The Federal Government will be launching a new website (http://cars.gov ) for car dealers to register for the Cash for Clunkers program. The Cars.Gov website will also help define the process and procedures associated with the Cash for Clunkers Bill.

We hope that the website will nail down once and for all cars that are on the border of the 18 mpg trade-in qualification. We have received hundreds of emails that consumers have outlined that they get different answers from different online resources.

Cars.gov

The http://cars.gov website is not live  today.  It is expected to be live any day since cars dealers have to provide their banking and registration information for the Federal voucher payments. According to published reports, the program will go live on July 1, 2009 and last until November 1, 2009, unless it is extended.

The trick for car dealers is that they may not get paid until the end of July, when the system is in place to pay voucher submissions on a timely basis. A car dealer that sells 200 cars in the first two weeks of July will be sitting on a potential $900,000 cash flow hold-up.

Car dealers in July will need to prepare for the initial rush of car sales and make sure that they have the financing in place if the government takes it time to setup a dealer registration and payment system.

Financial Impact on Car Dealers

David Wilson, CEO and President of Preston Motors in Annapolis Maryland has been preparing for month: “We have secured our credit facilities and stocked up on cars in the hope that the bill is passed. With our multiple franchises in Maryland we have the largest stock on popular fuel efficient cars in stock. This will give our customers a great selection of Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Nissan, Hyundai, and Chevy cars and trucks when they can buy on July 1st.”

Most car dealers we have spoken with are encouraging customers to come in before July 1st to secure their car and financing paperwork to avoid the crushing crowds that will be found in the first few weeks of the program.

 Automotive Website Providers Busy

One leading automotive dealer website provider, TK Carsiteshas seen a big demand for targeted website content for the Cash for Clunkers program. “Dealers are recognizing that TK Carsites can help them close more consumer sales because of our organic visibility of Google. Our phones are ringing with requests for assistance in getting the word out about the Cash for Clunkers Program. Our social media tools can expand a car dealer’s visibility in new ways that turn into better first party leads.”  stated a TK engineer.

Tags: cars.gov, dealer registration