CDK’s 2025 F&I Shopper Study finds 79% of dealership customers are satisfied with the time they spend with their F&I manager, down from 84% in the 2023 study. Nearly two-thirds (64%) had to wait to meet with them, which analysts say hurts CSI scores and repeat business.

The survey of 1,200 U.S. car buyers finds 88% would return to the dealership based on their trust in their F&I manager; 72% said the same of their salesperson. Yet trust in the F&I manager’s guidance specific to F&I products fell from 65% to 58% while trust in the salesperson’s F&I product knowledge increased from 35% to 42%.

“Shoppers do have a very positive attitude toward the F&I manager despite the fall in the overall score around trust itself,” the report states. “In these other areas, F&I managers saw some gains or very modest drops.”

Examples include “F&I manager earned [the customer’s] trust at the end of their interaction” improved to 81% in 2025 from 78% in 2023 and “Believe the F&I manager gave them the best recommendations based on their specific needs” improved from 77% to 78%.

In March, CDK reported F&I wait times increased in 2024, noting 49% of customers waited at least 30 minutes and 10% waited at least 45 minutes.

Read the full report at CDK