Just 33% of New Car Buyers Cite Price As Number One Factor in Choosing Local Auto Dealerships

Dealer reputation important to Buick owners; Honda owners go for location

Over half of planned new car purchases are for 'oversized' vehicles

NEW YORK, Feb. 16 -- Scarborough Research, a leading authority for identifying the shopping, media and lifestyle patterns of adults in the United States, released an analysis of the 19 million Potential New Auto Buyers* located across the 75 local markets Scarborough surveys. The study found that one-third (33 percent) of Potential New Auto Buyers cite price as a primary reason they chose the last auto dealership where they made a purchase. Vehicle selection (22 percent), dealer reputation (20 percent), dealer location (19 percent), service (17 percent), financing (11 percent), and warranty (10 percent) round out the primary factors Potential New Auto Buyers considered when selecting the dealership where they purchased their last vehicle.

Dealer reputation ranks high with Buick owners according to the Scarborough analysis. Almost a quarter (22 percent) of Potential New Auto Buyers who currently own a Buick in their household indicated that dealer reputation is a primary reason they chose the dealership where they bought their last car. In comparison, just 13 percent of current Mazda owners cited dealer reputation as a factor in their last auto purchase. Dealer location was a key determinant for current Honda owners (19 percent) when they purchased their last vehicle. Selection was important for Chrysler and Honda owners with almost a quarter (22 percent) of them saying it was an influential factor in their last purchase.

"Car manufacturers are only as successful as their dealerships, and understanding the factors that bring consumers in the front door of a showroom is essential to building business on the local dealer level," said Alisa Joseph, vice president, advertiser marketing services, Scarborough Research. "Manufacturers must ensure that the branding initiatives, dealership programs and other incentives they create on a corporate level drive dealer business on the local level, especially for new car purchases."

Consumers who intend to buy a new car this year are planning big vehicle purchases, literally. Twenty-nine percent of Potential New Auto Buyers indicate they plan to buy a new SUV during the next 12 months. Nineteen percent plan to buy a pickup truck and 12 percent plan to buy a van or mini- van. In total, more than half of Potential New Auto Buyers plan to make a purchase in these oversized vehicle categories.

"Potential New Auto Buyers are 12 percent more likely than all consumers to have five or more people in their household. Additionally, half of these consumers drive 500 or more miles a month," said Bob Cohen, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Scarborough Research. "Factors such as household size and car usage influence consumers' lives in a myriad of ways. Understanding these and how they affect big ticket purchase decisions will help manufacturers create new vehicles and branding strategies that serve consumers and the 'real world' in which they live."

  * Potential New Auto Buyers = Consumers who indicate in the Scarborough
    study that they or a member of their household intends to purchase a new
    car during the next 12 months.

  About Scarborough Research

Scarborough Research is the leader in identifying local, regional and national shopping patterns and media usage for the American consumer. With a sample size of over 200,000 adults nationally covering 75 local U.S. markets and countless categories and brands, Scarborough data is a valuable tool for marketers and media professionals in their quest to achieve optimum marketing and sales ROI. Scarborough Research is a joint venture between Arbitron Inc. and VNU Media Measurement & Information. For additional information, please log on to http://www.scarborough.com/.