Report: Americans’ Top Car Buying Regrets

Buying a new car is no small feat. While some people are happy to drive anything within their price range, others spend hours upon hours researching, shopping around, and test driving to make sure they are satisfied with the car they decide to buy. Despite all of this time and effort, many Americans are left with car buying regrets.

As Lemon Law Experts, we know the importance of researching a vehicle before you buy it, but even without unforeseen repairs we can still regret our choice. That’s why we set out to learn about Americans’ regrets.

To do this, we surveyed people who purchased a car within the past 5 years about their experience and asked a variety of questions including what are their top regrets, what they prioritized at the time of their purchase, what do they wish they prioritized, unexpected costs that came with their purchase, and more. Read on to learn more about our findings.

Key Takeaways

• 61% of Americans who purchased a car within the last 5 years have regrets.
• Missing features and paying too much are the most common car buying regrets among Americans.
• The average American with car buying regrets overspent about $4,700.
• 1 in 4 people didn’t negotiate at all when buying their most recent car.
• More than a third of Americans felt pressured when buying their most recent car.
• Nearly 1 in 2 Americans with car buying regrets started feeling regret within the first 3 months following their purchase.
• Nearly 1 in 4 Americans have considered selling or trading their car sooner than planned due to regret.

The Biggest Post-Purchase Complaints From Drivers

According to Kelley Blue Book, the average car buyer paid $49,191 in January this year. While used cars remain a less expensive option, most cars are still going to set you back several thousand dollars.

When spending this much money on anything in life, we want to feel satisfied with our purchase. Unfortunately, we found that 61% of Americans who purchased a car within the last 5 years have regrets.

To gain more insight into this buyers’ remorse, we asked respondents what aspects of their vehicle they had regrets about.

Leading the way, 1 in 3 people report regrets over their car missing desired features. From bluetooth connectivity to a sunroof, many features may not be top of mind when shopping, but they surface after the paperwork is signed, leaving Americans feeling a bit of regret.

Next up on the list is paying too much, which 28% of people say they did. Overall, we found that 1 in 4 Americans say they didn’t negotiate at all when buying their most recent car.

While some dealerships, like CarMax, have set prices, others leave room for negotiation. When asking respondents with regrets if they overspent, we found nearly a third say they spent $3,000 to $4,999 more than they should have.

Some people may find that cars with a perfectly uneventful test drive end up having issues after the car is driven off the lot.

And that brings us to our third most common regret as 1 in 4 Americans say their maintenance or repair costs were higher than expected, causing them to regret their purchase.

Rounding out the top five most common regrets are monthly payments that are too high (21%) and buying used instead of new (15%). which claim fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Overall, we found that nearly 1 in 2 Americans with car buying regrets started feeling remorse within the first three months of owning their car.

Similarly, nearly 1 in 4 people say they have considered selling or trading their car sooner than planned due to regret.

The Most Important Aspects to Americans When Buying Their Car

After learning about some of the regrets Americans have, we wanted to travel back to when they purchased their car to gain insight into what they viewed as most important when shopping.

Topping the list as the most common aspect prioritized among car buyers was the price as 75% of people said it was a top concern.

Up next on the list of priorities is fuel efficiency as nearly 2 in 5 people reported it was an important aspect when shopping.

Coming in third place is brand reputation as 38% of Americans look to the company for trust signals related to safety, reliability, and more.

While many aspects go into selecting a car, the looks of a vehicle were just as important for a third of car buyers.

Wrapping up the top five for priorities is availability (28%). Overall, we discovered that more than a third of Americans felt pressured when buying their most recent car, with 30% reporting the pressure came from needing a car as soon as possible.

When asking respondents about the aspects of a car they wish they would have prioritized, we found price and fuel efficiency remain the top two priorities.

Technology features, however, saw a jump from seventh place to third when comparing original priorities to the ones car buyers wish they would’ve prioritized, with 1 in 4 people reporting it.

When Regret Goes Beyond Inconvenience

For many Americans, regret doesn’t begin the moment they sign the paperwork or even when they drive off the lot. In most cases, it begins when the first payment is due or when you realize your new car doesn’t have a specific feature you like.

In cases of regret caused by repeat vehicle repairs, however, the team at the Lemon Law Experts is here to help.

Whether you’ve been driving your car for a while or have found yourself questioning the quality of a recent purchase, we can help you get the settlement you deserve.

Get started today by learning more about lemon law and how our team can help you file a claim.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn about Americans’ car buying regrets. To do this, we surveyed people who have purchased a car within the past five years and asked various questions about the car they purchased, if they have any regrets, when they started feeling regrets, what aspects they prioritized when shopping, what they wish they would’ve prioritized instead, and more.