4:25 pm, August 25, 2008
ONE in every four adults prefers a used car with a prestige badge on its nose, rather than a mainstream ‘new’ one.
That’s 12 million buyers, according to BMW Financial Services.
The recent survey showed it’s men who prefer the used high-enders, with a third preferring to go secondhand; 36 per cent of women would rather have a new ‘standard’ model.
Make that young men: a third of 18-21 year olds will be hanging round your flash used stock, rather than the showroom-fresh superminis. Londoners and the Northern Irish are most likely to go for used.
It’s all down to fashion – posh brands are clamoured for by more than 2 million people. Well, that’s how many chose their current model for its premium badge above all else. Mind you, one in six people selected the car on their drive right now because of how it looks.
And half a million are led purely by what their think their friends will make of their car.
Heady stats – but not surprising, given how over half of the people surveyed feel that the car that they choose affects their ‘personal image’. That’s why a fifth of them admit they’re influenced by the cars celebrities drive – and a quarter of men will be led by Rooney or Lampard’s latest motor.
Joe Pattinson, general manager of marketing for BMW Financial Services, said: ‘Despite the credit crunch, people are still aspiring to luxury on the road. Classic cars and prestige brands rarely go out of fashion. And far from being just a mode of getting people from A to B, many car owners in the UK look to their motors as an extension of their own personal style.’
Maybe that’s why BMW used car sales are up by 10 per cent this year, and MINI Cherished secondhand models are up by 15 per cent…
