After Price, Reliability is the Number One Factor for Buyers
The biggest nightmare for a new car owner is to be left by the side of the road, according to a new BuyingAdvice.com survey. Despite rising fuel costs, increased safety options and a myriad of design choices, the most popular attribute most new car buyers look for in their purchase is reliability.
Asked to rank their priorities when considering a new car purchase, a sample of over 4,000 new car buyers showed that the three elements that were at the forefront of their decision-making were reliability, fuel efficiency and safety. Each of these factors was either the leading or second most important factor by a substantial majority of respondents.
Reliability was chosen as most important by 28 percent of the sample, while 26 percent named safety as their leading concern and 24 percent selected fuel efficiency. These same three factors also led the results for the second most important factor implying that these three components taken together are the dominant decision-influencing traits for buyers.
Only when asked to name the third most important factor was one of the dominant components, safety, surpassed by performance. But, reliability and gas mileage still topped the list.
Asked to comment on the findings, former industry executive Dan West said, "I think it is interesting that despite the widespread concern over fuel prices the public, though aware of fuel economy, is still looking beyond it when making a buying decision.
"We are still in a marketplace that was transformed by the Japanese invasion of several decades ago. The key component that those automakers offered was a level of reliability that the American public was just not used to seeing from its vehicles.
"In some senses it seems that, while all automakers have improved standards since, the demand for increased reliability, and the expectation of it has continued to rise. It is simply no longer acceptable for a new car to break down in the eyes of the consumer."
West suspects the importance of fuel efficiency will rise if the current hike in fuel prices drags on for a sustained period. But he also believes consumers will be slow to respond, in terms of their car buying habits, until they are convinced gas prices are on an irreversible climb.
As far as safety goes as a major factor in decision-making, there is a long history of industry research that suggests that female drivers and drivers that frequently transport children are more concerned with the safety features, than the market as a whole.
But, performance was ranked fourth in the most important factors, with 12 percent of the sample naming it. Twice as many respondents chose safety as their third place priority.
Safety's high placement in BuyingAdvice's poll results over "the poor showing of performance as a factor in buying choice, should be a warning to the car geeks that tend to dominate decision making, that in reality, automakers need to tailor their marketing strategies accordingly," West added.
The view that performance was not a major selling point for most buyers was supported by former dealer Earnest Jordan.
"There are certain customers who walk onto the lot and want to talk horsepower and technology. But frankly, for the average car buyer that is not a determining factor. They are looking at a vehicle and asking, 'Will this do what I want it to do?' 'Will it get me and my family from A to B safely and reliably at a reasonable cost?' And will it still do that in five years time?"
Buyers "need to know that they are investing in a vehicle that will serve them in the long run. They are more interested in that, than top-end speed," Jordan says.
It's true that once the three primary needs for reliability, fuel efficiency and safety were met, the most popular fourth choice option was comfort, chosen by 24 percent of the sample.
Despite the substantial financial outlay involved in buying a car, the respondents gave a low priority to resale value in their buying decision. The highest standing it reached was as the fourth most important factor identified by 16 percent of the sample.
Published on Monday, May 5, 2008 - Email to a friend
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