A study was recently done by J.D Power on the factors influencing car buying decision. The study was conducted from more than 24,000 US buyers of 2011 who made their purchase in 2011. Although the study was not done in Singapore, there are some interesting points that local consumer and distributors can take note.

The study found that word-of-mouth is typically a critical factor in the choice a car buyer makes, yet conventional wisdom about which brands have the best quality may be sorely out of date. The study found that 40 percent of buyers said they steered clear of one brand or another because of what they had heard about quality, rather than actually checking for the latest data.