CAN YOU BELIEVE IT! AND THEY NEEDED A STUDY FOR THIS! NICE!
Price Is the Number One Factor Bringing New Car Shoppers Into Local Auto Dealerships
Over half of planned new car purchases are for ’oversized’ vehicles
Dealer reputation important to Buick owners; Honda owners go for location
Scarborough Research has released an analysis of the 19 million Potential New Auto Buyers*located across the 75 local markets Scarborough surveys. The study found that one-third (33 percent) of Potential New Auto Buyers cite price as a primary reason they chose the last auto dealership where they made a purchase. Vehicle selection (22 percent), dealer reputation (20 percent), dealer location (19 percent), service (17 percent), financing (11 percent), and warranty (10 percent) round out the primary factors Potential New Auto Buyers considered when selecting the dealership where they purchased their last vehicle.
Dealer reputation ranks high with Buick owners according to the Scarborough analysis. Almost a quarter (22 percent) of Potential New Auto Buyers who currently own a Buick in their household indicated that dealer reputation is a primary reason they chose the dealership where they bought their last car. In comparison, just 13 percent of current Mazda owners cited dealer reputation as a factor in their last auto purchase. Dealer location was a key determinant for current Honda owners (19 percent) when they purchased their last vehicle. Selection was important for Chrysler and Honda owners with almost a quarter (22 percent) of them saying it was an influential factor in their last purchase.
"Car manufacturers are only as successful as their dealerships, and understanding the factors that bring consumers in the front door of a showroom is essential to building business on the local dealer level," said Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research. "Manufacturers must ensure that the branding initiatives, dealership programs and other incentives they create on a corporate level drive dealer business on the local level, especially for new car purchases."
Consumers who intend to buy a new car this year are planning big vehicle purchases, literally. Twenty-nine percent of Potential New Auto Buyers indicate they plan to buy a new SUV during the next 12 months. Nineteen percent plan to buy a pickup truck and 12 percent plan to buy a van or mini- van. In total, more than half of Potential New Auto Buyers plan to make a purchase in these oversized vehicle categories.
"Potential New Auto Buyers are 12 percent more likely than all consumers to have five or more people in their household. Additionally, half of these consumers drive 500 or more miles a month," said Bob Cohen, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Scarborough Research. "Factors such as household size and car usage influence consumers’ lives in a myriad of ways. Understanding these and how they affect big ticket purchase decisions will help manufacturers create new vehicles and branding strategies that serve consumers and the ’real world’ in which they live."
SOURCE: Scarborough Research, Scarborough Multi-Market 2004 Release 1. The Scarborough Multi-Market database is a national study of consumer behaviors, including lifestyles, media patterns, and retail preferences, in 75 local markets. The data in this report is based on consumers who indicated they or a member of their household plan to purchase a new vehicle during the next 12 months.