Is the Cost of Living Crisis Affecting Consumers Car Purchasing Behaviours?

Cost of living squeeze fails to dampen appetite for most car buyers considering next purchase, finds JudgeService research.

The appetite among consumers to buy cars remains strong, despite the ongoing impact of rising inflation, high energy costs and interest rate hikes.

JudgeService’s annual State of the Nation survey polled the views of 6,524 franchised dealer customers and found nearly half (47%) will carry on with their purchases, despite budgets being squeezed.

Other buyers say they will factor in rising livings costs to make their next purchase more cost effective.

One in ten said they will consider a cheaper make or model, 9% will switch from new to used and 7% will consider smaller cars but stay with their current brand, while 3% will look at older vehicles.

A further 7% will look at electric vehicles for potential fuel cost savings.

However, for a quarter of buyers the impact on their domestic budgets is proving too much, prompting them to run their current cars longer.Although just 5% say they no longer intend to change their cars.

“Our survey shows just how resilient British car buyers are with most saying they will take the rising costs on the chin or mitigate the impact by compromising on what they would typically choose,” said Neil Addley, managing director of JudgeService.

“For dealers this means factoring in cost pressures and offering affordable finance options and payment walks for customers considering smaller cars or used cars.

“Even for those buyers who say they’ll delay their next purchase, or abandon it altogether, there’s still an opportunity for dealers to engage with them through highlighting the peace of mind benefits of extended warranties and service plans,” he said.

Addley also believes dealers have an opportunity to retain customers prepared to look at other brands for cheaper alternatives.

“It’s important for dealers to understand what their customers want in terms of used cars. Franchised dealers know the makes and models they’re selling against and this should inform what they source for their used car forecourts, otherwise those customers will buy elsewhere,” he said.

The full JudgeService 2023 State of the Nation report will be published later this month.

Further details and comments available from Neil Addley on 07795 665927 or neil@judgeservice.com.

About JudgeService

Launched in 2011 by Neil Addley, JudgeService is the UK’s only customer review platform developed exclusively for the car retailing sector. By ensuring all reviews are verified and genuine, JudgeService builds a solid foundation of trust and respect between customers and sellers enabling car retailers to actively manage their online reputations.

JudgeService shares granular insight reports with dealers to help them identify opportunities to improve customer satisfaction levels, with many achieving 100% recommendation scores. Based in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, JudgeService has published over 1 million customer reviews and is used by over 1,000 franchised, independent and car supermarket sites across the UK.

Issued by Curtis Hutchinson Communications

Did you find this post insightful? Subscribe to our newsletter to be updated when we upload new content!