It’s not hard to find advice on which car to buy and how to handle the purchase process. In a survey of 2000 recent new and used car buyers, CARFAX Canada Driving Insights found that 90% of car buyers seek out advice, typically consulting 2-3 sources of information. Often this information helps unsure car buyers secure a deal, but occasionally this advice can be inappropriate for a buyer's specific situation or just plain wrong, making the car buying process far more difficult than it needs to be. To be prepared for whatever your customers have learned, it’s important to know: where do vehicle buyers go for advice and why?

Good or bad, where are your customers getting advice?

There is no universal source for car advice, so the advice a car buyer receives can vary substantially. Even the most popular source of advice, car reviews, is still only used by 1 in 3 advice-seeking car buyers. Dealership websites and car dealerships rank second and third, with family members, friends, and manufacturer websites (for new buyers) or listing websites (for used buyers) rounding out the top picks. You should expect that your potential customers are going to consult more than one of these sources before they see you.

Why trust a source of advice?

Like so many things in our business, the top reason car buyers consult a particular source for advice is trust. After that, car buyers choose sources of advice for more practical reasons; they want to pay the right price for a vehicle, get a vehicle that is safe, or just pick the right vehicle in general, and these sources can help. Rounding out the top 5 list, car buyers chose a source of advice because they believe it is going to be accurate. So, car buyers are picking a source partially because they trust the information, but also because they have a particular need they’re looking to meet.

How can I tame the advice monster?

Now that we know where and why car buyers seek advice, you can start to tame advice monsters and avoid unnecessary conflict as soon as a customer sets foot on your lot. Ask potential customers about what matters in their next vehicle purchase; they’ve likely looked for practical advice on these items. The good and bad advice will come out, and you can start to gradually address any concerns through the sales process instead of having them appear as an unexpected conflict later. Building this relationship could even make your dealership a trusted source of advice for them and result in more sales down the road. For more details check out our article on how to help customers trust your dealership for advice.