Nickel-less? No problem. Nicholas Financial can still get you behind the wheel of a car. The company buys subprime new and used car loans from some 1,500 car dealers in the Southeast and Midwest. It conducts its automobile finance business through approximately 50 offices in about a dozen states. In addition to its indirect lending activities, Nicholas Financial also offers and finances extended warranties, roadside assistance plans, and credit life, accident, and health insurance to its borrowers. The company also makes some direct consumer loans, primarily to customers whose car loans it has bought and serviced.