SECURING SAFETY - Auto motives
Published:Sunday | December 26, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Laranzo Dacres • Sunday Gleaner Writer
DO YOU consider buying a car based on how safe it is?
Well, according to a few car dealers, most car shoppers don't.
Tariq Malik, owner of the Old Hope Road-based Carland, said customers are not primarily concerned about the safety features of vehicles as they have become standard in modern-day vehicles.
"Safety is not a buying criterion for customers. It's really not," said Malik.
"The two key safety features customers look for are airbags and ABS braking systems. And, these have become standard in most models, so you generally won't hear people asking about these, if they are informed about the cars they are going for."
"If someone comes into our dealership and wants to buy a BMW, they are not going to ask about how safe it is. They expect it to be. I find that people are more knowledgeable today, especially through the aid of the Internet," Malik told Automotives.
Kirk Crichton, managing director of Crichton Automotive, agrees.
"I can't recall a customer asking about safety features. They are more concerned about how theft-proof it is," he reminisced.
"They appear to be more concerned about the availability of parts, whether they can find the deposit, the matter of gas mileage and the reliability of the vehicle. These are the common criteria of our customers," Crichton said.
He thinks the reason for this trend is due to the high standards that vehicles have to meet internationally. This reality, he said, makes customers feel more secure with the newer model of cars they buy.
This trend seems to also apply further afield.
An MSN article - headlined "25 safest vehicles on the road" and published on MSN.com - looks at the importance of the results of a vehicle's crash test and what it says about the overall safety of that vehicle, but makes the point that persons still overlook them before making a purchase.
The article went on to say some insurance companies factor in the accident records of a particular vehicle when setting premiums.
Let's face it, many drivers think safety means boring. But it is not boring to insurance companies, which base their rates, in part, on the safety of the cars and their occupants, the article continued.
A vehicle's safety rating determines its ability to prevent an accident and how well it performs in a crash. Every car model undergoes rigorous tests before mass production begins.
Kevin Jackson, sales consultant at Toyota Jamaica, said he believes that car safety ratings are important, but each customer places a different level of importance on this.
"When a customer comes in to buy a vehicle, what they look at is the price, resale value, availability of parts, maintenance cost and the fuel economy of that vehicle. Safety doesn't appear to be in the forefront of their minds," Jackson said.
"Toyota has a good reputation. So, I'd say the customers trust the brand, so they don't worry."
A different view
However, David Hasting, senior sales consultant at ATL Motors, has a different view. He says that the safety features of a vehicle are very important to his customers and has helped his company to sell many vehicles.
"Safety is definitely a criterion ... it has to be," Hastings said. "A great deal of technology within vehicles today is built to improve the safety of those vehicles."
"Customers are not just taken in by how a vehicle looks anymore; they are also enquiring about the safety features."
"Our Land Rovers and Range Rovers have very high safety ratings. Two of the most commonly asked questions are: how many airbags does the vehicle have? And, whether the vehicle has ABS brakes."
Hasting said the average person has safety high on their list of buying requirements.
Do you think your safety should be left in the hands of your car dealer, or should you make it your business?