One in Ten American Car Buyers Not Taking a Test Drive

More and more buyers in the US are doing research online and skipping the test drive when they go to buy a car. Maritz Research surveyed 80,219 buyers in 2012 and found that 11.4% did not test drive before their purchase. The study found that 9.5% of buyers scheduled their test drive online, compared to 7.4% in 2010, and 80% of buyers did some research online. 

The explosion of automotive web sites that cater to news and consumer information mean that there is more data and impressions about nearly every car than every before.

The problem is that buyers and dealers might both be losing out. There are certain things about a car that cannot be communicated well with words. For instance, even from model to model automakers often use different seats in their cars. If a car is not comfortable, then it is not going to be enjoyable to drive. Dealers also like to give potential buyers a test drive. It can tell buyers if a car is right for them compared to a competitor.

Still, buyers some times do not want to deal car salesman and feel that they can get the information that they need for the Internet.  

Source: Detroit Free Press