Turns out the internet really is making us better at buying cars

You might not be able to buy a new car online with same ease as you can pretty much any other product, but it turns out that the internet is actually helping us make better decisions when it comes to buying cars.

For one, the internet means that potential buyers have on-demand access to reams of data like the car’s specifications, price, available discounts, quality and performance, on-demand. That information in turn gives buyers greater bargaining power.

Online classified sites specifically focusing on motor vehicles offer consumers in the market for a new car a repository of thousands of pre-owned cars with the option to search for vehicles by province, city, make, model, price, shape, year and fuel type.

We’re finding that customers spend a fair amount of time browsing our site from the comfort of their mobile devices while they’re conducting research to find a car that fits their needs. It’s for this reason that sites need to be responsive so that the research part of the decision making process can be hassle-free.”

People shopping online for a newer model can use the convenience of the internet and the power of a mobile application to their advantage to receive alerts when cars are available, compare prices and find good deals. “Email alerts that notify customers every time a specific car make in a particular province is added to our site are very popular and these alerts can be set up through our website and our Android app,” he says.

Tools like these in turn make it quick and easy for customers to find a specific vehicle and benefit buyers and dealers as it speeds up the car purchasing process.

A recent Price Waterhouse Coopers report into the automotive space also reveals that consumers are demanding more sophisticated infotainment systems at a low price and are expecting more high-end features to be standard. An infotainment system delivers entertainment and information content and a big factor to consider is the quality of the voice recognition software to enable the interpretation of voice commands.

Infotainment systems have become the source of more customer complaints than any other part of the car, therefore it’s important for buyers considering newer models to research and test the system of the vehicle they’re looking at buying.

An infotainment system includes the management and delivery of audio content, navigation, rear-seat entertainment such as movies and games, incoming and outgoing text messages, phone calls and accessing internet-enabled content such as traffic conditions, sports results and weather forecasts.

The ability of the voice recognition software to interpret commands is crucial. The last thing you want is to be barking orders at the centre console just for it to phone the wrong contact or navigate you to the wrong address.

A good infotainment system is simple to navigate and easy to use. It offers an exceptional user experience that reduces distractions and the time the driver’s eyes are off the road.

According to the PwC report, consumers want a seamless car-buying experience that includes the purchase decision, financing and insurance and both customers and dealers are motivated to speed up the transaction.

Sites advertising motor vehicles have a responsibility to make the purchasing of cars simple, faster, efficient and painless. On-demand access to information through mobile devices and tools such as email alerts accelerates the purchasing process and we find that dealers benefit too as their stock moves faster.