Car dealers: the eleven searches before one visit
The vehicle and the dealer are two separate decisions. The car is chosen on portals and specifications, while the dealer is chosen on the same six sources everybody else is compared on, and 68 percent of consumers will only use a business at four stars or better. Winning the second decision is what a dealer can actually influence.
Two decisions, not one
A buyer spends weeks on the vehicle: model, engine, mileage, price bracket. That research happens on portals and comparison pages, and a dealer has limited influence on it beyond the listing itself.
Then a second decision starts, and it is the one dealers underestimate: which seller. Two identical cars at a similar price are separated by whether the seller looks trustworthy, and that judgement runs on the same material as any other local business.
The thresholds are the published ones. 68 percent of consumers will only use a business with four or more stars and 31 percent require 4.5. A dealer below the line is filtered out before the car is even compared.
And the checking spreads. Consumers consult an average of six sources, which for a purchase of this size is if anything an underestimate.
What a dealer can influence
Response speed. 19 percent of consumers expect a response the same day in general, and a vehicle enquiry has a shorter life than that, because the same car exists at three other dealers.
Review recency. 74 percent look for reviews from the last three months, and a trade with weekly transactions can hold 9 in the window at 3 a month simply by asking at handover. Few trades are better placed and few do it.
Consistency. Name, address, telephone and hours across six sources is 24 values, and a dealer with a second site or a changed sales line is the classic case where two disagree. The disagreement is read as carelessness in a trade where carelessness is the thing buyers fear.
| Decision | Where it happens | What decides |
|---|---|---|
| Which vehicle | Portals, comparison pages | Specification and price |
| Which dealer | Reviews, profile, six sources | Rating, recency, consistency |
| Whether to enquire | Both together | Whether the seller looks credible |
| Whether to buy | In person | The work you already do |
What to do with the portal listing
Treat it as the vehicle decision and your own profile as the dealer decision. Both need to be right, and only one of them is under your control after the listing goes live.
Then make the handover the moment you ask for the review. It is the point of maximum goodwill in the entire transaction, and it is the only reliable source of the recency the next buyer is looking for.
One card at the desk with the profile address on it is enough. The buyer who has just collected a car will do it; the buyer emailed three weeks later usually will not.
Questions and answers
Is the portal listing enough?
How fast must I answer a vehicle enquiry?
How many reviews can a dealer collect?
What does a rating below four cost?
Sources
- BrightLocal, Local Consumer Review Survey 2026 Rating thresholds, recency and response expectations
- Google Business Profile Help, Choose business categories How the category decides which questions the dealer is a candidate for
