454,823 used cars were sold in Ireland during the first six months of 2013 according to the data revealed in the latest Carzone.ie Motoring Report. In line with the current economic environment Irish motorists are holding on to their cars for longer periods of time according to the report, with the average age of a car just over eight years old.

The report is a bi-annual index which tracks trends in both the new and used car markets in Ireland. Data generated in the report has been compiled using the 100 million searches carried out on Carzone.ie during the first six months of the year, vehicle transactions carried out on Cartell.ie<http://www.cartell.ie> and an in-depth survey of over 2,356 car buyers.

German car manufacturers were the most popular, with the Volkswagen Golf topping the list for the most searched for car marque. This was closely followed by the BMW 3 Series, BMW 5 Series and the Audi A4, who ranked in second, third and fourth place respectively.

Unsurprisingly, 84% of searches carried out were for diesel models, indicating the desire for car buyers to further reduce their fuel bills. However, when asked if customers would consider purchasing a hybrid or electric power model, only 2.2% indicated that they'd consider such a car for their next purchase.

Of the 2,300 surveyed, the top two financial concerns for motorists were rising fuel and road tax costs. Interestingly, 42% of respondents had previously used a finance product to buy a current car, with over three quarters (78%) having opted for a loan with full repayments instead of personal contract plan or lease plan options. When asked about their next car purchase, a significant 78% of respondents said they would consider a form of car finance, with 60% of consumers saying they would take out a loan, 19% opting for a lease plan and 13% considering a personal contract plan. Of those surveyed, just 11% had been previously turned down for car finance.

Interestingly, this summer's heat wave in June and July prompted a flurry of searches on Carzone.ie for open-topped cars. The 10th of June was the busiest day for cabriolet searches, with the website recording an increase of 89% compared to the same day the previous week.

Warren Cray, general manager of Carzone.ie commented: "We had an extremely busy first half of the year at Carzone.ie, with over 100 million used car searches on our site between January and July. With over 450,000 used vehicles having changed hands, it is great to see a continued buoyant used car market in Ireland and we are confident the year end results will be just as positive."