Price and value for money are more important than brand, image, colour and delivery time to the UK car buyer, according to research from internet car retailer OneSwoop (www.oneswoop.com).

The findings were contained in a OneSwoop survey, entitled "What drives car buyers?", conducted by ICM Research, recording the views of 1,000 adults, aged between 18-65.

OneSwoop's results showed that 64% of the British public considered cost and value for money as the single most important influence on their choice of model.

This compared to less than one fifth of respondents who were driven by brand loyalty, with just 17% faithful to Ford or devoted to Daewoo.

The street credibility associated with cruising in a desirable marque appealed to 24% of males, compared to only 11% of women, who reported that brand was most significant to them. No respondents considered delivery time to be an important factor.

Tom Buehlmann, marketing director OneSwoop, said: "Our research shows not only that car buyers are very open to the price savings offered by internet car retailers, like OneSwoop, but are beginning to adopt different shopping habits when looking for a new car.

“Rather than visiting their local dealer, which will offer a range of models from just one manufacturer, the results emphasise that car buyers are not tied to a particular brand and, therefore, prefer to browse similar models offered by competing manufacturers on the web.

"We are finding that car buyers are increasingly looking for customised extras, such as metallic paint, leather interiors or alloy wheels as they exploit the value offered by e-tailers by trading up to higher specification models."

"What drives a purchase?" - Overall results

Main factors
1. Price and value for money - 64%
2. Brand - 17%
3. Image and Style - 7%
4. Colour - 2%
5. Lead time - 0%
Undecided - 9%