Best car buying websites revealed

The UK's top car buying websites have been detailed in a new report from the Auto Retail Network, which ranks car retail websites in terms of customer usability.

The Website Report 2013 looks at the websites of franchised dealers, independent used car dealers and car manufacturer sites, and ranks them based on criteria endorsed by experts at Google, Auto Trader, autotorq and MotoNovo Finance.

Motorparks topped the list of franchised dealer websites, thanks to strong performance on mobile devices as well as its consumer focus and engaging design. Pentagon came in at close second, thanks to good finance options.

The highest-scoring manufacturer website was Volkswagen, which was found to be easy to use and had extra features over rival sites. Abarth didn't fare too well in the report, with a broken configurator meaning it came in last place.

Fords of Winsford picked up the prize for the best used car dealer site, with a useful 48-hour ‘reserve a car’ function and online part-ex valuation service.

For franchised dealers, the criteria for judging included the ability to book a service or test drive, a special offers page, social media presence, and a live finance quote. For used car dealer sites, the ability to provide a part-ex valuation was key, along with the speed at which an enquiry was responded to. Finally the manufacturer websites needed to feature a good configuration, the ability to browse features and specs, and a brochure request option.

All of the websites were also tested for usability on mobile phones and tablets. One panel member said: “If I want to visit Amazon or eBay I expect to be able to do everything that I can do on desktop on mobile. Why should auto retail consider itself any different?”