The future – car buying but not as we know it

It has been predicted that within the next five years the face of advertising, marketing and selling new and used cars will have changed so entirely that it will be almost unrecognisable from the way things are done now. We are already witnessing the rapid decline of the once mighty motoring section that still clings on to the back pages in most local newspapers and even large print publications are being muscled out or replaced completely by their Internet equivalents, as the web continues its seemingly unstoppable march towards being the first port of call for all potential car buyers.

We have often reported at MTI how dealers are reacting to the change in buying habits by spending large sums on their website technology, concentrating on greater clarity and displaying multi-picture and movie showreels when presenting their cars for sale. The fact is that cars will most likely not even be looked at unless they have a comprehensive description of spec, condition, mileage, colour of floor mats, music system and so on. So without a picture you can forget it as there’s no chance of a customer even considering it even if its the cheapest in the country.

The new generation of car buyers dubbed the ”millennial generation” in a survey carried out for Microsoft, will be turned on only by receiving and sharing information by the web, and ultimately buying their vehicles and finance packages on line. 52% of those surveyed admitted that although they would visit a dealership they would rather use automated services within the showroom than have full contact with a salesperson.

As we have often said the internet has been the best and worst tool for the car dealer in equal measure and one thing is for certain – if this survey is anything to go buy – the manufacturers and dealers who keep up to date will keep engaging with the “’millennials” as statistics are already telling us that consumers are gaining confidence from buying their cars on-line, both from dealers and the rapid rise of certain auction sales which are now conducted live on line.