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Car Buyers Choose Style over Substance Says Study

February 16th, 2016  |  Auto

What do you look for when you need to buy a car? Is it all about the price range? Do you look for the latest in automotive technology? Or do you just go for whatever looks the coolest?

According to a Globe and Mail special report, it’s the latter that Canadians are most interested in. The Auto Avoider Study by J.D. Power determined that vehicle’s interior and exterior styling ranked higher than any other factor when it came to buying or avoiding vehicles. The third runner up was reliability, with 55 per cent of new vehicle buyers naming it as a leading factor in their buying decision.

The news isn’t a huge surprise after the record number of high profile vehicle recalls throughout North America over the past year. There was the GM ignition-switch problem, the huge Takata airbag recall, and of course the Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal.

The study also revealed that buyers often do the main portion of their shopping online before even coming face to face with a salesperson. What’s more is that more than half of the respondents bought the exact make and model they wanted.

It paints an interesting picture of the modern car buyer. Instead of spending hours in dealerships being spoonfed biased sales rhetoric shopping around and comparing online lets you figure out exactly what’s best for you. The great thing is, not only can you do your car shopping online, but you can and should do your car insurance shopping online for exactly the same reasons!