Survey looks at car buying

While the sales of new cars are substantially up on last year, albeit from a shockingly low base, a new AA Ireland survey suggests caution still roams the showrooms.

The research among more than 7,000 motorists indicates that more than two-thirds of respondents 'are not likely' to buy a new car in the near future. A quarter of those questioned won't be buying until beyond 2012, and just 16 percent plan to change their cars this year, with 6 percent planning for a new car as opposed to used.

Just over half of respondents surveyed said they plan to buy a secondhand car and one in ten will do so in 2010. Some 11 percent say they'll buy an electric car at some stage beyond 2010.