Lawyers never ask questions without knowing the answers. We as journalists subscribe to the opposite view, but conducting a reader ­survey falls in between. With this one, we sought to tease out some numbers regarding car buying. Here?s one: 80 percent of respondents were ?very satisfied? or ?extremely satisfied? with their dealership experience. If that contradicts conventional wisdom, it does explain why 68 percent of respondents would not buy or lease a vehicle without visiting a dealership and 84 percent would not buy or lease without a test drive. Indeed, if the bricks-and-mortar dealership system is going to be overthrown, our survey indicates that Silicon Valley might ally with car enthusiasts. While only 34 percent of non-enthusiasts said they would purchase a car over the internet, 54 percent of enthusiasts would be inclined to do so. We?ve highlighted more of these ?significant statistical differences? (as our research department calls them) between enthusiasts and non-enthusiasts in the accompanying graphics.
Fair Deal"

Buying a new car usually means trading in an old one. When asked if they were satisfied with the dealer?s offer, 81 percent of enthusiasts said ?Yes? compared with only 74 percent of non-enthusiasts. Only 9 percent of enthusiasts were unsure, while 19 percent of non-enthusiasts said they didn?t know if the price was fair.

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