Where Have All the Classifieds Gone?

May 25, 2006 |

. . . to the Internet. That's what came over the wire today from J.D. Power and Associates. Their latest study reports that "more than twice as many late-model used-vehicle buyers find the vehicle they purchase through the Internet than both newspaper and magazine classified ads combined." Furthermore, "in the past five years, the percentage of buyers finding their used vehicle through a traditional newspaper or magazine classified ad has been cut in half (from 14% in 2002 to 7% in 2006). During the same period, buyers who found their vehicle through an online classified has doubled (from 8% in 2002 to 16% in 2006) . . . Buyers under the age of 35 are more than four times as likely to be led to the vehicle they purchase by information found online than by print classified ads."

That's not news to our readers, of course. But sometimes we enjoy pointing out the obvious.