New research reveals that buyers are increasingly prepared to buy cars online when they are backed up by the reassurance of a franchised dealer, according to NFDA Trusted Dealers.

NFDA Trusted Dealers is urging dealers to take advantage of the growing audience online by offering customers online deposit and transaction facilities and has introduced a new ‘buy online’ feature to its own website which takes the consumer directly to the transaction facility on a dealer website.

Neil Addley, managing director of Trusted Dealers, said: “At Trusted Dealers, we guarantee consumers peace of mind by offering 10 Points of Difference, with every vehicle undertaking meticulous pre-delivery inspections. These safeguards ensure that our customers are protected when purchasing online.

“Many of our members already have great websites, but as more consumers become comfortable with buying higher ticket items online, dealers need to ensure that their sites are not just informative and engaging, with reviews clearly displayed, but also allow customers to take the purchase as far as they want."

NFDA Trusted Dealers' survey of 1,000 motorists about their car buying habits found that one in ten people (10%) have or would be willing to buy a car online without seeing it first.

A further 7% would be prepared to put down a deposit to secure a car they’d seen online if it was listed through a reputable dealer.

And NFDA Trusted Dealers claims that buyers trust franchised dealers most when looking for a used car, with almost half (47%) saying it is the safest place to buy a used car.

In comparison, only 8% would trust a friend to sell a car and just 3% of those surveyed would use a used car supermarket.

Addley said: “The results highlight that consumers recognise the security of buying through a franchised dealer, with almost half of those surveyed saying they trust dealers most when buying a used car.”