Lack of transparency in the online retail experience perpetuates the negative perception of the used car industry.

According to a recent Auto Trader Market Report, only 7% of UK consumers trust used car dealerships.

The report reveals that a lack of transparency within the online research process may be playing an integral role in perpetuating negative perceptions that consumers already have about the used car industry.

76% of car buyers claim that transparency on price is the most important factor in the car buying process, while 20% claimed to have found vague, hard to find or misleading information recently in the car buying process. Of this group, 42% claimed it made the process more stressful and 41% said it took them longer than they would have liked to purchase their next car.

Lack of transparency also had a more drastic effect on some car buying behaviours, with 38% deciding to search for another dealership or even purchase from someone else and 36% claiming they delayed or were put off buying a car all together.