Interactions at the dealership are a pain point with three-quarters of Canadian car purchasers stating that they would prefer to spend less time visiting dealerships.

As dealerships continue to face inventory shortages, the traditionally-treacherous process of purchasing a vehicle is becoming even more challenging. A recent survey by Clutch found that 84 percent of car purchasers wish the process of shopping for a car was easier, with 76 percent stating they would prefer to spend less time visiting dealerships to find the right car and 71 percent agreeing that they would prefer not to negotiate with commissioned salespeople.

“It’s not surprising that Canadians have grown tired of the dated car-buying experience where they’re required to spend hours of their valuable spare time travelling between dealerships, haggling with salespeople or combing through the classifieds,” says Dan Park, CEO of Clutch. “A car is the second largest purchase that most people will make in their lifetime, yet so many Canadians dislike the car purchasing experience.”

The survey conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Clutch revealed that:

• More than half (55 percent) of those who purchased a vehicle from a dealership in the past 2 years cite a sense that they needed more information
• 43 percent of Canadian car buyers outright state that they do not enjoy the process of shopping for or purchasing a vehicle from a dealership, this is especially true in the prairies (59 percent Saskatchewan/Manitoba)
• 21 percent of car buyers have felt taken advantage of
• 27 percent of Canadian car buyers say they do not trust salespeople to give them all the relevant details about a car and offer a fair price

A lack of trust in dealers and dealerships appears to be a driving cause of the difficult car-buying experience. The majority of car shoppers indicate that when it comes to levels of trust in used car dealers to provide all relevant details about a car and offer a fair price, 83 percent either do not trust or only somewhat trust the sales person.

When it comes to effective solutions to improve the car-buying process, more than half of Canadian car purchasers (58 percent) cite pricing transparency, followed by 38 percent who want the option to test drive the car for multiple days, 37 percent who want to skip the interactions with commission-based salespeople, and 32 percent who desire more online options to skip the dealership altogether. Only 12 percent of recent car purchasers state that nothing needs to be changed, that the current dealership experience makes sense.

Read more about the results here.