The Truth Behind Online Auto Loans

According to Google Insights, the number of searches for “online auto loan” has climbed 130% in the last year.  Here’s why:  the economic downturn, so hard-hitting to the automotive industry, has put dealers under greater financial stress.  Not only are consumers buying fewer cars, it’s harder for them to get their credit approved.  For most, gone are the days of walking onto a lot and getting approved right off.  Increasingly, prospective car buyers are turning to online resources to compare financing options and secure their auto loans.  Web-based auto loan services like ours increase efficiency, ease of use, and chances of approval over more traditional means.

How Auto Loans Work Online

Real transparency between business and consumer can be hard to find on the internet, especially in the realm of financial services.  At The Auto Loan Network, we go against that tide.  We realize that you, the consumer, has the right to know how this process works, and why it’s advantageous for you.

The Process of Getting an Auto Loan on the Web

1. Your Search Query: you search on one of the major search engines on a keyword that describes your needs, such as “car loans for people with bad credit,” or “auto loans in seattle,” or “online auto loan.”
2. Your Landing Page: you click on anywhere from 1 to 10 search results that come up.  Maybe you click on a paid advertisement like those in your sidebar, or maybe you click in the “organic” results (the listings in the middle of the page).  Websites have tried to optimize their content, architecture, and marketing strategy to make sure they appear when you search for a keyword relevant to their service offerings.
3. Your Application: you fill out an application form like this one.  This is, most accurately, a pre-qualification form.
4. Your Lenders: the data you enter into this application form is sent to the company’s network of lenders in real-time.  Those lenders decide whether you seem like a good candidate for an auto loan based on all kinds of factors, such as your zip code, income, credit, down payment, and other factors.  The decision-making matrix each lender or dealer depends on their needs at the time.  Banks usually look for consumers with better credit, buy-here pay-here lots for the opposite.
5. Your Loan Approval: if a lender accepts your application, then you will be contacted by them either by phone or email, maybe both.  At this point, you have a very good chance of getting the loan you need.  The terms of that loan, the interest rate, and the locations where the loan is good all depend on the agreement you make with the lender.

Most auto loan websites, ours included, are not lenders themselves.  If you choose to apply directly to a single lender, you don’t maximize your chances of approval.  And therein lies the great advantage of applying for an auto loan online:  approval maximization and credit acceptance.  You only have to complete one short application (takes about three minutes), and you will be granted access to innumerable lenders in real-time, thereby increasing your chances of approval (and decreasing the number of times your credit report has to be pulled).

Most auto loan websites just throw a lot of marketing copy at you.  They put up stock images of pretty women and handsome men in flashy yellow or red cars that only 1% of the population can afford.  Then they try to sell your data to credit repair companies, debt consolidation companies, and other ways of making more profit.  We don’t do this.  We sincerely try to get your auto loan approved.  If you opt-in to our email newsletters, we will send you various offers (not too often) for other services in which you might be interested.  Things like auto warranties, vehicle price comparisons, and credit reporting services.  But not without your approval, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

The economy has hurt the online auto loan industry as much as any sector of the market.  That said, at The Auto Loan Network we try to bring a level of transparency and customer satisfaction heretofore unknown in the industry.  You can choose to apply at one of the flashier sites in the search engine results, or you can apply through the most optimized lender network in the industry, who is not afraid to tell it like they see it.