Road & Travel Magazine

Auto Advice & Tips
Auto Buyer's Guides
Car Care Maintenance
Climate Views & Videos
Auto Awards Archive
Insurance & Accidents
Legends & Leaders
New Car Reviews
Planet Driven
Road Humor
Road Trips
RV & Camping
Safety & Security
Teens & Tots Tips
Tire Buying Tips
Used Car Buying
Vehicle Model Guide

Travel Channel
Adventure Travel
Advice & Tips
Airline Rules
Bed & Breakfasts
Cruises & Tours
Destination Reviews
Earth Tones
Family Travel Tips
Health Trip
Hotels & Resorts
Luxury Travel
Pet Travel
RV & Camping
Safety & Security
Spa Reviews
Train Vacations
World Travel Directory
Bookmark and Share

JD Power Used Car Shopping Study

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: More Than One-Half of Buyers Now Use the Internet to Shop Online for a Used Vehicle

2003 Ford Focus

Internet use among used-vehicle buyers has jumped significantly, with 54 percent of late-model used-vehicle buyers using the Internet during their shopping process-up from 47 percent in 2003, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2004 Used Autoshopper.com StudySM released today.

"This is the most explosive growth in the used-vehicle automotive Internet user rate we have seen in three years," said Dennis Galbraith, senior director of research for J.D. Power and Associates. "Not only are shoppers using the Internet in greater numbers, but also far more of them are finding their purchase decisions are impacted by information found online."

Among all used-vehicle buyers, 36 percent say their make and model decisions were impacted by information found online-up from 29 percent in 2003-while 22 percent were impacted in their selection of sellers-up from 16 percent. Among automotive Internet users, 85 percent say the Internet impacted the price they paid for their vehicle, and 66 percent say it impacted which make or model to purchase.

The study also finds, for the first time, that online sources have outpaced traditional newspaper advertising as the method that led buyers to the used vehicles they actually purchased. While 9 percent of buyers say they found their used vehicle through a newspaper advertisement, 11 percent attribute the Internet as the source of their purchase.

"Critical buying decisions increasingly are happening online," said Galbraith. "This should serve as a wake-up call to used-vehicle dealers not yet using the Internet to promote their inventories. The more comfortable consumers become with the Internet, the more used-vehicle shoppers we will see going deep into the purchase funnel while online."

Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) remains the most visited automotive site among used-vehicle buyers. AutoTrader.com continues to be the site that leads the most used-vehicle buyers to the vehicles they purchase. Online auction sites are growing in impact, with eBay Motors now following AutoTrader.com closely as a popular source of online sales.

The 2004 Used Autoshopper.com Study is based on responses from more than 12,000 owners of used vehicles that purchased pre-owned 1999-2004 model-year vehicles.Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction.

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates. www.jdpower.com