KBB Survey Reinforces Appeal of CPO Units for Teens
IRVINE, Calif. — Certified pre-owned vehicles appear to be one of the best purchase options when the primary driver will be a teenager. That's the sentiment shared by consumers who have recently been shopping at Kelley Blue Book's website and participated in series of surveys.
According to Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence, the largest amount of survey respondents who answered the question, "Should a teen's first car be new or used," picked a certified pre-owned unit. The choice edged out the option of whichever kind of vehicle the teen could afford by a margin of 29 percent to 27 percent.
Survey participants believed a teen's first vehicle should be any kind of used unit by a 20-percent clip. Just 7 percent responded by stating the first vehicle owned by this age group should be a new unit.
In other survey data shared by Kbb.com executives, participants said that their first vehicle was a used unit at 52 percent. Only 9 percent indicated it was a new vehicle.
Turning to what attributes describe vehicles, the site asked shoppers to consider what descriptors drive gender labels on certain units. Exterior styling led the way of five choices that had double-digit percentages.
Exterior styling garnered 23 percent of survey responses followed by the gender that often drives the vehicle at 16 percent. The other top selections included vehicle type (14 percent), color/paint scheme (11 percent) and engine size (10 percent).
No matter whether their vehicle is a CPO, used or nearly new, the vast majority of survey respondents — close to 53 percent in fact — said they keep the unit's interior clean. Another 26 percent take strides to keep their vehicle's interior "immaculate." Only 2 percent indicated the inside of their unit would be considered "filthy."
Finally, haggling over a new-vehicle price is not something the bulk of survey respondents like to do. About 50 percent stressed they "hated" doing such a thing, while 26 percent revealed they "loved" to bargain with dealers.