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Dealers face losing business if they fail to respond rapidly to online aftersales enquiries.
A survey of 2,000 consumers found that a quarter (24%) would only be willing to wait for up to two hours for an answer before they took their business elsewhere.
A further 18% said they would wait between two and four hours. Only 16% said they would be willing to wait more than 24 hours, according to the GForces survey.
Men are less patient than women with 28% of men saying they would only wait up to two hours, compared to 20% of women.
In terms of age of respondent, least patient are those over 55 (30% only willing to wait up to two hours), most patient are those under 24 years (13%).
The results are published in the second stage in a series of GForces aftersales surveys carried out by independent specialist research organisation, OnePoll.
The survey examines car owners’ behaviours and preferences when it comes to researching and transacting vehicle service and maintenance work.
“Expectations are extremely high for rapid response rates to online enquiries, and with so much competition in the aftersales sector, motor retailers clearly can’t afford to keep their customers and prospects waiting,” said Tim Smith, group strategy director at GForces.
The survey also reveals the factors influencing motorists’ choice of aftersales outlet. Price proved to be the most important factor, with a third of respondents identifying it as the biggest single issue governing their choice of outlet to carry out service and MOT work on their car.