Progressive.com Survey Uncovers New Car Buying Attitudes

February 5, 2001

A new survey by Progressive Insurance finds that people place a premium on the look and the amenities offered in a new car rather than its safety features. The survey found that the top five considerations when purchasing a new car were overall purchase price, practicality (i.e. gas mileage, insurance, etc.), monthly payment amount, look/style of the car, followed by safety features (i.e. air bags, anti-lock brakes, etc.).

The survey of consumers’ new car buying attitudes on progressive.com found that 47 percent of respondents think that the color of the car was more important than side air bags in their decision to purchase a new car while 22 percent of respondents said that a CD player was more important than anti-lock brakes in their new car purchase decision. Other interesting findings: 24 percent of respondents said that leather seats were more important than four-wheel drive in their decision to purchase a new car, while respondents with children were nearly twice as likely to say that the monthly payment amount for a new car was more important than its safety features.

Safety continued to take a back seat when asked how driving behavior would change after purchasing a new car. Three times more respondents said they would give up eating and drinking when driving a new car than those who would curtail speeding or tailgating. The survey also found that 27 percent of respondents think that auto insurance premiums do not vary significantly by vehicle type, and 19 percent said that their premium would be the same regardless of their insurer.

Topics Trends Auto

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