Leading family motor retail group JCT600 has conducted a survey revealing that a significant portion of car owners lack basic knowledge about car maintenance. The survey found that 33% of car owners do not know how to check brake fluid and 26% wouldn’t know how to change a tyre.
With 71% of the UK population owning at least one car and 23% claiming to undertake some, or all, of their car maintenance, JCT600 sought to understand the gaps in knowledge when it comes to maintaining cars.
A nationally representative survey of over 2000 respondents conducted with FindOutNow found that those with university or post-graduate degrees were more likely to lack knowledge in basic car maintenance tasks such as changing a tyre, windscreen wiper, or checking brake fluid.
The survey also revealed a gender gap in automotive knowledge, with only 16% of men unsure how to check brake fluid compared to 36% of women. There were also significant regional differences, with Northern regions lacking the most car maintenance knowledge.
Key findings from the survey include:
- 33% of car owners do not know how to check brake fluid
- 26% of car owners can’t change a car tyre
- 20% of car owners do not know how to change a windscreen wiper blade
- 10% of car owners do not know how to check tyre tread
- 9% of car owners do not know how to check oil
- 9% of car owners do not know how to check tyre pressure
Graham Thacker, Director responsible for Aftercare at JCT600, commented on the results, stating, “With so many car owners in the UK, it’s surprising how many of us do not know how to perform basic maintenance checks on our vehicles. At JCT600, it doesn’t matter how little you know about car maintenance. When we service vehicles, we only use manufacturer-approved parts all fitted by manufacturer-trained technicians to ensure our customers have one less thing to worry about.”