The Carzone.ie Motoring Report reveals that the top financial concerns for Irish motorists are fuel costs, road tax and the cost of insurance. Following the sharp recent rise in car insurance premiums, the report outlines how 54% of motorists believe insurance costs will be the biggest obstacle in affording a car in the next 12 months. Meanwhile a further 40% said they are not satisfied with their current insurance premium. Interestingly however, 33% of people who claim to be satisfied with their premium will still be seeking a new insurer this year.
The research from Carzone.ie also shows that 28% of people are either unsure, or have no knowledge of current motor tax bands. Despite this, 83% claimed that tax bands influence what car they buy. The male versus female breakdown on tax band knowledge also offered some interesting insight, with 75% of men claiming to be aware and fully understand tax bands versus 61% of women.
Research also pointed towards a lack of knowledge of car financing, with 48% of Irish motorists not fully aware of car finance options available to them when buying a car. Again men seem to be more au fait with car finance than women, with 42% of men claiming to fully understand their finance options compared with 31% of women.
NCT testing is always an issue which stimulates debate amongst Irish motorists and the results of the latest edition of the Carzone.ie Motoring Report are no different. The results show that 33% of people spend up to €150 prepping their car for the NCT. The research also reveals that 37% of Irish motorists don’t feel the NCT system is fair.