New car customers are similarly empowered. If it’s a used car, a buyer can find out what the dealer has in stock, how vehicles are priced compared with the rest of the market, what they can get for their part-exchange and how much the purchase is going to cost if they opt for a finance deal – right from their computer or smartphone. That means most customers pretty much know what they’re buying before setting foot on a dealer’s forecourt. Even before Covid-19, car buyers tended to visit just 1.2 dealerships before buying a car.
The days of buyers rocking up at a dealership to kick a few tyres and be sold a car by a suited salesperson are pretty much over. All the information required to make an informed purchase of a new or used car is available online: consumer car buying advice sites like The Car Expert owners’ forums where other people discuss the good and bad points of their cars manufacturer sites with all the technical information for the latest models and sites where you can buy a new or used car online, without having to set foot in a car dealership. Researching and buying a car has never been easier, thanks to the power of the internet.
