Used cars 2012

The National Consumer Agency’s latest consumer research relating to second hand car sales found that:

• In the past seven years 40% of consumers have purchased a second hand car

Of those who purchased a second hand car:

• 35% bought from an independent garage/dealer, 33% bought from an authorised dealership and 28% purchasing from a private individual sale
• 15 to 24-year-olds tend to buy more from independent garages/dealers (39%) and private sales (39%)
• The 55+ age group are more likely to buy from an authorised dealer (43%)

In relation to car checks:

• 11% of purchasers did not perform any checks before buying the car
• 83% did not complete background checks (motorcheck.ie etc)
• 63% did not check if there was any outstanding finance on the car
• Before purchase it was found that consumers are most likely to check paperwork and service history (71%), 55% checked if the car was crashed and 54% had a mechanic check the car

The research, carried out by Amárach Research, was conducted by means of face-to-face interviewing in November 2011 with a nationally representative sample of 1,000 people between the ages of 15 to 74.