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Description of Business | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2014
Description Of Business [Abstract] |
Description of Business | DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS Since 1972, Credit Acceptance has offered automobile dealers financing programs that enable them to sell vehicles to consumers, regardless of their credit history. Our financing programs are offered through a nationwide network of automobile dealers who benefit from sales of vehicles to consumers who otherwise could not obtain financing; from repeat and referral sales generated by these same customers; and from sales to customers responding to advertisements for our product, but who actually end up qualifying for traditional financing. We refer to automobile dealers who participate in our programs and who share our commitment to changing consumers’ lives as “Dealers”. Upon enrollment in our financing programs, the Dealer enters into a Dealer servicing agreement with us that defines the legal relationship between Credit Acceptance and the Dealer. The Dealer servicing agreement assigns the responsibilities for administering, servicing, and collecting the amounts due on retail installment contracts (referred to as “Consumer Loans”) from the Dealers to us. We are an indirect lender from a legal perspective, meaning the Consumer Loan is originated by the Dealer and assigned to us. We have two programs: the Portfolio Program and the Purchase Program. Under the Portfolio Program, we advance money to Dealers (referred to as a “Dealer Loan”) in exchange for the right to service the underlying Consumer Loans. Under the Purchase Program, we buy the Consumer Loans from the Dealers (referred to as a “Purchased Loan”) and keep all amounts collected from the consumer. Dealer Loans and Purchased Loans are collectively referred to as “Loans”. The following table shows the percentage of Consumer Loans assigned to us based on unit volumes under each of the programs for each of the last seven quarters:
Quarter Ended |  | Portfolio Program |  | Purchase Program
March 31, 2013 |  | 94.4 | % |  | 5.6 | %
June 30, 2013 |  | 93.9 | % |  | 6.1 | %
September 30, 2013 |  | 92.9 | % |  | 7.1 | %
December 31, 2013 |  | 92.4 | % |  | 7.6 | %
March 31, 2014 |  | 91.7 | % |  | 8.3 | %
June 30, 2014 |  | 91.4 | % |  | 8.6 | %
September 30, 2014 |  | 90.5 | % |  | 9.5 | %
Portfolio Program As payment for the vehicle, the Dealer generally receives the following:
• | a down payment from the consumer;
• | a non-recourse cash payment (“advance”) from us; and
• | after the advance has been recovered by us, the cash from payments made on the Consumer Loan, net of certain collection costs and our servicing fee (“Dealer Holdback”).
We record the amount advanced to the Dealer as a Dealer Loan, which is classified within Loans receivable in our consolidated balance sheets. Cash advanced to the Dealer is automatically assigned to the Dealer’s open pool of advances. We generally require Dealers to group advances into pools of at least 100 Consumer Loans. At the Dealer’s option, a pool containing at least 100 Consumer Loans can be closed and subsequent advances assigned to a new pool. All advances within a Dealer’s pool are secured by the future collections on the related Consumer Loans assigned to the pool. For Dealers with more than one pool, the pools are cross-collateralized so the performance of other pools is considered in determining eligibility for Dealer Holdback. We perfect our security interest in the Dealer Loans by taking possession of the Consumer Loans, which list us as lien holder on the vehicle title. The Dealer servicing agreement provides that collections received by us during a calendar month on Consumer Loans assigned by a Dealer are applied on a pool-by-pool basis as follows:
• | First, to reimburse us for certain collection costs;
• | Second, to pay us our servicing fee, which generally equals 20% of collections;
• | Third, to reduce the aggregate advance balance and to pay any other amounts due from the Dealer to us; and
• | Fourth, to the Dealer as payment of Dealer Holdback.
If the collections on Consumer Loans from a Dealer’s pool are not sufficient to repay the advance balance and any other amounts due to us, the Dealer will not receive Dealer Holdback. Dealers have an opportunity to receive an accelerated Dealer Holdback payment each time 100 Consumer Loans have been assigned to us. The amount paid to the Dealer is calculated using a formula that considers the forecasted collections and the advance balance on the related Consumer Loans. Since typically the combination of the advance and the consumer’s down payment provides the Dealer with a cash profit at the time of sale, the Dealer’s risk in the Consumer Loan is limited. We cannot demand repayment of the advance from the Dealer except in the event the Dealer is in default of the Dealer servicing agreement. Advances are made only after the consumer and Dealer have signed a Consumer Loan contract, we have received the original Consumer Loan contract and supporting documentation, and we have approved all of the related stipulations for funding. The Dealer can also opt to repurchase Consumer Loans that have been assigned to us under the Portfolio Program, at their discretion, for a fee. For accounting purposes, the transactions described under the Portfolio Program are not considered to be loans to consumers. Instead, our accounting reflects that of a lender to the Dealer. The classification as a Dealer Loan for accounting purposes is primarily a result of (1) the Dealer’s financial interest in the Consumer Loan and (2) certain elements of our legal relationship with the Dealer. Purchase Program The Purchase Program differs from our Portfolio Program in that the Dealer receives a one-time payment from us at the time of assignment to purchase the Consumer Loan instead of a cash advance at the time of assignment and future Dealer Holdback payments. For accounting purposes, the transactions described under the Purchase Program are considered to be originated by the Dealer and then purchased by us. Program Enrollment Dealers may enroll in our program by (1) paying an up-front, one-time fee of $9,850, or (2) agreeing to allow us to retain 50% of their first accelerated Dealer Holdback payment. Dealers are granted access to the Portfolio Program upon enrollment. Access to the Purchase Program is limited and is typically only granted to Dealers that meet one of the following:
• | received their first accelerated Dealer Holdback payment under the Portfolio Program;
• | franchise dealership; or
• | independent dealership that meets certain criteria upon enrollment.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for the nature of an entity's business, the major products or services it sells or provides and its principal markets, including the locations of those markets. If the entity operates in more than one business, the disclosure also indicates the relative importance of its operations in each business and the basis for the determination (for example, assets, revenues, or earnings). + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 275 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6927468&loc=d3e6003-108592 + Details
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