Buyers spend hours researching cars online before making a purchase

BEFORE purchasing a car, the average person spends 7.59 hours researching online, according to a new survey by Carzone. The research of 500 Irish adults examines the entire car buying process from research phase to end purchase.

According to the research, we spend a huge amount of time ‘doing our homework’ before we make a purchase. While the internet is the most popular research tool, an average of 3.32 hours is also spent face-to-face with the dealership or seller, and 2.63 hours are spent seeking advice from family and friends.

Used Car buyers spend almost twice as much time researching used cars online compared to new cars with an average 8.73 hours of online research going into a used car compared to 4.88 hours for a new vehicle.

Online research is mostly used to investigate the cost of a car (82%), while two thirds (67%) use the internet to compare different car models. 65% go online to find cars for sale, while over a third (39%) use it to locate a local dealership.

With so many of us turning to the world-wide web as our first port of call, it’s no surprise that classified websites are a trusted source of information for shoppers.

Transparent pricing is the most important factor for Irish shoppers. A resounding 85% cite this as number one on their list when buying a car.

The vehicle’s history is a close second with 83% saying they want this information before making a purchase, while 70% say car testimonials and reviews are an important part of their decision-making process. 80% say a timely response from a dealer or seller is key, indicating that dealers or sellers who respond quickly are more likely to make a sale.

When planning a car purchase over 4 in 10 (44%) say they would only consider buying a used car while 1 in 5 (21%) say they would only buy a brand-new vehicle.

Almost half of all buyers (42%) have a shortlist of cars they are interested in purchasing while 37% say they knew the make and model they wanted to buy and focused their search on that marque. Only 10% of those questioned say they