AUSTIN, Texas -

Connectivity may be the best feature to plug when talking to a used-car shopper. And whether or not that car is in good shape may be the most crucial piece of information you pass along to that shopper.  

That's according to a white paper from CarStory, which among other areas, investigated the top features used-car buyers want and the most important information they need in buying a car. 

Starting with top features, the paper — titled How to Convert Used Car Shoppers to Buyers — found that three of the top “must-have” features on a used-car purchase are MP3, Bluetooth and an iPod adapter.

CarStory, a provider of crowdsourced data and analytics on pre-owned vehicles, surveyed a random pool of the paper’s participants, all ages 18 to 65.

These participants were given a list of the top 25 used-car features that CarStory’s data science team found to be in high demand or heavily influential on used prices, and they were asked to select “must-haves” from that list. (More than one feature could be chosen).

More than 40 percent chose MP3 and 30 percent picked Bluetooth. Over 25 percent chose iPod adapter, putting it on the same level as high-performance tires. Fifth on the list was heated seats, with a hair more than 25 percent choosing that option.

Also scoring above 20 percent were keyless entry, remote start, rear-view camera and navigation system. Right at 20 percent were sunroof and all-weather package. The remaining 14 features listed were below 20 percent.

Beyond the features of the car, CarStory also looked into the vehicle description points that resonate with used-car buyers.

“For this exercise, we gave the survey participants a list of details that descriptions of used cars commonly include,” the company explained. “We asked participants to rate the importance of each detail using a sliding scale.”

The top detail?

Vehicle condition, which got a score of 81 out of 100, according to CarStory’s January survey of online used-car shoppers.

Next up was accident history (77), followed by service history (75), listing price (74) and value of the vehicle (73).

The complete list of most important details is below:

Condition 81

Accident History 77

Service History 75

Listing Price 74

Value of the Vehicle 73

Make 72

Mileage 71

Price Compared to the Market 68

Dealership’s Reputation 66

Selling Price of Similar Vehicle 65

Year 65

Mileage Compared to Similar Vehicle 64

Comfort Features 60

Cost of Ownership 60

Efficiency 59