MOTORISTSÂ are increasingly choosing to buy a different car to the one they first considered, new figures from online car supermarket BuyaCar.co.uk reveal.
Sometimes the switches are dramatic – leading to a surge in orders for prestige family saloons, but in other cases seeing some small ‘runabouts’ prove irresistible.
By analysing the difference between what customers set out to buy and what they eventually decided on, BuyaCar’s number crunchers found some surprising results.
For example, the Mercedes C-Class family saloon is the seventh most popular car considered by visitors to BuyaCar.co.uk, with them usually selecting a model and adding it to their ‘basket’ before investigating their finance options.
But, instead of narrowing their search as they begin getting finance quotes, BuyaCar users widen it – a process which sees the Mercedes C-Class surge to become the third most popular car on the site.
However, some smaller bargain cars at the other end of the scale also shoot up the popularity scale to join the top 10 models bought by customers who weren’t previously considering one.
This is the case with the Peugeot 108, which is substantially more likely to win what the motor trade calls a ‘conquest sale’ than most other city cars. The 108 begins outside the top 10 most searched cars but becomes one of the site’s best sellers – with customers won over by the 108’s rock bottom monthly payments.
BuyaCar.co.uk found the trend by analysing the post-lockdown buying plans of customers who are placing orders now, ready for when normal deliveries can be resumed.
The king of conquest sales, however, is the Mercedes A-Class – which consistently beats all comers on BuyaCar.co.uk. Despite being roundly beaten into second place by customers who initially set out to search for a Volkswagen Golf, when it comes to buying decision time, the A-Class wins by a margin of 57%.
It’s all about balancing desirability with cost, according to BuyaCar.co.uk’s finance expert Christofer Lloyd.
He said: “Despite the unrivalled reputation of the Volkswagen Golf as a well-respected family car, for example, when people begin the process of buying one they are often surprised to learn that they can have a Mercedes for a similar monthly cost.
“If people bought what they first searched for on BuyaCar.co.uk we would sell three times as many Golfs as the Ford Focus. But in practice we actually sell just over twice as many of the Volkswagen.
“But the car that seems to surprise most people with its affordability is the Mercedes C-Class – the car that appears to have enjoyed the biggest surge in buying intentions during the coronavirus crisis.
“The C-Class is now surging from the eighth most tempting car on our site to the third – now sitting just a whisker behind the Golf, in terms of orders that are proceeding.
“This ties in with the data we recently released revealing a growing appetite during the coronavirus lockdown for customers to celebrate the easing of restrictions by trading up on their next car purchase.”
How car buyers change their choices
| What buyers begin by looking for | What buyers choose to purchase |
| 1 – Mercedes A-Class | 1 – Mercedes A-Class |
| 2 – Volkswagen Golf | 2 – Volkswagen Golf |
| 3 – Ford Fiesta | 3 – Mercedes C-Class |
| 4 – Vauxhall Corsa | 4 – Ford Fiesta |
| 5 – Volkswagen Polo | 5 – Volkswagen Polo |
| 6 – Audi A1 | 6 – Vauxhall Corsa |
| 7 – Mercedes C-Class | 7 – Audi A1 |
| 8 – BMW 1 Series | 8 – BMW 1 Series |
| 9 – Audi A3 | 9 – Audi A3 |
| 10 – Ford Focus | 10 – Peugeot 108 |
*Article Source www.BUYACAR.CO.UK
