Involvement with My Fathers Recent Purchase of a Car - Essay Example

The five processes that he went through began with the identification of the need. His previous car was almost ten years old and is already showing signs of tear and beginning to give him the headache and additional cost of repair. Initially, the internal emotional appeal of buying a nice sporty car was on his list. Especially when his friends talk about how this brand performed and how handsome a particular brand looks. But as he spent more time pondering, the emotional appeal loses its weight and his focus is now turned to logical appeals. He began browsing the internet for the specifications of the cars, their performance, fuel consumption, etc. related to cost. The recent increase in gasoline pump prices also made him think about his options seriously.

During the process of logical consideration, external influences played in. He realized that it was not practical to have a sports car and concluded he needed a larger car that could fit the whole family for carpooling, outing, etc. This is the Household Life Cycle factor at play where consumer’s choices reflect what particular life stage the consumer is. In the case of my father, he is a family man and that segment usually prefers big cars, houses, etc. His motivation for buying a new car was practical. It will save him the inconvenience and cost of going to the repair shop which has become more frequent. He also realized that he incurs opportunity costs every time he sends the car for repair.

Culture and values also came into a factor in deciding to buy a new car. Private vehicles are a necessity and public commuting is not in vogue in America. It could be attributed to impracticality also because there are a lot of areas in the US that are not accessible by public transport. Emotional appeals in advertisements may hold sway in my dad’s decision-making process but ultimately, it will be the logical appeal that will prevail because of his stage in the household life cycle where he is a family man, who needs a larger car that performs well and does not cost that much to purchase and maintain.

Finally, the strongest influence in my dad’s decision-making process of what particular car and brand to buy is word of mouth. He did not take the car companies advertising at face value but rather asked about how this particular performs, whether it is reliable, fuel-efficient, and drives well. When his friends and colleagues unanimously endorsed that it was a good buy, that sealed his decision to buy the Hyundai Santa Fe. Read More