PLANO, Texas, Dec. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest
Capital One Auto Navigator Survey reveals a significant jump in how
transparent the car buying process has become for shoppers over the
past two years. 40% of respondents to the 2020 survey reported it
was transparent, compared to only 14%1 in
2018. Additionally, 77% of this year's survey respondents reported
they will research financing options and pre-qualification online
more than before as a result of COVID-19.
"We believe that technology can make buying a car simple and
enjoyable for consumers, and we're excited to see an increase in
the number of car buyers who view it as transparent. To me, that
signals how digital tools can help shoppers feel more prepared and
confident before buying a vehicle," said Jeffrey Rabinowitz, senior vice president
consumer auto, Capital One Auto Finance. "We built Auto Navigator
to empower customers with their real rate and payment, all without
affecting their credit score, and to contribute to the increasing
transparency of car buying."
Additional survey findings include:
Consumers lean into digital tools before heading to the
dealership
Most respondents plan to do more research on vehicles,
dealerships, and financing, and say they will rely more heavily on
online information than they did before COVID-19.
- 83% intend to do more background research on potential cars
online than before.
- 63% feel it's easy to find information that makes them
confident about their auto loan rate.
- 81% feel prepared when discussing finance options with
dealers2.
- Of those who purchased a car in the last six months, more than
half (51%) selected their preferred make/model online, while more
than a quarter (26%) did the same at the dealership.
Consumers value dealerships as part of the purchasing
process
While 78% of respondents intend to spend less time at the
dealership than before COVID-19, in-person dealer experiences like
test driving and negotiations are still important.
- 92% of respondents stated the test drive is an important step
in the car-buying process.
- 50% feel most comfortable purchasing from a dealership where
negotiations are the norm as opposed to no haggle pricing.
- Of those who plan to purchase a vehicle in the next 1-2 years,
43% plan to have discussions about pricing and financing in-person
at the dealership.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 U.S. adults ages 18+ was conducted on behalf
of Capital One Auto Finance using Ipsos. *Of the 1,000, 348
have bought/leased a car in the last 6 months and 652 self-reported
that they're planning to buy/lease a car within the next two years.
The survey was fielded October 1-14,
2020 with a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.
About Auto Navigator
Auto Navigator from Capital One allows car buyers to shop a
digital inventory of millions of cars from more than 13,000
participating dealerships nationwide, pre-qualify for financing
with no impact to their credit score, and see their financing
options, all in one place.To learn more and pre-qualify for
financing, visit https://www.capitalone.com/cars or download the
app from the iOS App Store.
Visit the Capital One Auto Learning Center for more information
and resources about car financing and ownership.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a
financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital
One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N.A., had $305.7
billion in deposits and $421.9
billion in total assets as of September 30, 2020. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad
spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small
businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels.
Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Virginia, New
Jersey and the District of
Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the
New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in
the S&P 100 index.
1 Responses include "completely
transparent" and "very transparent" when asked: "On a scale of 1-5
with 5 being completely transparent and 1 being not at all
transparent, how transparent do you believe the car buying process
is today?"
2 Responses include "very prepared"
and "somewhat prepared" when asked: "In general, do you feel
prepared on the following topics when discussing them with
dealers?" for "discussing finance options"
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SOURCE Capital One