April, 1996
| Back to the Dohring 1996 Automotive Consumer Study Index |
This 1996 National Automotive Consumer Study has been conducted by The Dohring Company as a service to the automotive industry, and is the fourth such study of its kind and scope. The study focused on the most topical issues of the day including:
This study is intended to provide answers which serve to help understand the consumer perspective on the above and other issues.
This study has not been funded by any outside source and is strictly provided as a service. The design intention was to address several primary areas of importance to our automotive dealer, OEM and supplier client base.
The Dohring Company is North America's largest provider of custom market research to the retail automotive community. We have conducted more that 3,000 automotive market research studies for dealers, dealer associations, advertising agencies, manufacturers and suppliers in North America and internationally. The company, based in Glendale, California, employs over 100 full time staff and has conducted over 300,000 interviews with vehicle buyers in 1995 alone, and over one million in the past ten years.
Additionally, we are proud to have been designated Marketing Research supplier to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
The Dohring Company is a full-service provider of marketing research and the developer of TrendTrak®, our exclusive on-site survey polling device. For additional information, please contact us at 1-800-242-8022.
A total of 1,253 respondents were surveyed from across the 50 United States in proportion to their household populations. All respondents were surveyed by telephone during December 1995, and were qualified as intending to purchase a new or used vehicle in the future from a new car dealership. The study has a standard error of + 2.8%.
Vehicle Purchase and Service Experiences Top
About six in 10 respondents (59.2%) had purchased their current vehicle new and four in 10 (40.8%) had purchased a used vehicle. Three fourths of the respondents (75.2%) had negotiated their most recent vehicle purchase and one fourth (24.2%) had paid the dealer's or seller's exact asking price. The top reasons for paying the exact price were that the vehicle had a "sale price" (39.8%), "the price was in a good range" (17.3%) and "it was a 'value priced' model" (10.5%).
Of those who negotiated their most recent vehicle purchase, nearly two-thirds (65.2%) said they had liked the negotiation process. This is a substantial increase in satisfaction with the negotiation process over that from prior national studies (53% said they liked their most recent purchase negotiation in 1993 and 60% said they had liked it in 1995). This is likely a result of the attention which the auto manufacturers and dealers have placed on improving customer's purchase satisfaction over the past few years.
Liked vs. disliked most recent purchase negotiation:
Most buyers were quite satisfied with their most recent car buying experience at dealerships. Over a third (33.8%) rated their buying experience at the dealership "excellent" and another half of the respondents (47.9%) rated it "good". Those few who rated their most recent purchase experience "fair" or "poor" were asked if that purchase experience had influenced them against going back to the dealership for a future purchase or for service. About two-thirds of these respondents (65.4%) indicated that the negative purchase experience had influenced them to not return to the dealership to purchase another vehicle and about half (49.1%) indicated that the negative purchase experience had influenced them to not return to the dealership for service.
Rating of most recent vehicle purchase experience
About two-thirds (65.8%) of the respondents had taken their vehicle back to their dealership for service. Most of those who had taken their vehicle back to the dealership indicated that they were quite satisfied with their dealership service experience: 39.2% rated the service experience "excellent" and 40.6% rated the service experience "good." Those few who rated their service experience "fair" or "poor" were asked if that service experience had influenced them against going back to the dealership for a future purchase or for service. About six in 10 (58.2%) indicated that the negative service experience had influenced them to not return to the dealership to purchase another vehicle and seven in 10 (70.5%) indicated that the negative service experience had influenced them to not return to the dealership again for service.
Rating of dealership experience in servicing their vehicle:
Likely a result of the good dealership experiences, over half of the buyers (50.6%) would definitely or probably purchase their next vehicle from the same dealership. Only 14.0% indicated that they would definitely not purchase again from the same dealership.
Future Vehicle Purchase Intentions Top
Seven in 10 respondents (70.2%) indicated that they intend to purchase their next vehicle new, while three in 10 intend to purchase a used vehicle next.
Over nine in 10 (91.5%) respondents intend to purchase their next vehicle, while 8.5% intend to lease their next vehicle. Of those who intend to purchase rather than lease their next vehicle, 22.1% said they would consider leasing their next vehicle.
Half of the respondents intend to purchase their next vehicle within two years; 9.1% within the next six months, 13.1% within six to 12 months and 27.1% within one to two years. Over half (53.6%) intend to purchase a passenger car, while 16.8% intend to purchase a pickup truck, 11.6% intend to purchase a minivan, 10.5% intend to purchase a sport utility vehicle and 1.6% intend to purchase full-size vans.
More than four in 10 buyers (41.4%) intend to purchase the same make of vehicle next and a little over a third of the buyers (35.9%) intend to purchase a different make of vehicle next. The most frequent reasons for purchasing a different make in the future are: "better quality" (29.3%), "better styling or looks" (22.4%), "better performance or handling" (12.4%), "more reliable" (12.2%) and "more spacious" (10.9%).
Buyers were asked how important various safety features would be in their decision to purchase their next vehicle. For analytical purposes, very important was assigned the value of 4.0, important was assigned the value of 3.0, only somewhat important was assigned the value of 2.0, and not at all important was assigned the value of 1.0. The mean scores for each were calculated and are presented below.
Importance of safety features in next vehicle purchase:
Buyers were asked how important various options would be in their decision to purchase their next vehicle and mean scores for each were calculated.
Importance of options in next vehicle purchase:
Over half of the respondents (50.7%) would prefer to shop a dealership which sells two or more makes of vehicles and 30.6% would prefer to shop a dealership which sells only one make. For those who would prefer to shop a dealership which sells more than one make of vehicle, the top response was for dealerships which sell three different makes of vehicles (30.2%).
Respondents were asked to rate their impressions of new car dealerships and certain dealership personnel. The rating very favorable was assigned the value of 2.0, mostly favorable was assigned the value of 1.0, neither favorable nor unfavorable was assigned the value of zero, mostly unfavorable was assigned the value of -1.0, very unfavorable was assigned the value of -2.0 and mean scores for each were calculated and are presented below.
Impressions of auto dealerships:
When asked to compare their overall impressions of dealerships and their personnel today to their impressions five years ago, the rating more favorable was assigned the value of 1.0, the same was assigned the value of zero, less favorable was assigned the value -1.0 and mean scores were calculated and are presented below.
Overall impressions compared to 5 years ago:
Respondents were asked if they were more loyal to a certain make of vehicle or more loyal to a dealership. Over half (57.8%) indicated that they were more loyal to the make of vehicle and only 11.8% indicated that they were more loyal to a dealership.
Regarding Auto Manufacturers Top
Respondents were asked to rate their impressions of domestic and import auto manufacturers. The rating very favorable was assigned the value of 2.0, mostly favorable was assigned the value of 1.0, neither favorable nor unfavorable was assigned the value of zero, mostly unfavorable was assigned the value of -1.0, very unfavorable was assigned the value of -2.0 and mean scores for each were calculated and are presented below.
Impressions of auto manufactures:
When asked to compare their overall impressions of domestic and import auto manufacturers today to their impressions five years ago, the rating more favorable was assigned the value of 1.0, the same was assigned the value of zero, less favorable was assigned the value of -1.0 and mean scores were calculated and are presented below.
Overall impressions compared to 5 years ago:
One-price Selling and Value Pricing Top
About four in 10 respondents have heard of the term "One-price selling." All were read the following description of One-price selling:
"The 'One-price selling' concept is where each new vehicle at a dealership is marked with a specific non-negotiable price which has been substantially reduced from the manufacturer's suggested retail price or window sticker price. The customer can walk freely around the dealership and see exactly what each vehicle would cost to purchase without having to negotiate cost with a salesperson. Dealership personnel are available to answer questions or help you select or locate a vehicle on the lot which may be of interest to you."
Once the One-price selling concept was fully understood, each respondent was asked which store they would prefer to shop and purchase from: a One-price dealership or a negotiating dealership? About half (47.9%) chose the negotiating dealership and about one-third (32.8%) chose the One-price dealership.
When comparing these results with those of earlier national studies regarding One-price selling, in January, 1993, 29% of the respondents preferred the negotiating dealership and 39% preferred the One-price dealership. In January, 1995, 42% of the respondents preferred the negotiating dealership and 34% preferred the One-price dealership. Thus, since 1993, there has been a trend of an increasing number of buyers preferring the negotiating dealership and fewer buyers preferring the One-price dealership.
Preference for negotiating vs. One-price dealership:
While the One-price dealership provided a low pressure means of establishing a baseline price for a vehicle, nine in 10 buyers (89.1%) said that they would take the One-price dealer's price and shop another dealership or other dealerships to find a better price for the vehicle, rather than buy the vehicle from the One-price store.
When asked if they would prefer that every dealer which sold a particular make of vehicle sold them at the same prices as every other dealer selling that make or would they prefer that each dealership establish its own separate pricing, over half (53.5%) preferred that dealerships establish separate pricing and a little over one-third (36.5%) preferred that all dealerships of a certain make have the same pricing.
The top reasons for choosing separate pricing were: "you get a better price or deal" (68.7%) and "prefer to negotiate or haggle" (26.1%).
The top reasons for choosing the same pricing were: "you get honest prices" (42.0%), "prefer not to haggle" (35.0%) and "you get a quicker deal" (29.5%).
Use of On-line Services in Vehicle Purchasing Top
Over a fourth of the respondents (28.7%) indicated that they have access to an on-line service such as Prodigy, CompuServe or America Online, or the Internet either at home or at work. Of those who do have access, just over two-thirds (68.9%) indicated that they would use the on-line service to get vehicle purchase information, thus about one in five (19.8%) respondents would use the on-line service to get vehicle purchase information.
Purchasing New versus Used Vehicles Top
Seven in 10 respondents (70.2%) indicated that they intend to purchase their next vehicle new, while three in 10 intend to purchase a used vehicle next. Of those who intend to purchase a used vehicle next, 59.6% indicated that they would consider purchasing a new vehicle at sometime in the future.
Of those who intend to purchase a new vehicle next, 54.0% indicated that they would consider purchasing a used vehicle at sometime in the future. When respondents were asked why they would consider purchasing a used vehicle, 39.5% said "the high prices of new vehicles" and 37.9% said that "used vehicles are more affordable," two sides of the same coin.
When asked if there is more prestige, the same or less prestige associated with driving a used vehicle today compared with five years ago, 21.0% indicated "more prestige" today and 18.2% indicated there is "less prestige" today. Of those who indicated there is more prestige today, 52.9% attributed this to the fact that "used vehicles today are of better quality than previously."
More than seven in 10 respondents (71.8%) said that the prices of new vehicles cause them to consider purchasing a used vehicle. This represents an increase of 10% more car buyers, over the past 12 months, who feel that the prices of new vehicles cause them to consider purchasing a used vehicle.
Do the prices of New vehicles cause buyers to consider purchasing a
Used vehicle:
When asked if they would prefer to purchase a brand new vehicle with a retail price of $15,000 or a higher-end used vehicle which originally cost substantially more than $15,000, but which is two to three years old, in good condition, with a manufacturer's warranty and is now priced at $15,000, half chose the new vehicle (50.9%) and half chose the late-model used vehicle (48.5%). Comparing this to their original purchase intention, above, 70% of the buyers were intending to purchase their next vehicle new, however, in concept, if given the alternative of the late-model used vehicle, approximately one in five buyers might opt for the late-model used vehicle instead of purchasing a new vehicle as they had originally intended.
Would consumers prefer to purchase a $15,000 New vehicle or a
higher-end Used vehicle, now priced at $15,000?
For those who preferred to purchase the new vehicle, the top reasons for choosing the new vehicle were: "the new car is in better condition/less wear and tear/no mileage" (50.0%), "prefer to be the first owner" (30.4%) and "the new vehicle would have a better/longer warranty" (20.2%).
For those who preferred to purchase the used vehicle, the top reasons for choosing the used vehicle were: "it's a better value" (67.9%), "it's in good condition" (18.4%) and "it has more options/features" (16.0%).
Only 14.6% of the respondents, nationally, were familiar with the concept of a used car superstore. Each respondent was then read the following statement describing used car superstores:
"A used car superstore is a large used car facility which specializes in selling only late-model used vehicles, all less than five years old, with a warranty. A superstore would have an inventory of hundreds to a thousand or more late-model used vehicles."
Once the used car superstore concept was fully understood, each respondent was asked if they would consider buying a used vehicle from a used car superstore. Almost half said they would definitely or probably consider buying a used vehicle from a used car superstore (9.7% definitely, 38.0% probably) and another third (33.7%) said they may or may not. From this response, it is clear that the used car superstore concept has instant retail credibility. Very few (11.2%) said they would probably not consider buying from a used car superstore and only 3.5% said definitely not.
Would you consider buying a Used vehicle from a Used Car Superstore:
Why would buyers consider purchasing a vehicle from a used car superstore? The top responses were: "larger selection" (44.8%) and "lower prices" (41.3%). Note that the description above did not indicate anything regarding prices, yet the perception of the used car superstore is one of low prices. Why wouldn't certain individuals consider purchasing from a used car superstore? The top response was that they felt "it would be impersonal" (37.6%).
|
Company Services Online Automotive Client Media Employment Contact Home The Dohring Company © 2000 The Dohring Company. All rights reserved. |
