New Car Purchase
Consumer Problem-solving activity: New car purchase
Problem Recognition
Problem recognition is comparing a person’s ideal situation against actual. Recently, my family has been considering whether our current car is meeting the needs of our family of 5. The kids are getting older and are involved in sports and music that require more transportation space for sports gear, musical instruments and the need for more “elbow” space. We would like to go on road trips for family vacations and visit family members who live hours away. Having an extra vehicle will certainly make it easier for both parents to take the kids to their activities especially when drop off and pick up time is the same for different kids. Keeping the current vehicle and purchasing a minivan will meet the family needs in different capacities.
Information Search
In recognizing this problem, I spoke with friends and relatives who already own a minivan. Some parents who I have met through sport teams have expressed what a great difference a minivan has made in their family lifestyle and comfort. They expressed that the space, safety and convenience in having a minivan is certainly worth it for any family. All expressed that “stow ‘n go” in their minivan has been of great convenience and offered to even demonstrate the features to my wife and I. My very close friend in Montreal uses his Dodge Grand Caravan for the same reason I would need a minivan and is thrilled that his family of six can go on long trips with ease.
The websites for Dodge, Toyota and Honda have given much insight on the features and prices of their vehicles. I searched online for the safety rating for all three make of vehicles (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings) and they were rated as the top 3 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in North America. Visiting the different dealerships and speaking with sales personnel has been very informative and also gives a sense of what customer service to expect in the
Problem Recognition
Problem recognition is comparing a person’s ideal situation against actual. Recently, my family has been considering whether our current car is meeting the needs of our family of 5. The kids are getting older and are involved in sports and music that require more transportation space for sports gear, musical instruments and the need for more “elbow” space. We would like to go on road trips for family vacations and visit family members who live hours away. Having an extra vehicle will certainly make it easier for both parents to take the kids to their activities especially when drop off and pick up time is the same for different kids. Keeping the current vehicle and purchasing a minivan will meet the family needs in different capacities.
Information Search
In recognizing this problem, I spoke with friends and relatives who already own a minivan. Some parents who I have met through sport teams have expressed what a great difference a minivan has made in their family lifestyle and comfort. They expressed that the space, safety and convenience in having a minivan is certainly worth it for any family. All expressed that “stow ‘n go” in their minivan has been of great convenience and offered to even demonstrate the features to my wife and I. My very close friend in Montreal uses his Dodge Grand Caravan for the same reason I would need a minivan and is thrilled that his family of six can go on long trips with ease.
The websites for Dodge, Toyota and Honda have given much insight on the features and prices of their vehicles. I searched online for the safety rating for all three make of vehicles (http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings) and they were rated as the top 3 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in North America. Visiting the different dealerships and speaking with sales personnel has been very informative and also gives a sense of what customer service to expect in the