Clients asked us to do for used-vehicle buyers what NVES has done for new-vehicle buyers for more than three decades. UVES is the answer: a syndicated, repeatable study built on the same ValueCentered method.
Why a separate study
- Used-vehicle buyers are different from new-vehicle buyers in many ways, from how they shop to what they are trying to get from the purchase.
- The used market in the US is more than twice the size of the new market. About 37 million used vehicles changed hands in 2024, against roughly 16 million new ones.
- A vehicle's life does not end with its first owner. Understanding the complete ownership experience, from shopping and buying through servicing and eventually letting the vehicle go, means asking second and third owners as well.
What it covers
UVES starts with the NVES questionnaire and tailors it to the used-vehicle owner.
- What triggered the purchase
- Shopping history
- New versus used consideration
- Other vehicles considered
- Purchase reasons
- Product attribute ratings
- Problems with the vehicle
- Overall emotional response
- What the vehicle delivers emotionally
- Personal viewpoints and attitudes
- Demographics
- Other vehicles in the household
- The vehicle that was replaced
- Owners' own words about the vehicle
Read it against NVES
Because the two studies share an instrument, the people who buy your vehicle new and the people who buy it used can be read side by side: what each group was after, what each one got, and where the two experiences part company. The used side also shows what those buyers were driving before and what moved them, which is where conquest opportunities turn up.