How to Handle F&I Customer Objections: Ask Why They Prefer to Be Unprotected

The most reliable way to handle an F&I objection is to get the customer to say the real reason out loud. In this episode of Training Camp on CBT News, Adam Marburger, President and CEO of Ascent Dealer Services, shares the one question he asks when a customer declines the menu: “You were quick to decline the coverage. Why is it that you prefer to be unprotected?”

Once the customer answers, you have something specific to work with. You isolate that objection, address it, and transition back into the conversation about protection.

Why “repair scare” is not enough on its own

For years, many F&I offices answered a “no” by talking about the cost of parts, labor and technology. Adam says that approach still has a place, but he prefers to sell based on the person sitting in front of him and to lead with a servant’s heart. Scaring a customer into a yes is not a conversation. Asking why they declined is.

The objections are almost always the same

Most declines fall into a short list:

“I don’t believe in them.”
“I bought one before and it never covered anything.”
“I read that you should never buy one.”
“Every time I went to the service department, it wasn’t covered.”
“I’ll just self-insure.”

Adam’s point is that the specific objection matters less than getting the customer to verbalize it. Until they do, you are guessing. For a deeper look at the most common ones, see the top three objections heard by F&I managers.

The question, word by word

When a customer says no, Adam responds with a version of: “No problem, these are just your options. But you were quick to decline the coverage. Why is it that you prefer to be unprotected?”

Two details make it work:

“Prefer” frames the decline as a choice the customer is making, not a rule they are following.
“Unprotected” comes last. It is the word that sticks, and nobody wants to be unprotected from anything.

If a customer opens with “Don’t try to sell me any extras,” Adam adjusts the wording but keeps the structure: acknowledge, note how strongly they declined, and ask why they prefer to be unprotected. He also tells finance managers not to copy his delivery. Say it the way you say it, with your own energy, as long as the key points are there.

Isolate the objection, then transition

The customer’s answer is usually a logical, valid objection you hear every day. From there the sequence is simple:

Acknowledge it: “No problem, these are just your options.”
Isolate it so you know it is the real reason.
Transition: “I have something here I want to share with you. You might find some value in it.”
Have a casual conversation about why it makes sense to budget for protection today.

Expect the no

Adam’s advice to newer F&I managers is to embrace the no. Customers will say no more often than yes on the first pass of the menu. The job starts with the word no, and the question above is how you start it well.

The process comes first

Adam opens the episode with a blunt statement: processes do not fail, people fail the process. Getting more yeses at the menu depends on doing everything right before the menu, from the first conversation with the customer to a menu built to perform. Ascent’s F&I training and in-store coaching focus on that process, not on scripts.

Adapted from Training Camp with Adam Marburger, first aired September 25, 2024. Watch this episode on CBT News or browse every Training Camp episode. Have a question about your F&I department? Talk to the Ascent team.