Used Cars Give New a Run for the Money
Nearly 49% of Americans would rather buy a 2- or 3-year-old used car or truck than a new one, indicating serious consequences for the auto industry, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The survey, conducted by Dohring Co., asked 1,253 consumers if they would prefer to spend $15,000 on a new vehicle or on a higher-end 2- or 3-year-old used vehicle in good condition and with a manufacturer’s warranty.
About 50.9% of respondents said they would prefer to spend the money on a new vehicle; 48.5% said they’d rather buy a used one.
“The era of the used vehicle has arrived in a big way,” said Doug Dohring, chairman of the Glendale-based automotive research firm.
“With the difference between new vehicles and recent-vintage used vehicles continuing to blur in the eyes of the consumer, the very nature of the automotive business is going to change quite dramatically in the next five to 10 years,” he said. “This will be most evident at the retail level.”
Dohring added that the increasing cost of new vehicles, better quality and greater reliability of used vehicles and the exploding availability of 2- and 3-year-old used cars and trucks have created a radically changed used-car market. Consumers are perceiving more value in used cars than new ones, he said.
“Consumers are saying that they can get a lot more for their money by purchasing a used vehicle without sacrificing the traditional advantages of a new vehicle,” Dohring said.
The national survey was conducted in December and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points, the company said.
The results echo concerns about rising new-car prices voiced in Detroit this week at the annual Automotive News World Congress.
At Nissan Motor Corp.’s U.S. dealerships, 40% of the people who came to shop for a new car instead drove away in a used car, said William Bivens, senior vice president of Nissan Motor Acceptance Corp.
Bivens said increased pressure on consumers’ incomes is causing them to place less emphasis on the status of owning a new car.
