Auto sales in the U.S. for September came in at their highest monthly level since 2005 according to Autodata, displaying strength in a major consumer category. Yet according to new survey, the rise in popularity of ride-sharing app Uber is already having a significant impact on customer attitudes towards the purchase of new cars. The survey, conducted by research-based consulting firm Magid Advisors and shared exclusively with CNBC, found that among 2,400 respondents, Uber usage has grown from 4 percent in 2014 to 17 percent in 2015. The car sharing service was the third most commonly used "new company" on the survey's list — beating out businesses like Shazam, Fitbit, Square, Airbnb and Periscope by a wide margin. Read MoreUber CEO says he's sacrificing profits for this

The real potential challenge to auto sales came from the survey's second question, which asked whether Uber users would reconsider the purchase of a car specifically because they use Uber. According to the survey, 22 percent of Uber users aged 18 to 64, who have used the service in the past 6 months, said they were delaying or holding off buying a new car for that very reason.

'Like a mack truck rolling down the street'