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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.1


                        CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS'

The Board of Directors
Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc:


We consent to incorporation by reference in the registration statements (Nos.
33-77314 and 333-00880) on Form S-3 and the registration statements (Nos.
33-78680, 33-80327 and 333-35758) on Form S-8 of Consumer Portfolio Services,
Inc. of our report dated March 29, 2001, relating to the consolidated balance
sheets of Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc. and subsidiaries as of December 31,
2000 and 1999, and the related consolidated statements of operations,
shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2000, which report appears in the December 31, 2000
annual report on Form 10-K of Consumer Portfolio Services, Inc.

/s/ KPMG LLP

Orange County, California
March 29, 2001