8:10 am, June 22, 2023
Most used car buyers are motivated by a vehicle’s price rather than a sense of brand loyalty, a new study has shown.
Data collected as part of eBay Motors Group’s latest Consumer Insight Panel found that the starting point for most consumers is finding a car within budget.
Researchers asked buyers to list their top three filters when starting an online search for a car with price emerging as a clear priority.
More than half – 53 per cent – of the 2,000 in-market buyers polled said that price was their prime concern when first looking for a car.
Despite car makers ploughing huge sums of cash into nurturing brand loyalty from customers, just 35 per cent said finding a specific make and model was their main motivator.
Elsewhere other key considerations cited were fuel type (31 per cent), mileage (30 per cent). age (28 per cent), transmission (15 per cent), body style (14 per cent) and engine size (14 per cent).
Emissions were the lowest consideration, accounting for just three per cent of initial searches.
Reacting to the findings, Lucy Tugby, marketing director of eBay Motors Group, said: ‘The survey reveals just how focused car buyers are on price and getting the best possible value for money, right from the start of their search.
‘It also highlights how flexible buyers are on make and model to keep within their budgets. Brand loyalty is not an overriding consideration.
‘For most consumers buying a car is an infrequent purchase which is why their main starting point is price; they want a cost-effective and easy to find solution to their motoring needs. The challenge for dealers is to present prices as part of the overall value they can offer customers.’
The research also identified the secondary criteria cars buyers applied after their preferred three filters. Topping the list was age (27 per cent), followed by mileage (26 per cent) and fuel type (25 per cent).
