British Motorists Would Rather Be Smart Than Sexy (Toplines)

Toplines for a survey examining what motorists look for when buying a car.

Technical details

All figures are expressed in percentage terms based on the total sample (518) unless otherwise stated. Where they do not sum to 100%, this will be either due to computer rounding, a number of not stated answers or a multiple response answer. An asterisk (*) denotes a figure less than half a per cent but greater than zero.

Data are weighted to be representative of national population profile.

Base: 518 principal drivers aged 17 years + (defined as the main driver and vehicle purchase decision maker in the household)

Telephone interviews were conducted in Great Britain between 21 and 23 September 2001

Q1 Which of the following factors are important to you when buying a car?
  Yes No Don't know
  % % %
Safety 96 4 *
Running / servicing costs 86 14 *
Having a good / reliable dealer 83 16 1
It is environmentally friendly 73 26 1
Space 66 33 1
The amount it will depreciate by / lose value 51 48 1
It makes me look good / image 19 81 *
Time to go from 0-60mph 18 82 1

 

Q2 Which of the following worries you most when buying a car?
  %
Am I getting a fair deal? 29
Can I afford it? 21
Have I got enough information to make the right decision? 14
What will it costs me if it goes wrong? 14
What does it cost me on a daily basis? 11
Have I been given independent advice 3
None of these 5
Other 1
Don't Know 2

 

Q3 Do you trust the following organisations to give you credible information on the car market?
  Yes No Don't know NA
  % % % %
Automobile Association 75 18 6 1
What Car? magazine 58 29 12 1
Television motoring programmes e.g. 4Car 49 41 9 1
Parkers Price Guide 38 37 22 3
Motor manufacturer 34 55 10 1
Reg Vardy 13 57 25 4
Fish4Cars 12 51 33 4
Autobytel 9 50 36 6
CAP Network 5 48 40 7

 

Q4 On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being not at all interested and 5 being very interested), how interested would you be in the idea of being able to directly compare different makes of car at the same place - be it a physical location or a website?
  %
5 27
4 18
3 20
2 8
1 24
Don't Know 3

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