StoneEagleDATA: March Volume Returns, Front Gross Doesn’t

March was expected to crack under rising affordability pressure and global uncertainty. Instead, F&I offices posted one of the strongest months of the last five years.

By Gregory Arroyo

March was supposed to break. Rising gas prices, global instability, and affordability concerns all pointed to a softer month — especially against one of the strongest comparisons in recent history. Instead, March held.

Dealers averaged $235,701 in F&I income per rooftop in March — down 3.24% from last year’s record, but still the second-highest level of the last five years. That result came with nearly 10% fewer deals.

This insight comes directly from StoneEagleDATA’s latest benchmark report, powered by transaction-level data representing over 50% of the automotive retail market. StoneEagleDATA delivers The Complete Picture of how sales conditions and F&I execution shape deal profitability.

March’s Complete Picture

March has increasingly become the first real test of the year, where seasonal demand meets real market pressure. This year, the pressure showed up in the margin, not the volume.

Average deals per rooftop rose from 101 in February to 118 in March, a strong seasonal lift that pushed volume into the upper range of the past 15 months despite falling short of March 2025’s 131 average — the highest monthly level observed in the current dataset.

On the front end, margins continued to compress. Front-end gross fell sharply to $539 per deal, down 25% year over year and nearly 80% below peak levels reached in early 2022.

That shift puts more weight on the F&I office to carry the deal.

F&I profit per vehicle retailed (PVR) climbed to $1,999, up 7.13% year over year and continuing to operate near record levels. Combined with the weaker front end, that lift kept total gross per deal at $2,538 — down just 1.82% from last year despite fewer deals.

March by the Numbers

• Deals per Dealer: Increased from 101 in February to 118 in March, but remained down 9.92% from March 2025’s average of 131 deals.

• F&I PVR: Rose from $1,995 in February to $1,999 in March. Compared to a year ago, that average is up 7.13% and remains near peak levels.

• Front-end gross per deal: Increased from $500 in February to $539 in March, but remains down 25.03% from a year ago.

• Total gross per deal: Increased from $2,495 in February to $2,538 in March, and is 1.82% below last year’s level.

• Products per deal: Came in at 1.57 in March, unchanged from February and up from 1.55 a year ago.

• Total F&I income per dealer: Increased from $201,945 in February to $235,701 in March, but is down 3.24% from last year’s record March due to lower deal volume.

F&I Product Penetration Highlights

• Vehicle Service Contracts (VSC): Came in at 45% in March, unchanged from February and in line with a year ago.

• Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP): Increased to 40% in March from 38% in February and 37% a year ago.

• Paint & Fabric Protection: Reached 20% in March, up from 19% in February and in line with a year ago.

• Prepaid Maintenance (PPM): Increased to 17% in March from 16% in February and 16% a year ago.

• Tire & Wheel: Came in at 10% in March, unchanged from February and in line with a year ago.

StoneEagleDATA: Powering the Industry

Drawing data from over 8,900 dealer rooftops, StoneEagleDATA delivers unmatched visibility into dealership performance:

• Comprehensive Benchmarking: Capturing every transaction and every product from more than half the retail market.

• Actionable Insights: Identify trends and opportunities with real-time insights into F&I product penetration, pricing, and deal performance.

• AI-ready intelligence: Built on secure, dealer-level data to support forecasting, analytics, and smarter decision-making across the F&I industry.

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