Part ex acting as “roadblock” to online car buying, new research shows

Less than half of consumers (44%) who wanted to carry out a valuation on their part exchange as part of an online buying journey were able to do so, according to new a finding from iVendi.

The research also showed that just over half (51%) of 1,000 recent car buyers questioned wanted to include their part exchange as part of a digital process.

The findings are taken from a new iVendi free white paper, “Driving future success: Five key trends in online motor retail”.

Darren Sinclair, chief commercial officer (CCO) at iVendi, said: “Part exchanges have traditionally been something of a problem area for dealers who want to offer a complete online car journey.

"While there are a number of methods available of handling them, there is currently no uniformly accepted solution that works well for dealer and for consumer.

“However, as our research shows, where there is no option for part exchanges offered online, the consumer is effectively hitting a roadblock and 28% then dropped out of their purchase altogether. 

“Certainly, the dealer is then relying on the consumer to pick up the phone or drive to the dealership to continue the buying process and switching to non-digital part exchange process, which is something of a jump.”

Sinclair said dealers that weren’t currently offering online part exchange needed to think about introducing some kind of solution in order to meet changing consumer expectations.

He added: “Our research shows that while hybrid purchasing journeys that include digital and showroom elements are going to remain a key part of the used car market, more than 74% expect to use some sort of online process to buy their next car – either buying online and collecting the car in person from a dealership (45%) or buying online with home delivery (29%). 

“That’s a change that means dealers just can’t afford to ignore online part exchanges and need to decide on a solution that empowers potential buyers to value their existing vehicle through a digital process and progress their purchase if they are happy with the result.

“Increasingly, not providing some kind of facility that enables the entire car buying journey to be carried out online is going to preclude dealerships from a large proportion – possibly soon the majority – of car buyers.”