Online Car Buyers Mixing Internet Pricing With Traditional Methods
A recent survey from automotive consumer advice web site BuyingAdvice.com shows that online car buyers are using Internet price quotes alongside more traditional methods to achieve the best price on new car purchases.
Rather than requesting online price quotes as an alternative to visiting a dealership, 73 percent of those polled said that they would be visiting a dealership for a price quote despite already having requested one online.
The sample of 1158 new car buyers, who stated that they were within 30 days of making a new car purchase, was taken from among the thousands of web site visitors who request an online price quote from the BuyingAdvice.com web site each month.
Fifty-four percent of those surveyed said that they had requested price quotes from more than one source. But only 41 percent had requested a quote from a dealership web site.
The study was the latest in a series of surveys being taken by the consumer advice and price quote web site in an effort to provide current and comprehensive insights into the buying habits of online car buyers.
An earlier survey showed that 66 percent of those using the site were requesting an Internet price quote for the first time, showing how quickly this method of car shopping is growing.
It also revealed that over 86 percent of buyers believed that they got a better deal by using an online quote service. Eighty-two percent believed that the overall process was accelerated by using the Internet.
The new survey adds further insight into how buyers are incorporating the Internet price quote into their buying process. Rather than being seen as an alternative to traditional negotiation, it is being incorporated into the mix in conjunction with visits to the dealership. It shows that consumers are using the broadest range of information available to achieve their price goals.
