manufacturer built that car at 4:45 pm on a Friday and the workers rushed so they could go home at 5:00.
- Front-End, Front – Slang term used to describe the gross profit made on the sale of a vehicle, not including F&I (which is the back or back-end).
- Front Line Ready – Car salesman lingo to describe a new or used car that’s been taken into the dealership and has been inspected, tested, detailed, and ready for sale.
- Full Bore – Term used to describe when a car salesman sells a car for the full sticker price with no discount.