RICHMOND, Va. -

Given a choice of five factors, 37 percent of consumers indicated that their decision to buy a vehicle was most heavily affected by the model’s quality, a recent CarMax survey released.

The poll, done via telephone, posed the following question to respondents: “Which of the following factors most influences your car-buying decision?”

Following quality, the second most-cited factor was safety, as 28 percent counted it as their top choice. Twenty-two percent claimed the biggest influence was safety, while environmental or green factors were cited by 6 percent of respondents.

Four percent pointed to the vehicle’s resale value.

Breaking it down by gender, 43 percent of men said quality was most important, while 34 percent said the same. Quality was No. 1 for both males and females.

Interestingly enough, this is a change from what women claimed was the top factor a year ago, when they pointed to price. That particular survey was done online, officials noted.

“We want consumers to get the most for their money, and buying a used vehicle is a great way to get more car for less,” stated Rod Baker, who is vice president of service operations for the Phoenix region.

“It’s why we put our cars through a rigorous Certified Quality Inspection, checking more than 125 points to meet our high-quality standards,” he added.

Ipsos Public Affairs did the polling for CarMax, contacting over 1,000 adults in the U.S. This was done between Aug. 19 and Aug. 22. Just three consumers did not respond.