Surprise! Young Buyers Say They Need Car Dealers!
A new poll of the youngest new car buyers turns on its head almost everything currently assumed about what this ultra-tech savvy generation wants in a vehicle purchase experience. While it is widely assumed the so called Z-Generation wants to do almost everything online including buying a car, a joint poll by Harris and Urban Science indicated that they not only want, but value going to the dealership, and even embrace the traditional test drive. As first reported by Automotive News, an astonishing 75% said they would not buy a vehicle without a dealership involved. This counters the trend towards companies that are promising to limit or eliminate the need to go to a brick-and-mortar dealer to complete a new or used car deal. When it comes to test drives, and even higher 83% say they would not buy a car without test driving it. It seems that while the automotive media was worrying about dealerships heading for extension, the dealerships themselves acted to change their culture; putting genuine discounted prices online, lowering or eliminating high pressure sales tactics, and simplifying financing and add-on profit items such as extended warranties. The result is that 81% of the 2000 consumers polled say they trust the information, and appreciate the transparency that they are finding at enlightened dealers. Further, Gen Z buyers are visiting more dealerships than older generations; 3.8 dealers per transaction as compared to 2.4 for Gen X and 2.1 for baby boomers. It seems that these youngest buyers have no brand loyalty, and since a car is likely to be their first big purchase, they are more apt to shop around.