Now in its second year, Driving Insights is an information series designed to help used car dealers better understand the motives and behaviours of Canadian used car buyers. The research is based on the most pressing questions of dealership management and staff across Canada. We found the answers through 3 national surveys, each one gathering data from 1,000 Canadians who recently bought a used car from a dealership. There were plenty of interesting insights in 2019, but we’ve gathered the top three that can not only help you sell more, but also build and maintain your returning customer network.

Insight #1: Over 50% of used car buyers are testing your knowledge

It’s true, Canadians want to make sure the sales person they’re buying their next car from is knowledgeable and trustworthy. In fact, more than 1 in 3 used car buyers believe they knew more about the car than their salesperson did, and 72% said they would leave the dealership if a sales person provides incorrect information.

If you want to have the knowledge your customers expect, half the battle is ensuring the information written on your listings matches what you’re communicating in person. After that, it doesn’t hurt to see what the listing sites or reviews have to say about your vehicles and have a process for investigating unclear facts alongside the customer. Do this, and you’ll pass every test a customer can throw at you.

Insight #2: 73% of millennials are confident buying a used car

With the changing landscape of car buyers, it’s no secret that millennials are forcing you to change the way you sell. They’re very confident throughout the entire buying process because of the amount of research they do. They also believe that they knew more about the car they were interested in than the sales person selling it to them; it’s mentioned above that, in general, 1 in 3 used car buyers feel this way, and for millennials, the number increases to 1 out of 2. They rely heavily on research and expect an easy experience on your website.

How do you make the sale? Get them behind the wheel of the car they’re interested in. You don’t need to spend as much time on informing the customer about all the vehicle details; let them experience the car. From there, allow them to be the vehicle experts; just focus on understanding why they’ve chosen a specific vehicle and making their purchase as smooth as possible.

Insight #3: Higher trade-in values aren’t the best way to win the trade

Though you might assume offering a high trade-in value is the best way to close the deal, that’s not always the case. The most popular reason used car buyers said they accepted an offer was because the dealer had the vehicle they wanted to buy.

If you want to win a customer’s trade, you’ll need to sell them on a car from your lot first. By doing this, they’re more inclined to accept your trade-in offer because they want to buy that car that you’ve made them fall in love with.