4.5 million cars are lovingly referred to by name

The first question you should ask when looking to buy a second hand car is ‘does the car have a name?’ New research conducted by cars web search
Fish4cars reveals a driver that has taken the trouble to give their car a pet name like ‘Monty’, ‘Betsy’ or ‘George’, is likely to be a careful car owner.

74% of car dealers said cars with character names are more likely to have a
full service history, be kept in a garage, be driven better and have any minor defect replaced immediately.

According to Fish4cars director Russell Scott, “Our research reveals used cars that have been given a pet name are a better buy as they are more likely to have been driven with care and serviced regularly. Cars with names don’t have to be classic Mini Coopers or Mercedes. They are just as likely to be a Ford Focus or Renault Clio because the naming of a car is more a reflection of the owners attachment to the vehicle. Cars with names are usually well maintained.”

CAR NAMES
Fish4cars conducted separate research among 15,000 car owners to find out how many ‘named’ cars there are in the UK today. Almost one in five (18%) car owners have given their current car a pet name. This equates to 4.5 million cars on the road known as ‘Daisy’, for example, instead of my VW Golf.

One in three (32%) first time car buyers name their car. Female motorists are more likely to characterise their existing car with a name (22%) compared to male motorists (14%). Four out of ten (41%) women give their first car a name, while one in four (25%) men christen their first set of wheels.

“A person’s first car always has a special significance, which is why first
time car buyers are more likely to name their car. As women are more likely to christen their cars than men, the phrase ‘one careful lady owner’ on a car advertisement can be verified by asking if it has a name,” said Scott.

MOST POPULAR NAMES
Fish4cars has compiled the UK’s most comprehensive list of popular car names.

The ten most popular names are Betsy / Bessie, Fred, Baby, Bertha, Betty,
George, Daisy, Herbie, Henry and Bertie (see below for Top 50 list).

Names that are associated more with a car’s performance are much less popular, with ‘The Beast’ coming in at No.16 and ‘The Tank’ coming in at No.28.

The results show drivers under 35s are more likely to give their current car a name (22% compared to 18% for all age groups). However, Fish4cars’ research also suggests that the practice of giving the first car you buy a pet name has been around for decades with 27% of the over 55s admitting to naming their first car.

When broken into regions of the UK, the results show that car owners in the South West are more likely to name both their first (36%) and current (22%) car. By comparison, the practice of naming cars is slightly less popular in Scotland than in the UK as a whole with 30% of Scots having named their first car and 15% having named their current car.

Finally, Fish4cars looked at some of the more unusual names Britain’s car owners gave their cars. This includes “Nardmobile the third”, “La La Moon Unit”, “Rhubarb and Custard”, “The mobile fornicatorium”, “Milly Molly Micra”, “HOS” (abbreviation for heap of s**t) and “Vom Vom Volvo.”

ENDS




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