“THE BUYER STUDY: LESSONS FROM IN-DEPTH CONSUMER

INTERVIEWS AND RELATED RESEARCH”

A Project submitted to
ASHVA MOTORS, Perambalur.

INTRODUCTION:
In this report, we describe the results of an in-depth interview study of recent Ashva Hyundai

buyers. The objective of the study was to examine the car-buying process through detailed

consumer interviews about participants’ experiences in purchasing and financing a vehicle

through a dealer, as well as the participants’ perceptions of different stages of the process.

As part of the study, we also examined the participants’ purchase and financing documents,

which provided additional information and helped assess consumers’ understanding of the

details of the transaction. All participants purchased a new or used car within six months

prior to the interview and obtained financing from the dealer. Some of the participants traded

in used vehicles as part of the transaction.

The study is qualitative and exploratory, with a sample of 38 in-depth interviews and

associated purchase and financing documents. Because this is a qualitative study of a small,

non-representative sample of consumers, the data generated are not useful for forming

quantitative or generalizable conclusions. Consumer understanding of the automobile buying

process is important because cars are expensive and often involve financing commitments

that last for many years. However, because automobiles are purchased infrequently and the

buying process can be complex and opaque, consumers may have a poor understanding of the
process. There is also asymmetric information, in that the dealer knows much more about the

process and its own costs than does the consumer. There are several reasons for this

complexity and opaqueness. First, deals are highly customized. Even if consumers know the

model and make of car they want before going to the dealer, they might not know what

additional product features (e.g., sun roof, leather seats) or contract add-ons (e.g., extended

warranties, GAP insurance) will be offered or the details of the available financing until these

options are presented to them on the spot. Second, consumers and sellers typically negotiate

the price of a car. As a result, advertised prices may not reflect the price a consumer actually

pays. Consumers may vary in their understanding of their ability to negotiate different

components of the deal, or in how to negotiate effectively. Third, there are several stages in

an automobile transaction, which may overlap. The buyer typically does not learn the prices

of the contract add-ons before negotiating the price of the car. In addition, if the buyer has not

researched financing prior to purchasing the car, he or she might not know what financial

terms to expect in this phase of the transaction. In this report, we describe what we learned

from the participants’ experiences researching and buying a car, and financing it through the

dealer. Our analysis of the interviews suggests several areas where consumers did not

understand the process. The following lessons from the study provide a foundation for

development of consumer education or for further research into potential modifications of the

buying process.

• Most participants engaged in some search for the car and dealer. The amount and type of

research that participants performed regarding the car and the dealer varied, but the

interviews suggest that some participants did not collect the information that is most useful in

negotiating the price or the financing.

monthly payment, and some dealers focused discussion on this term as well.

• Most participants did not attempt to or did not know that they could negotiate terms of the

transaction other than the price of the car and the trade-in, and some did not negotiate at all.

• The interviews identify sales of contract add-ons, such as GAP insurance or extended

warranties, as a portion of the car buying process that consumers often did not understand.

• While some participants understood their transactions, many participants did not know or

understand all of the details of their transaction, as revealed in the paperwork review

component of the interviews. The results suggest the potential for improving consumer

understanding through consumer education and better disclosures, especially for contract

add-ons. However, any recommendations to change or add to the current disclosures would

need to consider the effect on the duration of the transaction or the already large amount of

paperwork to review. We begin with a brief section that explains the contribution of this

study in the existing literature. In section three, we describe the interview methodology. In

the sections that follow, we present a set of qualitative observations to summarize the

participant experiences reported in the interviews, with some discussion of how these relate

to other research. We examine how the participants searched for their vehicles, dealers, and

auto financing. We summarize the participants’ descriptions of buying process at the

dealerships, including car price negotiations, financing, contract add-ons, and document

review and signing. In the final section, we conclude with implications for consumer

education and the buying process.

OBJECTIVES:

This study has the following objectives:

1. To study the post-purchase behavior of consumers towards HYUNDAI Cars.

3. To study the role played by different persons for buying the Hyundai Car.

4. To study the impact of age, occupation & income for buying the Hyundai Car.

5. To study purchasing pattern of the business man & service class man.

QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN AND PRE-TESTING:

In developing the questionnaire, we created a list of topics to be covered during the

interviews. The major topics covered were:

- the consumer’s experience in shopping for and choosing an automobile;

- the process of agreeing to a price for the automobile;

- the process of trading in the consumer’s old automobile, if applicable;

- the consumer’s experience in obtaining financing;

- additional products or services the dealer may have offered;

- contacts between the consumer and the dealer after the purchase; and

- the consumer’s overall perception of the purchase experience. The interviews concluded

with a review of the consumer’s documentation. The walkthrough of the consumer’s

documents included:

- the consumer’s overall understanding of the documents;

- a review of the available documents; - a review of the terms of the deal;

- the consumer’s views of the documents and terms;

1. Experience user less prefer Hyundai cars.

2. People want less price cars.

3. Hyundai makes family cars.

4. Youth generation prefers Hyundai cars.

5. Hyundai cars are preferred for comfort & looks.

6. Hyundai cars are mainly sold in urban areas.

7. Hyundai cars are promoted by dealers more.

8. Hyundai cars are not fuel efficient.

9. Prices are not satisfactory.

10. People are not satisfied with the performance like hare gear shifting, noise AC.

11. Customers are very much aware about the product and brands.

12. Maruti is the major competitor of HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LIMITED.

SUGGESTIONS:

After analyzing the respondents view we found that no doubt the Ashva Hyundai has a very

good image in market. The have positioned the product in the mind of the customers. People

buy their vehicle due to comfort, style, performance. But some customers are not satisfied

due to some reasons. I have some suggestions for the company.

1. They should go for enlargement of service station chins Were ever the customer

goes with his he should feel some one is there to care his car.

2. Problems should be sorted out quickly so that the customer may not feel

inconvenient.
3. After sale of the product the company should take feedback i.e. their vehicle is

performing well or not. It will help in maintaining good customer relations.

4. Sales executives should be trained & they should have the knowledge about the

specification & parts of the vehicle.

5. HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LIMITED should concentrate on mileage of the vehicle

because the price of fuel are very high..

6. HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LIMITED should launch other models than Santro and

Getz to attract the middle class family as Maruti has 5 small cars in market.

7. HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LIMITED should establish a large services network.

8. They should show the feature in the ads rather than using celebrities.

9. HYUNDAI MOTOR INDIA LIMITED should launch low price vehicles like Maruti’s

800, Alto.

CONCLUSION OF THE STUDY:

This study concludes that –

1. Customers are very much aware about the products and brand of the Hyundai Motors

India Limited.

2. Mainly young youth prefers KIA Cars.

3. Hynduai is the major competitor of Maruti.

4. Maruti Cars are fuel efficient.

5. Company can get large market share by pricing down of their cars.

6. Company is preferable among customers due to its best services.