March 27, 2007 - CARMEL, IN – Although the accidental death of J.D. Byrider founder Jim DeVoe was a year ago, the nation’s oldest and largest used-car franchise and finance company reports that his legacy is stronger than ever. Byrider posted record sales and customer satisfaction levels in the past year, licensed an unprecedented number of dealerships, and took steps to attract an increasing number of new-car dealers as franchisees.

Byrider, which serves customers with special financing needs, plans to open at least 20 new locations this year. About 40 percent of those store owners will be new-car dealers. Even before this latest influx, 33 percent of Byrider’s franchisees came from the new-car side.

“One of the best ways to gauge the attractiveness of our business model is to look at who is a franchisee, who wants to be one, and how many franchisees are looking to expand,” said Steve Wedding, president of Byrider Franchising. “In 2006 we licensed more than 30 locations to current franchisees, and eight of our nine new store openings were expansion stores. Respondents to a recent independent survey of our franchisees said that 91 percent of them foresee strong growth for their franchises, and only 3 percent have no current plans to open additional stores. The people who know us best realize that we’re the best.”

“My father built this business with his blood and sweat. He built it to last,” said Jim DeVoe Jr., Byrider’s CEO. “Dad would be very proud of our 2006 results and the trends for growth and profitability.”

Not only did the company’s overall performance reach an all-time high in 2006, but customer satisfaction is now at 94.4 percent nationwide. Feedback from customer surveys is immediately posted on the company’s sophisticated Byrider Discover Intranet so that dealers can review their performance. Since its introduction in early 2004, the survey program has been continually improved and expanded.

Despite recent new dealership licenses in major markets, including Dallas-Ft. Worth, Charlotte and Denver, lucrative markets are still available to qualified prospects. What’s more, Byrider has added yet another feature to the high-tech toolbox offered to franchisees—a new certified online training program to improve dealership performance.

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For more information, contact Sanda Pecina (202-367-1622, specina@akerpartners.com)

or Heather Gerhard (202-789-2424, hgerhard@akerpartners.com.)

J.D. Byrider

Headquartered in Carmel, IN, outside Indianapolis, J.D. Byrider was founded in 1989. Its original mission was to serve customers with special financing needs who were routinely ignored by other dealers, and to ensure that they receive the same quality service in every Byrider dealership. Today, some 700,000 vehicles later, daily monitoring by each dealership shows an average customer satisfaction rating of 94.4 percent. There are franchisee- and company-owned J.D. Byrider dealerships in 30 states. More than 5,000 people—many of them repeat customers or referrals—trust Byrider with their business every month. Visit www.jdbyrider.com.

View Company Website: http://www.jdbyrider.com