“I want my car to look good” says 67% of latest survey … but only 13 per cent take the time to look under their car’s bonnet, at their engine.

How stupid we Easter bonnet bearing guys and dolls sound in a national study carried out by oil company Castrol.

Apparently four million British motorists are so daft they don’t even know how to open their bonnet as admitted by 17 per cent of the survey sample who are women drivers.

Here’s the foxy facts…

Number of female motorists unable to open car bonnet – 17 per cent

Number of drivers who have never had car serviced – 2.6m (I doubt Castrol asked them all – this could be a slight exaggeration much like the ‘daft 4m British motorists’ statistic..)

Number of drivers more concerned about their car’s looks than how it works – 67 per cent

Only one in eight claimed able to check car tyres, top-up their water and oil or change bulbs themselves. And one in seven of us admit putting our own lives and that of other road users at risk by getting behind the wheel knowing our headlights, brakes or indicators don’t work properly. Now that is really stupid, I agree.

And whilst it’s tempting to write what are men, breakdown cover and garage car checks for, none of this really matters unless the industry wants to do something about it . By being a lot more creative in their marketing to us women perhaps because we have much more important things to concern ourselves with such as families, homes and careers and few of us read motoring pages anyway be this in local newspapers or male oriented motoring magazines.

But if you are reading this ladies, just remember one fact -  a well maintained car is cheaper, safer and more reliable to run and if you’re a member of FOXY Lady Drivers Club we do at least remind you to go for a free car fitness check every so often c/o a FOXY Choice approved, female friendly garage near you. Which is when they’d check your oil, water, tyres and lights of course and spot anything that needs major attention before we’d spot it.

FOXY Steph

One of the great things about what we do is to identify and promote the best and female friendly UK garages based on their commitment to quality and ahead of other local businesses in their area. So we keep our eyes open for female friendly business news and encourage this feedback, especially when it’s to do with business or trade awards.

Female friendly garage TJ Hall & Son in Sandford-on-Thames, Oxford, is one with a special award to celebrate in 2009 – Robert Hall has won leading trade publication CAT Magazine’s ‘Technician of the Year’ Award, sponsored by Castrol. TJ Hall is a friendly and family run business who are clearly proud of providing a warm welcome for women drivers and their garage services include MOTs, car servicing and vehicle repairs for all cars, including classics and older ‘cherished’ vehicles.

The oil companies are good at spotting and working with the best garages. I have posted about this recently – US company Forte Oils (nothing to do with the hotels) runs the Good Garage scheme, Shell co-ran the recent Aftermarket Better Garages competition and Castrol has partnered with CAT to promote their Technician of the Year Awards. They all like to be associated with the best businesses in an industry with a rip-off reputation, especially when it’s for women.

Either way, remembering that this is an industry where garages don’t have to be licensed or mechanics qualified, those that can demonstrate another tier of excellence, such as TJ Hall & Son, clearly rise above others who know they can’t rise to these standards.

It’s also good to note that TJ Hall have signed the FOXY Promise at the FOXY Choice website (so they can be trusted not to overcharge or patronise women), include a local car collection and delivery service and operate a breakdown recovery service too, should any foxy lady driver in Oxford need to call on a female friendly emergency service if stranded in future. This gives the business a further listing at the new www.femalefriendlyapproved.com website by the way.

These are all signs of quality so we advise women drivers in the Oxford area to choose a local garage with recent and prestigious awards for their next car servicing MOT or repairs, preferably one signed up to the FOXY scheme of course. Well done Robert.

FOXY Steph

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