The Loan Is Just the Start: How Credit Unions Miss Real Opportunity in Car Buying

Most credit unions run on auto loans. But the moment that loan closes, most of them become invisible.

Steven Gordon, VP of financial partnerships at Way.com, has spent decades in automotive finance. And he’s noticed something credit unions keep getting wrong: they treat the loan closing as the finish line when it’s really the starting point.

Members hold onto their cars longer now. Insurance premiums are crushing household budgets. Gas prices fluctuate. Maintenance becomes a question mark. These are the moments credit unions should be showing up.

Credit unions’ absence in everyday moments is real. A single auto loan becomes exactly one auto loan. The opportunity to become a member’s financial partner across car ownership—repairs, maintenance, insurance, depreciation—gets left on the table.

In this Q&A, Gordon walks through what credit unions are missing, what members actually need and how the best-performing credit unions are already closing the gap between originating a loan and building a lifetime relationship.

I’m the VP of Financial Partnerships at Way.com. I spend my time talking with credit unions, insurance carriers, and financial institutions about one simple problem: how to lower the cost of car ownership and take the stress out of it.

Way is a driver’s companion app that helps over 10 million customers protect and save on car expenses including gas, parking, car washes, EV charging and roadside assistance. We’ve saved members more than $500 million. We’re an app people actually open, because it saves them real money on things they’re already doing.

My path here started at an Acura dealership after grad school. I kept seeing the same thing: a customer would get to the finish line, ready to sign, then leave to go secure insurance. 99% never came back. I couldn’t stop thinking about that problem. So, I spent a few years building a fix: a short-term insurance product dealers could offer in-house, no license required. It caught on and is now used at over 96% of dealerships nationwide.

From there I led two national companies—SouthWest Dealer Services, then Freeway Insurance, where I spent a decade as president and grew it to 1,000 retail offices and more than 10,000 employees. I was planning to retire when a former Freeway colleague who’d joined Way told the CEO, Binu, “If you want to get into the dealer space, call Steven Gordon.” I got the call. Five years later, here we are.

Mostly, they want their car to stop costing them so much.

People still love their vehicles, but the economy has gotten punishing. Insurance premiums have jumped sharply in the past two years; used car prices are still well above pre-pandemic norms, and gas prices keep going up and up. Talk to consumers and you hear the same plea in different forms: help me keep this car, help me afford it, and don’t make me feel bad for not knowing which repair shop to trust.

What they don’t want is another single-purpose app. They just want something that lets them save money without asking them to change their behavior. Getting an automatic discount at the gas station they already use, free benefits at their preferred car wash, prices cheaper than the price on the sign at the parking lots they frequent. Small wins, delivered consistently, add up to a real shift in how a member feels about the company behind them.

Q3. With car and gas prices rising, members are likely to hold onto their cars longer and need more repairs, etc. How can their credit union help them out if they aren’t taking out more auto loans?

This is the most important question CU leaders should be asking right now.

When loan volume softens, the instinct is to chase the next lending product. But members holding onto their cars longer aren’t less engaged with their finances. They’re likely even more anxious about them. That’s exactly when a credit union can show up with practical, tangible help.

Hand a member a car services membership when they close their auto loan—gas savings, cash back on maintenance and repairs, a free car wash, roadside assistance, auto glass protection—and you become the company they remember next time they need anything financial. Be the company they think of (and thank) every time they save money on a vehicle-related expense, keeping your brand top of mind every day and not just annually.

Our members save an average of $1,534 a year through the marketplace alone. Put that value in front of someone, and you become a financial partner. 

The institutions winning right now aren’t waiting for rates to shift. They’re using this period to earn the trust that turns a single loan into a lifelong relationship.

Q4. Electric cars were very on trend for a while in the US, and they’re still growing market share, from 5.8% to 6.5%, while globally, EVs comprise 25% of new car sales. What are we seeing here? Will the US catch up? What considerations do lenders need to make for EVs?

The gap between US and global EV adoption is real, and lenders should be thinking about it now rather than waiting for it to hit their balance sheets.

The difference between the US and other nations can’t be chalked up to a single reason. It’s a blend of government regulation, the price of gas, and deployed infrastructure.

In some Chinese cities, EVs have shot up to 80% of new car sales—entirely due to government regulation that stopped issuing license plates to gas or diesel vehicles. To buy a new gas-powered vehicle there, customers literally must pull the plates and decommission another car.

Infrastructure is another variable. Where deployment is dense, EV adoption has taken off. But across much of the US, people aren’t enamored with the idea of waiting 30 minutes to “fill up the tank.”

Will the US catch up? Eventually, yes. The only question is how fast.

For lenders, a few things matter. EV depreciation curves are more volatile than what we’ve seen with gas and hybrid vehicles. Battery tech is advancing fast, making prior versions obsolete sooner, and replacement costs remain a wildcard for older EVs. Battery health isn’t just a factor of miles driven but of the kinds of charging the car has experienced during its life. The whole cost structure is different too: significantly lower day-to-day fuel and maintenance, but a higher sticker price and a different long-term risk profile.

Q5. Credit unions have a lot in auto loans, and a lot through indirect, which can be difficult relationships to deepen into a lifelong membership. What could they do better?

Indirect may provide volume but it doesn’t naturally produce depth. The member ended up with you because the dealer offered a good rate and not from any prior relationship or affinity. You’ve got someone in your portfolio who doesn’t have direct deposit with you, probably isn’t on your app, and won’t hear from you again until a renewal notice lands.

The best CU partners we work with treat the loan closing, indirect or direct, as the starting point, not the finish line. Connects Federal Credit Union bundles Way+ with every GAP policy they issue. Within the first week, that member has a reason to download an app that saves them money on gas and car washes, and the credit union’s name shows up as something working to benefit the driver even before the first payment is due.

That’s a strong first step to converting an indirect borrower into opening a checking account, a HELOC or a savings plan.

Most credit unions have almost no touchpoints with a member between the day a loan closes and the day it renews. During the three- to five-year window, the institution is mostly invisible.

Here’s what we know. A well-maintained car is safer, holds its value better and is far less likely to become a total loss. Regular car washes aren’t just cosmetic; they prevent the rust and paint damage that accelerates depreciation. Mileage tracking helps members stay on top of service intervals. Access to trusted repair networks and pre-negotiated discounts means they’re not deferring maintenance because they don’t know who to trust or worry about getting ripped off.

Then there’s insurance. Members with appropriate coverage who keep their car in good shape are in a far better position when something goes wrong. Way works with over 150 carriers, so when a CU member needs a quote, we can put something real in front of them fast.

None of this is complicated. It just requires the credit union to treat the car as an ongoing relationship, not as collateral they financed once. The CUs who make that shift are the ones members will remember.

Credit unions have something banks and fintechs are spending billions trying to manufacture: member trust. It’s genuinely hard to build, and credit unions usually already have it.

But trust goes stale if it isn’t activated by real value. The question I’d put to any credit union leader is, when your member is stressed about their car payment, weighing whether they can afford a repair or wondering if there’s cheaper insurance, are they thinking of you? If not, there’s an opportunity.

The window to become the financial home for people’s car ownership, not just their car loan, is open right now. The members navigating rising costs, keeping vehicles longer, and considering an EV for the first time are looking for someone to help them make sense of it. That’s the credit union’s role to play, if they decide to show up for it. 

That’s what we’re helping them do at Way. Contact Steven Gordon, VP of Financial Partnerships at Way.com for more information: steven.gordon@way.com.