A study by The Motor Ombudsman, the automotive dispute resolution provider, has found 54% of respondents had very limited or no knowledge at all when choosing which garage to buy their first car from.
Similarly, 53% didn’t know where to get their vehicle serviced when they first started driving.
The handy one-stop point of reference, which can now be downloaded from TheMotorOmbudsman.org, has been designed to make the process easier for new drivers when it comes to the purchase of a vehicle or where to take it for routine maintenance.
The survey of over 1,500 GB licence holders also revealed the primary reasons for the difficulty of selecting a retailer or repairer.
Around one in two were unable to determine the criteria on which to base their opinion of the garage, with over half of people saying that they were unsure as to which business offered the best value for the money that they had available to spend.
Furthermore, the results indicated that nearly two thirds of drivers who were able to come to a decision in terms of where to acquire their pride and joy, or where to have it maintained, did so thanks to word of mouth recommendations from friends and family (61% and 63% respectively).
Close to a third simply visited the garage that was nearest to them, whilst a quarter used online customer reviews and ratings, such as those that can be found on The Motor Ombudsman’s Garage Finder, to help form their judgement.
The Motor Ombudsman study showed that out of the individuals questioned, 47% said that the price of the car, and affordability in terms of running and repairing it (33%), were key influencers in their choice of model.
A vehicle that was of the right size for their needs was an important consideration for nearly one in four respondents (24%).