Are You Truly Ready to Own a Car? Shocking Quiz Results Reveal Surprising Gaps

October 24, 2019

A couple of weeks ago, we launched a quiz to find out if new drivers are ready to own a car, grilling them on everything from buying car insurance to minimum tyre tread depth. And now, the results are in.

1,099 people took the quiz, including drivers and non-drivers aged 17 to 65+. Some of the results were surprising to say the least, with even some more experienced drivers struggling with the basics of car ownership.

Don’t believe us? Here are some of the most telling stats:

• Almost a third of Brits don’t know which document proves you’re the owner of your car. It’s the V5C, in case you were one of them!
• Most people who took the quiz only scored 5/10 – and that includes those who’ve been driving for years!
• 79% don’t know how often they need to top up oil, which is one of the basic skills of car maintenance.
• Worryingly, over half didn’t know you can get an automatic ban for using a phone while driving within the first two years after passing your test. Clearly, more needs to be done to tell new drivers about the risks of using a phone at the wheel.
• A half of drivers, both new and experienced, don’t know the right ratio for coolant/antifreeze and water. That’s bad news at this time of year, leaving cars at risk from the cold weather.

Drivers vs Non-Drivers: Who Performed the Best?

Both drivers and non-drivers took our quiz, and we were amazed to find that there wasn’t much difference between them. Most drivers got 50% of questions correct, while non-drivers got 40% – not much in it, considering the level of knowledge you’d expect drivers to have about the ins and outs of car ownership.

Here’s an in-depth look at which group scored what in our quiz, and the questions that caught them out.

Some of the results are surprising, especially when it comes to questions related to day-to-day car maintenance. More non-drivers knew that oil needs changing around every 5,000 miles for example, and they also scored better when asked about the coolant/antifreeze to water ratio.

That said, when it came to questions about general car ownership like insurance, drivers did score better. They also did well on MOT-related questions, suggesting that the recent changes to the MOT inspection haven’t gone unnoticed by drivers.

Young or Old: Who Scored the Highest?

You’d think it would be a given that older drivers know the most about what it takes to own a car, but actually there wasn’t a huge difference between the different age groups, with 17-24-year-olds scoring better on some questions and older drivers from 45-65+ on others.

Here are some of our key findings when looking at driver age:

• More 17-24-year-olds knew which document proves you are the registered keeper than any other age group.
• 65+ mostly knew the widest level of insurance was comprehensive (99%).
• 79% of all drivers don’t know how often they need to top up oil. 17-35-year-olds scored the best, but still only 23% got it right.

New and young drivers often get a bad rep when they first start driving, with their lack of experience making some people feel they’re a liability on the road. But our quiz reveals that many older drivers might need to brush up on their knowledge too. And this could make sense. After all, decades may have passed since a lot of older drivers passed their test and read the Highway Code. Habits and complacency can easily creep into how we drive and maintain our cars, so it’s not surprising that some older drivers struggled with some of the basic points of ownership.

Which UK Region Scored the Best?

Drivers and non-drivers from across the UK took part in our quiz, so we thought it would be interesting to have a look at how people from different regions did. We’re not suggesting that some parts of the country are worse at owning a car than others, but the quiz did throw up a few surprises.

Take a look at our interactive map below to find out how your region ranked in our car ownership quiz.

Fancy having a go at our quiz and testing your knowledge of what it takes to own a car? There’s still time. Pit your wits and find out if you’re really ready to own a car.

Whether you’ve been driving for 10 months or 10 years, Holts is here for you. Our DIY car maintenance products are a doddle to use whether you’re 17 or 70, so visit our homepage to browse our full collection today.