10% of motorists have or would be willing to buy a car online without seeing it first, and 7% would be prepared to put down a deposit if the car was through a reputable dealer, those are the findings of a recent survey by used cars for sale website, NFDA Trusted Dealers.

Given this apparent direction of travel for car buyers, Trusted Dealers have added a facility for a ‘buy online’ button on dealer cars for sale listings and is encouraging dealers to add online deposit and transaction facilities to their own websites.

Talking about the initiative, Neil Addley, Managing Director of Trusted Dealers, said, “Many of our members already have great websites, but as more consumers become comfortable with buying higher ticket items online, dealers need to ensure that their sites are not just informative and engaging, with reviews clearly displayed, but also allow customers to take the purchase as far as they want.

“The results highlight that consumers recognise the security of buying through a franchised dealer, with almost half of those surveyed saying they trust dealers most when buying a used car. To enable buyers to complete purchases on the Trusted Dealers site, we’ve introduced our new ‘buy online’ feature which takes the consumer directly to the transaction facility on a dealer website.

“At Trusted Dealers, we guarantee consumers peace of mind by offering 10 Points of Difference, with every vehicle undertaking meticulous pre-delivery inspections. These safeguards ensure that our customers are protected when purchasing online.”