More people searching internet for a new car

When it comes to looking for a new car, it seems more people are grabbing a mouse and heading for a cruise down the cyber-highway.

Recent figures show strong growth in the number of visits to internet car sale sites but the traditional car sales channels are upbeat, saying car sellers are using additional methods to bring their goods to market.

Perhaps not surprisingly when it comes to selling goods online, internet phenomenon Trade Me is leading the pack.

Internet monitoring site Nielsen-Netratings says Trade Me Motors blitzed the opposition in terms of site visits in May.

They had 224,944, while closest rival Traderpoint Automotive had 27,748. In third was goauto.co.nz with 8937.

Nielsen-Netratings said site visits in the last six months across the main sites rose 20 per cent.

However, Trade Me Motors is storming away, with growth of 62 per cent in the number of visits since the beginning of the year.

It has more than 20,000 cars for sale, plus 2000 boats and 4000 motorcycles.

Despite this, survey data shows the number of vehicles sold over the internet has not risen to the same degree, indicating buyers still liked to see their prospective vehicle, Neilsen-Netratings says.

On an annual basis, Trade Me Motors is growing about 245 per cent, says owner Sam Morgan.

It accounts for about 20 per cent of Trade Me's overall revenue. "If we separated it out, it would be about the fifth biggest (most visited) website in New Zealand."

Mr Morgan said car parts and accessories were the site's biggest sellers. The classified listing was also popular, as opposed to the auction method which most of Trade Me runs on.

"With private listings it's around 50-50 with a slight favour to classifieds, and with dealer listing it's almost all classified."

About 400 dealers were registered on Trade Me, with up to 10 joining a week. A dealer paid about $300 a month to list their entire stock.

"We're still growing fast, and there's no sign of that levelling out."

Hamish Jacob, chief executive of Wellington car dealership Capital City Ford, formerly Avery Ford, said many people were doing their research on the internet, "but it's still a product they like to touch and feel and experience. There's a lot of emotion involved in the purchase".

Capital City Ford used the internet to list its vehicles.

The print industry is still upbeat about motor vehicle advertising. The Dominion Post general manager Don Churchill said the newspaper environment was still one of the first places people turned to for their car purchases.

At 10 to 14 pages of car advertisements a week, demand was still strong.

"I think people are looking at all avenues to sell their cars, and the newspaper remains very high in their thinking."

The Motor Trade Association, which represents car dealers, said its members had started using the internet as another means of advertising. Spokesman Andy Cuming said "it's only a means to an end".

Licensed car dealers used the internet to market vehicles but still needed a physical site where potential buyers could inspect the vehicle, he said. Dealers saw the internet as a powerful new tool, but not yet at the expense of a physical location.

"It facilitates commerce but you can't replace fundamentals."

The association advised a "buyer beware" approach to buying vehicles without having seen them first.

The Motor Industry Association, which represents the new car industry, said the internet was a useful tool for consumers researching information about cars, but they would ultimately still use a dealer to buy one.

"It's been used more as information providing than actual decision," chief executive Perry Kerr said.

- nzpa