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A recently released a report that shows many new car buyers tend to avoid particular brands as a result of conventional wisdom they may have about the vehicle's reliability in lieu of specific information.
The report, from the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Avoider Study, shows that more than 40 percent of new vehicle buyers who avoided a certain model because of reliability or quality said they did so because they had preconceived notions as opposed to personal experience.
"The fact that so many new-vehicle buyers may be basing their opinions about quality and reliability on pre-conceived notions, rather than concrete information or data, demonstrates how important it is for automakers to promote the quality and reliability of their models," said Jon Osborn, research director at J.D. Power and Associates. "For some brands, namely those that have created marked improvements in their quality and reliability in recent years, it's even more vital to tell their improvement story, rather than just waiting for perceptions to change over time."
The study also found that the number of car buyers who avoided imported models because of where they were from increased to 14 percent in 2012, which was the highest level since the study started in 2003. On the other side of the coin, the number of buyers who avoided domestic models because of where they're from dropped 6 percent, a new all-time low.
"The decline in avoidance of U.S. models due to their origin reflects a buy-American sentiment that surfaced as the economic recession led to domestic job losses and adversely affected major U.S. institutions such as the Detroit Big Three," Osborn added. "In addition, the quality, dependability and appeal of domestic models has improved during the past several years, as well, and this may also be a cause for declining avoidance."
When it comes to buying a new car, women tend to have the ability to sniff out a better deal than males, according to a recent report from LeaseTrader.com. John Sternal of the website told Sonari Glinton of NPR on Morning Edition that women's place in the car-buying world is constantly evolving.
"Our data specifically says that women not only have a larger interest in cars overall, but women today are taking a more active role in the negotiating process of a vehicle and in the car-shopping process in general," he said.
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