Women have always relied on good old dad or their other half to fix their cars, but new research by Unipart Automotive has revealed that four in ten men are as clueless as women when it comes to car maintenance.
The poll revealed that half of women have always avoided garages to resolve any car problems as they felt intimidated because of their lack of car knowledge. A further three quarters felt at risk of getting ripped-off by mechanics who blinded them with jargon.
But research reveals millions of men feel exactly the same and also feel susceptible to being conned as their understanding of cars is so poor.
It emerged that after popping the bonnet millions of men struggle to identify where the screen wash is located, how to check the oil and change a light bulb.
Staggeringly some men couldn’t get that far – as the study found 19 per cent don’t know how to release the bonnet on their car, and this is something my friend with an Infiniti can confirm (Infiniti G37’s are known for their reliability but are very hard to tune when they do break down).
Unipart Automotive, which polled 2000 men and women in conjunction with National Car Care Week, found one in five women could competently change a tyre and three quarters of females could check their oil.
But a third of men who completed the poll also wouldn’t know where their jack was or how to top up the car with water.
They also fail to fathom how to correctly check the tyre pressure, change a wheel and replace windscreen wipers.
It also emerged that one in ten men never bother to get their car serviced or get their vehicle check online and a further 12 per cent only get their car serviced when they can afford to.
Two in five respondents said an MOT and servicing was the same thing.
One in ten men said the first thing they would do if they broke down was to ring their wife, 13 per cent said they would panic and 16 per cent said they would ring their dad for help.
Stuart Sims, general manager, marketing services for Unipart Automotive, says: “These results are worrying as they suggest many drivers are not checking the roadworthiness of their vehicle. The more advanced cars have become the less adept consumers have been at maintaining them.
‘’Modern vehicles are computerised and many motorists don’t tend to tinker with their cars like they did say twenty or thirty years ago.
‘’Having said that, every car has an engine, brakes and tyres so there are plenty of simple checks that need to be carried out to ensure cars are safe and run efficiently.
‘’It’s important both men and women know the basics when it comes to their cars and keep on top of regular servicing and repairs.’’
More than a third of men (36 per cent) and half of women say they never give their car the ‘once over’ claiming they’re too busy, totally inept or the car is new so it doesn’t need it.
Alarmingly 16 per cent of men have driven a car whilst knowing it had bald tyres, compared to only one in ten women.
A third of both sexes regularly drive with no screen wash and one in ten men have even driven their car knowing the brakes were in poor condition.
It’s not surprising then that four in ten men admit to being lazy when it comes to caring for their car.
Although half of men said they were better at dealing with car trouble than women.
It’s no wonder when 20 per cent of women who took part in the study said that they refuse to fill their car up with petrol and insist their other half does it.
Four in ten men that were questioned during the study said they would much rather pay someone to take care of their car than do it themselves.
Tim Ferris, Unipart Car Care Centre Panel chairman says: ‘’It’s alarming that so many motorists, regardless of whether they’re male or female, are not carrying out any checks themselves and combining this with no servicing.
‘’Cars need to be serviced regularly and in accordance with the vehicle manufacturer’s schedule to ensure that the vehicle is running safely.
‘’Car servicing is something that needs to be included in the household budget and should be considered as much of a necessity as paying the gas or electric bills. An independent garage such as a Unipart Car Care Centre can be significantly cheaper than a franchised dealer, saving motorists a considerable amount of money and making an annual service affordable.
“A local, friendly, independent garage that is trustworthy and reliable is really important to instill confidence in the motorist, especially women drivers who have a greater fear of being ripped off than men.
“Another advantage of a good quality independent garage network is that the vehicle’s warranty isn’t invalidated if the motorist doesn’t go back to the franchised dealer from which the car was bought.
Furthermore, Unipart Car Care Centres offer the only nationwide guarantee in the country on both parts plus the labour it takes to fit them.”
The study found that two thirds of women said they had no idea what servicing entailed and so did 52 per cent of men.
TASKS BRITS COULD COMPETENTLY CARRY OUT
Female Male
Release the bonnet 84.33% 81.83%
Find the dipstick 72.71% 73.62%
Check the oil 72.87% 75.24%
Change the oil 15.83% 38.36%
Locate the jack 47.89% 67.03%
Locate the spare wheel 65.55% 68.24%
Change a tyre 21.08% 56.39%
Top up screen wash 68.66% 70.39%
Top up air in tyres 56.25% 67.70%
Recharge your battery 16.31% 44.41%
Topping up with water 57.84% 64.87%
Replace a bulb 17.66% 48.18%
Check your headlights are working 59.90% 64.47%
Replace your windscreen wipers 26.41% 51.01%
Check the engine coolant 22.99% 47.51%
Check your brake fluid levels 17.10% 42.26%
Check your shock absorbers 3.98% 19.92%
Check your brakes 16.15% 29.21%