Credit crunch causes change in car buying behaviour

Almost two thirds of motorists have decided to delay changing their car because of the credit crunch according to a new poll by Motorpoint, the UK’s leading car supermarket.

The online survey revealed that 69.8% of drivers had decided to delay replacing their car because of the financial uncertainty caused by the continuing credit crunch. Over 4,500 people participated in the poll.

However, the credit crunch would appear not to be biting at Motorpoint, with sales up 7.6% year on year, as more and more people turn to its finance packages instead of traditional lenders to fund the purchase of a new or nearly new car.

Sales for instance of Boomerang, its Personal Contract Purchase plan are up 6% for the first half of 2008. Launched in the late 1990s in partnership with Blackhorse Motor Finance (part of the Lloyds TSB Group), Boomerang combines a low deposit with low monthly payments backed by a minimum guaranteed future value. Today, one in three cars sold by Motorpoint is done through finance.

Says David Shelton, Managing Director of Motorpoint: “With many people finding it difficult to source finance from other lenders, we are finding that our finance products such as Boomerang are proving even more popular, helping to make changing a car both easy and affordable for customers.”