More than 200 dealerships responding to a credit union autobuying company's survey said that the 45- to 54-year old group arebuying more luxury vehicles.

The Hauppauge, N.Y.-based GrooveCar Inc. said it canvassed morethan 200 auto dealerships in the metro New York region to determinehow the economy was impacting car buying and leasing.

Those who shop economy tended to be in the 35-44 age bracketover all other ages asked, according to GrooveCar. The 45- to 54 year-olds were the demographic thatstood highest in purchasing vehicles for luxury and technologyfeatures.

Getting all the bells and whistles meant more to those surveyed,along with the brand, price and reliability, the survey showed.Safety and warranty were secondary concerns. The respondents saidbuyers also showed a preference for used rather than newvehicles.

“You could argue that the results found here may be atypical ofthe rest of the country,” said Frank Rinaudo, senior vice presidentat GrooveCar. “We too were surprised since the economy has not leftLong Island or the metro New York area unscathed.”

GrooveCar facilitates the sale, lease, purchase and financingof cars and motorcycles for Long Island credit unions.