Young rely on dealers for advice when buying their first car

Young rely on dealers for advice when buying their first car

Scion may be enabling young buyers to buy a car online. But a new report says that the dealership experience is just as important for younger buyers as for older ones.

–While [millennials] are certainly digital-savvy buyers overall, for more than half of them this is their first new car purchase and they are just as reliant on dealers as older buyers,” said Chris Stommel, president of Foresight Research, which did the 2015 Dealership Immersion Report. In 2013, just over half of 18- to 34-year-old buyers were influenced by their dealer experience. That figure jumped to 63 percent in 2014.

In choosing a dealership, millennials more often value a comfortable environment for browsing and shopping, the report found. Because many are first-time buyers, they are less likely to choose a dealer based on previous experience with a particular dealership or salesperson. They are more likely to use digital tools, including the dealer website and online reviews.

For their second vehicle purchase, –much more so than boomers, millennials are open to online or •on my own timeê options like virtual showrooms and online price negotiation,” Stommel said.