It's been a while since I've posted anything here on DrivingSales -- it's taken me this long to recover from NADA enough to write anything worth sharing here! And in the meantime, we've moved on to that other big part of Q1 for auto dealers, Tax Season.

For most of us who have to file a tax return, "tax season" means pain and suffering.

But for a lot of consumers, it's the one time of the year when they know they're going to have a big chunk of change to put down on getting into a car -- their tax refund.

And we write about this every year because it's important every year.  Car dealers plan inventory and staffing around this 5th "season" to take advantage of this influx of cash into the car-buying market.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2012 Tax Return Survey results, just released last week, 12.3% of the consumers expecting a refund were planning for a major purchase, such as a car.

The best quote in the release:

"For some, tax season is a way to reward themselves, for others it is the perfect opportunity to get ahead on their bills or other expenses," said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director, BIGinsight. "Whatever the decision, many consumers this year are looking forward to taking back some of their hard-earned money from Uncle Sam."

Sounds good to us.

These are exactly the kinds of folks that we see coming through our network of auto finance sites -- people looking for financing to go with that down payment from the IRS.

And we've gotten the jump in website traffic in the past few weeks to show that this is going to be a banner year for auto dealers who know how to take advantage of our auto finance leads. Check out our free Volume Estimator to see what the traffic looks like in your area and how we can help.

In the meantime, we'll just leave you with one question: what is your dealership doing to make hay while the tax season sun shines? 

It's been a while since I've posted anything here on DrivingSales -- it's taken me this long to recover from NADA enough to write anything worth sharing here! And in the meantime, we've moved on to that other big part of Q1 for auto dealers, Tax Season.

For most of us who have to file a tax return, "tax season" means pain and suffering.

But for a lot of consumers, it's the one time of the year when they know they're going to have a big chunk of change to put down on getting into a car -- their tax refund.

And we write about this every year because it's important every year.  Car dealers plan inventory and staffing around this 5th "season" to take advantage of this influx of cash into the car-buying market.

According to the National Retail Federation's 2012 Tax Return Survey results, just released last week, 12.3% of the consumers expecting a refund were planning for a major purchase, such as a car.

The best quote in the release:

"For some, tax season is a way to reward themselves, for others it is the perfect opportunity to get ahead on their bills or other expenses," said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights Director, BIGinsight. "Whatever the decision, many consumers this year are looking forward to taking back some of their hard-earned money from Uncle Sam."

Sounds good to us.

These are exactly the kinds of folks that we see coming through our network of auto finance sites -- people looking for financing to go with that down payment from the IRS.

And we've gotten the jump in website traffic in the past few weeks to show that this is going to be a banner year for auto dealers who know how to take advantage of our auto finance leads. Check out our free Volume Estimator to see what the traffic looks like in your area and how we can help.

In the meantime, we'll just leave you with one question: what is your dealership doing to make hay while the tax season sun shines? 

Auto Dealer Monthly has published the results of their field survey, and it's more evidence that the great automotive subprime numbers we've been reading about in the paper are being seen in the street. We've been seeing it on our side too, with a jump in the number of people applying for car loans through our sites.

The article has a great chart that gives a five-year overview of Special Finance activity for both franchises and independents. You can see the dip for the recession and see how the numbers are recovering, particularly in the grosses.

Here's my favorite part of the article:

Over the last three months, compared to the same period in 2010, 55.5 percent of franchise dealers said their subprime credit volume is better or much better, and 30.1 percent said it’s about the same. Among independents, 75 percent said their subprime credit volume is better or much better. This indicates the subprime market is growing and is wide open for those who know how to capitalize on it. (my emphasis)

Straight from the horse's mouth, since it was the dealers themselves who responded to the survey.

Why do I like to see that?

It means that the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to get the volume of finance leads they're looking for to help them sell more cars. Couple that with the start of tax season, and Q1 2012 looks to be a great time to get involved with special finance.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area. And come see us at NADA 2012 in booth # 968!

Auto Dealer Monthly has published the results of their field survey, and it's more evidence that the great automotive subprime numbers we've been reading about in the paper are being seen in the street. We've been seeing it on our side too, with a jump in the number of people applying for car loans through our sites.

The article has a great chart that gives a five-year overview of Special Finance activity for both franchises and independents. You can see the dip for the recession and see how the numbers are recovering, particularly in the grosses.

Here's my favorite part of the article:

Over the last three months, compared to the same period in 2010, 55.5 percent of franchise dealers said their subprime credit volume is better or much better, and 30.1 percent said it’s about the same. Among independents, 75 percent said their subprime credit volume is better or much better. This indicates the subprime market is growing and is wide open for those who know how to capitalize on it. (my emphasis)

Straight from the horse's mouth, since it was the dealers themselves who responded to the survey.

Why do I like to see that?

It means that the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network are going to continue to get the volume of finance leads they're looking for to help them sell more cars. Couple that with the start of tax season, and Q1 2012 looks to be a great time to get involved with special finance.

Not a member of the Network yet? Check out our FREE Volume Estimator to see what we have available in your area. And come see us at NADA 2012 in booth # 968!

Caranddriver.com named their top 10 cars of 2012 recently and of many candidates the following were chosen.

1. Audi A6/A7 3.0T Quattro - This car looks great, drives great, and at what some consider a practical price of around 50k+ - it's a great all around pick.

2. BMW 3-Series/M3 - Sporty, sexy, and with an 8300-rpm V-8 this car has yet to be knocked off it's pedestal.

3. Cadillac CTS-V - Definitely a car with "swag." While it's not designed for a fast getaway it's definitely made for smooth sailing.

4. Ford Focus - Although the Focus has had its share of issues in the past we got to give to the the 2012 Focus for its sensational ride handling and admirable power/mpg index. Only warning: don't do the MyFord Touch system!

5. Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 - Having the name Boss in your title says it all. This car screams "HOT"! Definitely a favorite. It's loud, it's fast, it's... perfect (and at a price tag of 41k it's also affordable).

6. Honda Accord - The name says it all. Reliable, affordable and trusted for decades the Accord is an old favorite that will never likely go away.

7. Honda Fit- This pint sized car packs a big punch. It has the most in-class passenger space compared to other smaller cars as well as a 5- speed manual that is "among the great ambassadors to the stick."

8. Mazda MX-5 Miata - Not a big fan of the body of the car. Looks very 90's to me, but I am impressed that the 2.0-liter, 7200-rpm four offers 167 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque

9. Porsche Boxter/Cayman - Hey if you can afford this, than go for it! This is a true sports car and considering it costs about 30k less than the Porsche 911, it's also a great deal.

10. Volkswagen Golf/GTI - Sporty and affordable are words used to describe this car. While I am not a fan of the look I can appreciate its engine and fuel mpg.

Which would you have added and which, in your opinion, should not have made the cut? Check them out and share your thoughts.

Caranddriver.com named their top 10 cars of 2012 recently and of many candidates the following were chosen.

1. Audi A6/A7 3.0T Quattro - This car looks great, drives great, and at what some consider a practical price of around 50k+ - it's a great all around pick.

2. BMW 3-Series/M3 - Sporty, sexy, and with an 8300-rpm V-8 this car has yet to be knocked off it's pedestal.

3. Cadillac CTS-V - Definitely a car with "swag." While it's not designed for a fast getaway it's definitely made for smooth sailing.

4. Ford Focus - Although the Focus has had its share of issues in the past we got to give to the the 2012 Focus for its sensational ride handling and admirable power/mpg index. Only warning: don't do the MyFord Touch system!

5. Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 - Having the name Boss in your title says it all. This car screams "HOT"! Definitely a favorite. It's loud, it's fast, it's... perfect (and at a price tag of 41k it's also affordable).

6. Honda Accord - The name says it all. Reliable, affordable and trusted for decades the Accord is an old favorite that will never likely go away.

7. Honda Fit- This pint sized car packs a big punch. It has the most in-class passenger space compared to other smaller cars as well as a 5- speed manual that is "among the great ambassadors to the stick."

8. Mazda MX-5 Miata - Not a big fan of the body of the car. Looks very 90's to me, but I am impressed that the 2.0-liter, 7200-rpm four offers 167 horsepower and 140 pound-feet of torque

9. Porsche Boxter/Cayman - Hey if you can afford this, than go for it! This is a true sports car and considering it costs about 30k less than the Porsche 911, it's also a great deal.

10. Volkswagen Golf/GTI - Sporty and affordable are words used to describe this car. While I am not a fan of the look I can appreciate its engine and fuel mpg.

Which would you have added and which, in your opinion, should not have made the cut? Check them out and share your thoughts.

"According to [our] automotive credit analysis, 21.87 percent of all new vehicle loans went to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep subprime categories. The largest percentage increases were in the two highest-risk segments — deep subprime, which jumped 17.3 percent, and subprime, which jumped 17.8 percent.”

– Experian Automotive, December 1, 2011

Music to our ears.

We’re seeing a lot of activity in the special finance leads market, and this latest data from Experian shows us that the finance lead business is booming because more dealers are getting back in.

It’s been a rough couple of years, but dealers who have stuck with it and know how to handle this kind of consumer are seeing some really nice numbers these days. Including the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network.

What’s your strategy for getting into this part of the market? If you're already in it, what are you doing to grow your share?

"According to [our] automotive credit analysis, 21.87 percent of all new vehicle loans went to customers in the nonprime, subprime and deep subprime categories. The largest percentage increases were in the two highest-risk segments — deep subprime, which jumped 17.3 percent, and subprime, which jumped 17.8 percent.”

– Experian Automotive, December 1, 2011

Music to our ears.

We’re seeing a lot of activity in the special finance leads market, and this latest data from Experian shows us that the finance lead business is booming because more dealers are getting back in.

It’s been a rough couple of years, but dealers who have stuck with it and know how to handle this kind of consumer are seeing some really nice numbers these days. Including the members of the Carloan.com Dealer Network.

What’s your strategy for getting into this part of the market? If you're already in it, what are you doing to grow your share?

As thrilling as it is to watch auto dealers migrate their marketing to the web, there are still some places where they need to do their homework.

Here at Carloan.com, we work with highly sensitive consumer information every single day so we take a special interest in keeping a toe in the water in terms of online consumer protection best practices.

Our GM, Tom Feary, wrote a great piece a few months back about steps dealers can take to protect consumer information offline. Recently, we’ve noticed that there are some places online where dealers must improve their security in order to avoid serious vulnerabilities to hackers and potential consumer lawsuits.

Here are a few tips for your website to make sure that you’re doing all you can to safeguard this data, once a consumer has shared it with you:

• Make sure that your financial application is encrypted. You’d be surprised how many dealers’ websites have financial applications – including those built by some reputable website providers –  that are written in unencrypted HTML and do not include “https://” in the URL for their finance application. That means that the information is wide open.  Any savvy consumer will not submit their application if they recognize that it’s not being protected. (And by the way, we can create a secure branded financial app for you; no muss, no fuss.)

• Take a minute to read your privacy policy – if you have one. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that you need one if you’re collecting consumer information. The federal government requires that you describe what you’re gathering and why, and how it will be used. And make sure that your website visitors can find it easily.  If you don’t have one, you’ve seen one of these if you have any credit card accounts. 

• Get consumer consent before you pull credit. It’s a bit of a stretch to call this “online security”, but think about it from their perspective. If a consumer is not actively engaged with you and sees a hard credit pull on their report – and many of them will – they will interpret that as a fraudulent action on your part and potentially sue your dealership. As far as they know, their financial information was compromised, and you are responsible.  Might sound far-fetched, but we’ve seen it happen.

Most of the dealers we see out there actively engaged in the online world are using these best practices, which is great. But it’s the bad actors that make it tough for the rest of us. It’s up to you to make sure that you’re on the right side of the law and tenaciously guarding this sensitive information.  

Take a look at your website and ask yourself, “how are we doing?”

As thrilling as it is to watch auto dealers migrate their marketing to the web, there are still some places where they need to do their homework.

Here at Carloan.com, we work with highly sensitive consumer information every single day so we take a special interest in keeping a toe in the water in terms of online consumer protection best practices.

Our GM, Tom Feary, wrote a great piece a few months back about steps dealers can take to protect consumer information offline. Recently, we’ve noticed that there are some places online where dealers must improve their security in order to avoid serious vulnerabilities to hackers and potential consumer lawsuits.

Here are a few tips for your website to make sure that you’re doing all you can to safeguard this data, once a consumer has shared it with you:

• Make sure that your financial application is encrypted. You’d be surprised how many dealers’ websites have financial applications – including those built by some reputable website providers –  that are written in unencrypted HTML and do not include “https://” in the URL for their finance application. That means that the information is wide open.  Any savvy consumer will not submit their application if they recognize that it’s not being protected. (And by the way, we can create a secure branded financial app for you; no muss, no fuss.)

• Take a minute to read your privacy policy – if you have one. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that you need one if you’re collecting consumer information. The federal government requires that you describe what you’re gathering and why, and how it will be used. And make sure that your website visitors can find it easily.  If you don’t have one, you’ve seen one of these if you have any credit card accounts. 

• Get consumer consent before you pull credit. It’s a bit of a stretch to call this “online security”, but think about it from their perspective. If a consumer is not actively engaged with you and sees a hard credit pull on their report – and many of them will – they will interpret that as a fraudulent action on your part and potentially sue your dealership. As far as they know, their financial information was compromised, and you are responsible.  Might sound far-fetched, but we’ve seen it happen.

Most of the dealers we see out there actively engaged in the online world are using these best practices, which is great. But it’s the bad actors that make it tough for the rest of us. It’s up to you to make sure that you’re on the right side of the law and tenaciously guarding this sensitive information.  

Take a look at your website and ask yourself, “how are we doing?”