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As others have said, nowadays people can use the internet to do research.
I'd been planning to buy a new truck sometime this year, originally starting about now. The end of January my then current truck had a major malfunction early one very cold morning.
By 10 AM I was on my way to the dealer, by Noon I was on my way home with a new F150.
How did I do that? I'd been watching a couple dealer sites for a couple weeks (I was thinking of moving my time frame up from July/August to April) and knew the exact, down to the color and interior, truck I wanted had come into one of them, had an amazing rebate, and was just sitting there.
Had I waited until now I would likely not have been able to find it. What they offer this time of year, especially with a new design coming, is the absolute base (in white, which I didn't want another of) or the very top of the line.
You can not "walk in and buy" someone who tells you this is either bs-ing you or regrets decision down the road.
Any quick - and successful! - purchase is always supported by previous lengthy research. And test drives. Nowadays, likely a lot of emails and phone calls. Folks simply don't boast about THAT period.
I've never test-driven a car more than once, never done more research beyond an internet search or two and maybe a phone cal to someone who owns that model, frequently purchase the car the same day I see it for the first time, and have never regretted a purchase (although I've regretted financing a couple by the time they were paid off). And the vast majority of my vehicles have been impulse buys where I see a vehicle for sale that looks like a good deal and quickly pull the trigger. I probably haven't actually gone shopping for a vehicle more than a half-dozen times in my life.
All that being said, I do keep my eyes and ears open so I'm aware of the kinds of issues people have with various vehicles and mentally catalog that information for future reference. It saves me the time and trouble of researching these things after I've seen something I like.
You can not "walk in and buy" someone who tells you this is either bs-ing you or regrets decision down the road.
Any quick - and successful! - purchase is always supported by previous lengthy research. And test drives. Nowadays, likely a lot of emails and phone calls. Folks simply don't boast about THAT period.
The one and only quick purchase I made was the only one I ever regretted. I needed a beater to drive, and that's what I got. It was a '76 diesel Mercedes. As you might imagine, it needed work that far exceeded the value of the car. That just comes with the territory; unless it is a time capsule car, owning a car that old means ignoring unimportant problems and working on it yourself to save money. I took it to mechanics afterwards and they told me that no way would they have paid more than $1,000 for it, that it probably had not been driven for many years, and not to expect it to be on the road for long. Sure enough, it was toast within a month and not worth repairing. Lesson learned.
I bought a new car after that. I shopped around and didn't really see anything I liked, until I was offered a great deal on a "stripper" base Fusion with no options and a manual transmission. That was an OK car, but a little rough around the edges. The harsh ride gave me back pain and when my commute pattern changed, adding 4 lengthy waits through metering lights daily to cramp up my left calf, I sold it.
Before I did, though, I hunted around for a used Five Hundred. After a couple days I found one that looked promising. It was off a commercial lease, had 2 owners and had been sitting on the lot a while, but it had the Getrag 6-speed and only 42,000 miles. Perhaps sensing that I needed to warm up to the car, they gave it to me for the night so I could take a drive up the peninsula. Everything seemed to be in order, so I came back with it the next day, edged an extra $1,000 off of their discounted price (because there is always inflated margin on used cars) and closed the deal. That was 4 years ago. Now I think I finally have something I can stand to drive for 200K+ miles.
I think most impulsive buys are not good buys. The dealer/seller had the upper hand.
Depenmds what you're shopping for. The kind of person who is easily reeled in by a sporty sporty little red job sitting on the front row of the dealer's lot is probably going to overpay every time.
But the guy who notices a car for sale that's nicer than the house it's parked in front of might assume that the seller is hard up for cash and wind up with a good deal.
I can say with 100% honesty that the best deals I've made were when I wasn't in the market for a car until I saw the one I wound up buying. I'm not saying this is necessarily common, just that it's my personal experience.
You can arm yourself with all the knowledge, information, consumer reviews, pros and cons, and videos from multiple sources before even leaving your house. Plus, knowing what you want already or having a pretty good idea goes a long way. A knowledgeable consumer can often know more about the car than the person who is trying to sell them the car. So, it can be done.
Perhaps what the OP means is "paralysis by analysis". No car is a perfect fit. All involve compromises… features, price, reliability, performance, reputation. The fast and luxurious car is less reliable and more costly to maintain. The redoubtable stalwart is unattractive and boring to drive. The nimble car with telepathic handling is sorely lacking in low-end torque. The hot number depreciates quickly and is expensive to insure. The one with the best gas mileage has a lousy interior. I'd like the big engine, but it's only available with an options-package stuffed with bloatware. The basic car is a good deal, but I want a rare options-package that makes it a custom-order, whence the dealer won't deal. I was set on something, but the other day found a magazine article that mercilessly panned the car in question. It never ends!
We suffer from having too many options. If our only options were a Zhiguli or a Moskvitch, well, you pick one and put your name on the waiting-list.
Choosing a car is a bit like online dating; there are always more profiles to examine, so why settle on any of them? Instead, if the only choices were the neighboring farmer's daughter or a camel, pick the farmer's daughter (presumably) and start your life with her. Simple!
I know people who couldn't care less about cars, have been (for example) driving a Camry for 30 years, and just update the model every three years sight unseen. Even color is unimportant - they just want an appliance to get them around.
On the other hand are those of us that do a lot of research, outline exactly what we want, and are willing to wait to get just what we want.
Nothing personal but those two types of people are the same. None are emotional about their car purchases. If you first have to do "research" to find out what car to buy, you are no different than the appliance people. I first fall in love with a car THEN do research, may be. Even then , I am not going to let some CR rating dissuade me. I love the car and I am going to buy it.
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