When you’re shopping for a new car, whether it’s brand new, nearly new or unflatteringly described as ‘used’ you need to do a lot of homework to get to the perfect shortlist to suit your needs. And this takes time to get right.
A good place to start is the new Which Car Guide 2014/15 – it’s the biggest car reliability and satisfaction survey with more than 49,000 owners revealing their likes and dislikes.
Which? rates cars by road and lab tests adding reliability results and customer satisfaction feedback.
The majority of motorists in this survey were cash buyers, fractionally more bought petrol than diesel cars, 30% bought automatics, only 2% drove hybrids and there was a fairly even split between new and used car models. Sadly no gender based information for us here.
Top Ten Best brands (out of 32)
1. Lexus
2. Honda
3. BMW
4. Toyota
5. Audi
6. Skoda
7. Porsche
8. Mercedes
9. Mazda
10. Volkswagen
Bottom Ten Brands (out of 32)
32. Chrysler
31. Vauxhall
30. Alfa Romeo
29. Fiat
28. Chevrolet
27. Peugeot
=24. Landrover
=24. Mitsubishi
=24. Dacia
23. Renault
Clearly the rest slot in between but it’s worth noting that big brand Ford comes in at 11th whereas similarly familiar brand Vauxhall is languishing nest to bottom. Would Vauxhall do better if this was a business driver survey or do they do badly because their cars have been hammered by business drivers before becoming used cars?
So what does all this tell us? It tells us that too many motorists buy cars that aren’t the best out there. Presumably they think it’s better the devil you know and maybe they stick with a familiar brand rather than trying a new one. My personal experience is that many women don’t enjoy test driving a new car in an unfamiliar area and perhaps get their husband to or stick with the brand/model they know.
Car buying advice for women
Our advice? Always pick the best rated models in terms of reliability, safety and economy. Then ask for a test drive car to be delivered to your home for an overnight test. Then you can try it out on familiar roads. If you don’t ask, you won’t get…
But always factor in a few of your own driving fancies. For example, I find some of the top brands to be a boring drive but having chosen a drive I enjoy, my car hasn’t the visibility I need and I’ll want to put this right the next time…
Car shopping should always be a learning experience about the latest cars and models. Be adventurous and test drive a new car that performs better than your current model.
I’m looking forward to my new car later this year, when I’ve decided what it’s going to be…
FOXY