Here at ChooseMyCar.com, we’ve recently been doing some research into UK driver habits. The results are full of the juicy stuff we like to hear about (how many of you admit to flipping the vs at other drivers), but there was one statistic we found particularly interesting.
The most interesting statistic we found is that more than 70 percent of you don’t trust car sales people! While we may all recognise that there’s a bit of a bad reputation around this subject, nowadays there are so many rules and regulations that it’s a much safer business. What’s particularly shocking to us, is that this mistrust runs so deep, that it’s one of the reasons that more than half of you would choose a personal bank loan over taking out car finance.
Yep, our stats reveal that 52 percent of British drivers would rather take a bank loan than rely on car finance, even though it might leave them worse off. That’s despite the fact that more than half of drivers admitted to needing finance, due to insufficient funds to buy a vehicle outright.
This is still the case even though some banks offer personal loans that are harder to secure, less favourable with their rates, and less flexible with their deals.
Male drivers were more likely to want to take out loans over finance, with 56 percent of men agreeing this would be their approach, and just 47 percent of women. The decision was also affected by age, with:
- 58% of 18-34 year olds preferring loans over finance
- 51% of 35-54 year olds preferring loans over finance
- 48% of 55s and over preferring the loan option
The statistics delved deeper into the reasoning behind this feeling, and found that:
- 54% of UK drivers find car finance terms and acronyms confusing (such as HP, APR, and PCP)
- The split of the sexes was significant, with 59% of women and 50% of men saying car finance terms confused them
- The older demographic were less affected, with 67% of 18-34 year olds, 55% of 35-54 year olds, but just 44% of 55s and over being confused by terms
- A whopping 70% don’t trust car salesmen
- This was consistent across both gender and age groups
Our founder, Nick Zapolski, thinks it’s time that car sales people lost their bad rep.
“I think we’re all aware of the reputation that car dealers have sometimes, but it’s not really very fair nowadays. There is a lot of legislation and regulation now that makes car finance the best choice in many cases.
“We’d advise people to check out their options, seek advice, and ask as many questions as they like to make sure they are getting the best deal available to them, from a trusted provider. By all means check out your personal loan options, but it’s a great shame if people are missing out on perfect options for them due to outdated beliefs or confusion.”
And to help you further, we’ve put together some useful guides on confusing acronyms and other detailed info.
