Q: Why Aren't You Buying New Cars? A: There's Nothing Wrong With The Old Ones

There have been a lot of theories about why consumers abruptly stopped buying cars — and not just American cars but all kinds of cars. Fingers have been pointed at poor fuel economy, lack of available financing, and if Hyundai is to be believed — concern about losing your job. But a new survey found that the most popular reason for not buying a new car — is that there’s nothing wrong with the old one.

A Consumer Reports study says that the top three reasons people are delaying the purchase of a new car are:

1) The existing vehicle is still in good shape (39 percent)

2) Vehicles have become too expensive (30 percent)

3) General concern for the weak economy (30 percent)

Only 11% said they were concerned about losing their job, and 13% said they couldn’t get financing. Among households making over $50,000 a year, financing was even less of an issue — only 8% cited it as the reason they were delaying a purchase.

The survey also found that about half of the country says they’re going to delay a new car purchase. So, why aren’t you buying a new car? Does this survey match your own experience? Do you even buy “new” cars?

Consumer Reports: Nearly Half of Americans Have Delayed Purchasing a New Car [Consumer Reports]

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