Founded in 1990, SAFCo was formed as a non-prime automotive finance company. Initially serving as the captive lender for Anything on Wheels in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, SAFCo has since grown into becoming one of the leading and most experienced providers of non-prime automotive consumer financing in the nation.
1998
Began indirect lending to Franchise and Independent dealerships in the State of Florida
2001
Opened Customer Call Center in Orlando, Florida
2002
Signed a credit facility with CapitalSource Finance LLC and formed a Preferred Lender relationship with AutoNation, America’s largest auto retailer
2003
Began marketing and originating business in Texas
2004
Introduced the Credit Builder vision, ‘specializing in providing fast and flexible financing for individuals with prior credit problems, no previous credit history and or hard-to-verify income’
2005
Formed a Preferred Lender relationship with the Van Tuyl Group, who provides management consulting services to the largest group of privately held automotive dealerships in the United States
2006
Signed a credit facility with Wells Fargo Preferred Capital, an industry-leading provider of senior secured financing to consumer finance companies
Formed a Preferred Lender relationship with Group 1 Automotive, a Houston, Texas based Fortune 500 automotive retailer, the fourth largest dealership group in the United States and United Kingdom
2007
Relocated to a new state-of-the-art call center in Orlando.
Launched a new loan origination system provided by Teledate Communications, Inc. (TCI).
Integrated our loan origination system to Dealer Track, a comprehensive software that operates the largest online credit application network in the United States
2008
Formed a Preferred Lender relationship with Sonic Automotive, a Fortune 500 company and member of the Russell 2000 Index, one of the largest automotive retailers in the United States
2010
Integrated our loan origination system to RouteOne, a web-based credit application management system that provides dealers and finance sources the ability to manage their full book of business from a single portal
Began marketing and originating business in the East Tennessee market
Moved to new corporate Headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
2011
January: Began marketing and originating business in the Atlanta, Georgia market
April: Began marketing and originating business in the Indianapolis, Indiana market and launched a relationship with GWC to provide warranty and gap coverage to customers purchasing vehicles through select independent dealer relationships
May: Began marketing and originating business in the Cincinnati, Ohio market
July: Began marketing and originating business in the San Antonio and Austin, Texas markets
August: Began marketing and originating business in the Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky markets
September: Began marketing and originating business in the Cleveland, Ohio market
November: Entered the Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan markets