Nearly One Half (45%) of Canadians Considering a Used Car as their Next Vehicle

Toronto, ON - Thinking ahead to their next vehicle purchase, nearly one half (45%) of Canadians are considering purchasing used car as their next vehicle, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll commissioned by Kijiji. In fact, eight in ten (78%) Canadians have bought a used car in the past, either from a private individual (19%), a used car dealer (34%) or from both of these sources (25%). Only two in ten (22%) Canadians have never purchased a used car: 10% never have but would consider doing so, and just 12% of Canadians would not consider purchasing a used car in the future.

Among those who have purchased a used car in the past or are considering purchasing a used car for their next purchase, most (93%) believe that used cars are `reliable' (37% very/56% somewhat), while few have had a bad experience with a used car, labelling them as `not very reliable' (6%) or `not reliable' (1%).

Almost all individuals who have bought a used car have taken steps to assess the condition of the car that they purchased, such as checking to make sure the car was clean inside and out (73%), evaluating the condition of the exterior paint (66%), and evaluating the condition of the tires (65%). Some even went so far as to acquire a copy of the car history report (46%), for example through CarProof or CarFax, and three in ten (30%) identified if the car has a timing belt and determined the last time it was changed. Just 12% of used-car buyers failed to do any of these checks.

One half (49%) of Canadians say they've bought a used car and had no trouble with it for years. However, one in ten (10%) say they've bought a new car and something went wrong within a few months.

Thinking ahead to their next car, three in ten (29%) say they're considering purchasing a car that is the same price as the one they currently own or lease, but one in ten (10%) are looking to upgrade and are considering purchasing a car that is more expensive than the one they currently own or lease. Just 7% are considering a less expensive car than the one they currently have. One in ten (10%) Canadians say that they drove a friend or family member's newly purchased used car and would buy a used car based on that experience.

If they were looking to purchase a used car, most would look at a used car dealership (61%), but many would turn online to find a suitable car as well, including a used car or dealer website (39%) or an online classifieds website (33%). Others would look to buy from a private individual (32%), or through a print publication like a magazine or newspaper with used-car listings (27%). One in ten (10%) would use some other means to find the perfect used car.

If it meant owning their dream car (sports car, luxury vehicle, classic car), 62% would buy a used vehicle if they thought it was in good condition, 61% would do so if they thought the previous owner took good care of it, and 50% would buy the used option of their dream car if it made owning the car easier to afford. A small proportion (1%) would actually buy a used version of their dream car if they thought it would jump start a romantic relationship. One in ten (13%) wouldn't use any of the above criteria as reasons to buy a used version of their dream car. Some Canadians (1%), however, say that they have purchased a car in the past because they were looking to impress someone.

Turning to the selling of used cars, one half (52%) of Canadians say they've sold a car to another individual, either to someone they knew or through a friend (36%), through an online website (8%), or through an auto classifieds section in a print publication like a newspaper or a magazine. On the other hand, one half (48%) of Canadians have not sold a car to another individual, although 4% have thought about it.

Among those that have, the primary reason motivating them to sell their car included knowing they could make more money by selling it themselves (54%), having a personal bond with their car and wanting to pass it along to someone who they knew would appreciate the car as much as they did (21%), needing to move quickly (12%), because they bought a new car (8%), because they sold it to a friend or family member (3%), they didn't need it any more (3%) or because they were moving away (2%). Some say the primary reason they sold the car was it was in poor condition (1%) or that they sold it for parts (1%), while 7% say there was some other reason they sold their car to another individual. Four percent (4%) of Canadians say they were forced to sell a car in the past because it didn't accommodate a child's car seat, while 1% indicates they were forced to sell a car in the past because their partner didn't approve of it.

Thinking about car maintenance, fully one half (50%) of Canadians, overall, think that they're more knowledgeable than their partner in this area, but men (80%) are much more likely than women (22%) to think this is the case. In fact, 53% of women say their partner is more knowledgeable in this regard, but only 1% of men say their partner is more knowledgeable. However, 3% of women say that they are more knowledgeable, but that their partner thinks they are. Two in ten overall, (17% of men/22% of women) say that neither they nor their partner claim to be more knowledgeable in the area of car maintenance.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on April 21 to 22, 2010, on behalf of Kijiji. For this survey, a sample of 1,035 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Sean Simpson
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

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