What functionality do car buyers and sellers expect from online services?

In November, several large auto business companies announced the launch of projects related to online car sales sites. This fact speaks better than many others about the demand for new electronic programs designed to make the process of buying cars more convenient and efficient. The experts of the analytical agency "AUTOSTAT" decided to find out what kind of functionality buyers and sellers of cars expect from such online services. To this end, at the end of October, within the framework of the AUTOSTAT Omnibus project, 3 thousand car owners were asked the question: “What do you think, what functions should an online service for buying / selling a car have?”

The results of the survey showed that the majority (82.1%) of respondents* would like to be able to check its history when buying a car using online services. More than 63% of participants need options that help to more accurately determine the market value of the car they buy/sell. Almost one in three (31.2%) dreams that when selling a used car to a car dealership, there would be a service that allows them to receive payment instantly. Among other fairly popular wishes, a rather impressive block can be singled out: the opportunity to take out insurance for a car (29% of respondents spoke about it), pick up spare parts (24.6%), and quickly apply for a loan (22%). Almost every fifth participant of the survey would like to receive an extended car warranty online (20.4%) and arrange the delivery of car to a service station (19.3%).

Approximately 13.6% believe that online services enhance opportunities when participating in car auctions. Curiously, the online check of car history turned out to be a little more interesting for owners of domestic cars (84%) than foreign cars (82%). But as for the selection of spare parts through the service, this online functionality was more actively called by the owners of foreign cars (26% versus 21.5%). However, all these figures are quite comparable; the experts of the agency did not find any serious discrepancies in the expectations of one and the other owners of these cars during the survey.

*Survey participants could select multiple answers.