National Consumer Agency Market Research Findings Second Hand

National Consumer Agency Market Research Findings: Second Hand Car Sales March 2012 Research Conducted by

Table of Contents 2 § Key Findings § Second Hand Car Sales Making Complaints § Research Background and Methodology § Profile of Sample www. nca. ie

3 Key Findings Making Complaints www. nca. ie

Key Findings - I 4 • In the past 7 years 40% of consumers have purchased a second hand car, of these: • 35% bought from an independent garage/dealer • 33% bought from an authorised dealership Making Complaints • 28% purchasing from a private individual sale • 15 -24 year olds tend to buy more from independent garages/dealers (39%) and private sales (39%) • 55+ age group are more likely to buy from an authorised dealer (43%) www. nca. ie

Key Findings - II 5 • Car Checks Prior to Purchase • 11% of purchasers did not perform any checks before buying the car. • 29% did not check all documentation/service history Making was crashed • 45% did not check/ask if the car. Complaints • 46% did not have a mechanic check the car • 62% did not check/ask if odometer reading was genuine • 63% did not check if there was any outstanding finance on the car • 83% did not complete background checks (motorcheck. ie etc. ) www. nca. ie

6 Second Hand Car Sales Making Complaints www. nca. ie

Experience of Purchasing Used Cars 7 Incidence of purchasing within the Past 7 years? Where Purchased From? (Base: All aged 15 -74, 1, 000) (Base: All who purchased a used car within the past 7 years - 397) % Yes No Authorised dealership Making Complaints Independent garage/dealer Private individual sale Auction Other – 2 in 5 have purchased a used car within the past 7 years; of which almost 7 in 10 purchased through either a dealer or an independent garage. It was found that the younger age group 15 -24 year olds tend to buy more from independent garages/dealers (39%) and private sales (39%) with the 55+ age group more likely to buy from an authorised dealer (43%). www. nca. ie

Checks Completed Before Purchase 8 (Base: All who purchased a used car within the past 7 years - 397) Check all documentation/service history Check/ask if car was crashed Had a mechanic check car Making Complaints Check/ask if odometer reading was genuine Check if any outstanding finance on car Completed background check (motorcheck. ie etc. ) No checks Other * One in ten (11%) did not perform any checks prior to purchasing a second hand car. Consumers are most likely to check documentation and service history (71%). 55% checked if the car was crashed and 54% had a mechanic check the car. * All other mentions 2% or less www. nca. ie

9 Research Background Making Complaints and Methodology www. nca. ie

Research Background and Methodology 10 Nov/Dec 2007 Aug 2008 Nov/Dec 2008 May/June 2009 Benchmark Wave 1 Wave 2 Wave 3 Nov/December 2010 May/June 2011 Nov/Dec 2009 Wave 4 Nov 2011 June 2010 Wave 5 Wave 6 Making Complaints Wave 7 Current Wave 8 Ø The research was conducted by means of face-to-face interviewing with 1, 000 people between the ages of 15 -74. Ø To ensure that the data is nationally representative, quotas were applied on the basis of age, gender and social class. Ø Interviewing was conducted over a four week period in November 2011. www. nca. ie

Profile of Sample 11 (Base: All aged 15 -74 – 1, 000) % % 15 -24 Dublin Male ABC 1 F 50+ 25 -34 Making Complaints Rest of Leinster 35 -44 45 -54 Munster Female C 2 DE F 5055+ www. nca. ie Conn/ Ulster