Needs more than wants driving some auto buys

A subsidiary of Lake Success-based DealerTrack Holdings finds that four-fifths of American consumers are buying or leasing a new car this year because they need one, not just because they want a change, and are less loyal to particular brands or dealers.

DealerTrack is a provider of software for auto dealers, lenders, manufacturers and others involved in auto retailing and aftermarket sales.

The subsidiary, Chrome Systems Inc. of Portland, Ore., found that 21 percent of 600 consumers saying they had purchased or leased a vehicle simply because they wanted something new, down from 32 percent last year. The main reason cited for buying or leasing a new vehicle was the current vehicle being unreliable or broken down — 26 percent, up from 19 percent in 2009.

Chrome also found that loyalty to a particular dealer is eroding, with only 24 percent of survey respondents saying they selected a dealer because they or someone they knew had previously purchased or leased from that dealer. That percentage was 37 percent in 2009.
Brand loyalty also is diminishing, the survey found.