Understanding Cars.com financing lead types
When a shopper interacts with Instant Financing on your Cars.com listings, the type of lead you receive depends on how far they progress in the financing journey. The deeper they go, the more detailed the information — and the stronger their purchase intent.
These lead types appear as sub-sources in your CRM, making it easy to identify and prioritize each opportunity.
In this article, you’ll learn how to identify each Instant Financing lead type, what information you’ll receive, and how to respond effectively based on shopper intent.
Lead types at a glance
| Lead Type | What Happened | What You Receive | Purchase Intent |
| Cars.com Finance Intent | Started the application but didn’t complete it | Basic contact info and partial application link | Moderate |
| Cars.com Prequalified | Completed soft credit prequalification | Contact info and full application with lender offers | High |
1 Cars.com Finance Intent
What it means: The shopper clicked “Get Prequalified” and started entering their information but left before completing the prequalification process. They showed interest in financing but didn’t finish.
What you receive:
- Shopper name and contact information
- Vehicle of interest
- Link to their partial application in Automatic
How to approach these leads: Finance Intent leads require proactive follow-up. The shopper was interested enough to start the process — something may have interrupted them, or they had questions they couldn’t answer online.
Reach out promptly and offer to help them complete the application. Reference the specific vehicle they were viewing to personalize your outreach. A simple message like “I saw you were exploring financing options on the [Year Make Model]. Happy to answer any questions or walk you through the next steps” can re-engage these shoppers.
2 Cars.com Prequalified
What it means: The shopper completed the soft credit prequalification process and received estimated financing offers from participating lenders. This is a soft credit pull that does not impact their credit score.
What you receive:
- Shopper name and contact information
- Vehicle of interest
- Full application details in Automatic
- Prequalification status and lender offers
How to approach these leads: Prequalified leads have already done the work of exploring their financing options. They know their estimated payment and have seen offers from lenders. They’re now evaluating whether to move forward.
Before reaching out, review their application in Automatic to understand their financing preferences, down payment, and any trade-in details. Use this information to have a more informed conversation. Focus on confirming vehicle availability, answering questions, and scheduling a test drive or appointment.
Prequalified leads represent the highest level of financing engagement Cars.com currently delivers to your CRM.
