I’m a BMW driver. Please don’t hate me.
With that minor confession (and request) out of the way, it was interesting to see that German car manufacturers top the list of ‘most wanted’ car brands.
It was possibly less surprising to see them also feature in the top 10 worst driver list.
GoCompare asked 1,570 drivers about their most desired cars and found that Audi, BMW and Mercedes top the list of car brands drivers most want to own.
Audi were top of the poll of most desired car brands, with 29% of those surveyed saying they would like to own an Audi. Vorsprung durch Technik, indeed.
BMW came second in the poll with 26% of those surveyed aspiring to own a BMW. Mercedes Benz was in third place as a ‘must have’ car for a quarter of drivers.
Mitsubishi, Jeep and Subaru brands came bottom of the list.
The same survey also asked drivers which car brands they thought have the worst drivers. BMW, Audi and Mercedes topped the list again.
This is of course all about reputation and perception.
I’m conscious that BMW drivers in particular have a reputation for not signalling at junctions.
There is a serious, Financial Planning point to this post, I promise.
Cars are often an emotional rather than practical buying decision.
Effective car buyers set a budget before shopping for their preferred marque, do their research before stepping foot in a dealership and avoid making an emotional attachment to a vehicle.
Your car ownership plans should be factored into your Financial Plan, especially during the retirement phase.
We ask our clients about their timetable for car replacement and budget, factoring this into their Financial Plan along with likely resale values for existing vehicles and, of course, ongoing insurance and maintenance costs.
In our experience, few retirees consider their vehicle preferences in later life in enough detail and many face a financial shock when the time comes to replace a car – especially if they have been used to driving an Audi, BMW or Mercedes during their working lifetimes.
