HOLDEN has trumped Ford in the on-going battle of the Marques with almost a quarter of Australian men owning a Holden as their first car, according to research commissioned by Bankwest.
Bankwest research also revealed that 17 per cent of women grabbed a set of keys to a Toyota as their first set of wheels.
And when it comes to getting advice about a potential purchase, women are far more likely than men to seek advice from an "expert".
The iconic Aussie Holden was tailgated by arch-rival Ford in second place, with 15.5 per cent of men calling a Ford their first car, with Toyota holding down number three with 10.3 per cent. Next across the chequered flag were Mazda (4.4), Nissan and Volkswagen (4.1), Mitsubishi (3.7), Mini (3.0), Honda (2.3) and Hyundai (1.4).
In more bad news for Ford, the Bankwest research revealed Australian's first car love affair with Holden isn't restricted to Aussie blokes: 16.1 per cent of women bought one as their first car followed by Ford (13.7), Mazda (6.7), Mitsubishi (5.5), Nissan (5.2), Honda (4.3), Hyundai (3.7), VW (3.5) and Mini (1.5).
Bankwest spokesperson Adrian Bradley said men preferred a car with a bit of grunt like a classic V8 Commodore, while women went for a more fuel efficient four-cylinder Toyota.
"It's probably no surprise a lot of blokes want a car you can hear before they actually arrive," he said.
The national research was carried out with 1250 Australians by market research firm Brand Management, with 60 per cent saying they saved up to pay cash for their first car - men were more likely (63 per cent) to do so than women (52.4)
A quarter of Australians got a loan to pay for the car while 21 per cent said their parents paid for some or all of their first car, and for a lucky 3.7 per cent - their first car was a gift.
The amount splurged on the first car differed with age groups, with 21 to 30 year olds spending on average $9973 while those aged 51 to 60 spent $5214. The price difference is due to the fact that most 51 to 60-year-olds bought their first car up to 30 years ago.
But when it came to their current car, almost one in four Australians bought a new car while one in six chose a used car. This varies depending up on age, with younger Australians aged 21-30 buying used and almost half of those aged 51-60 buying their current car new.
More than half paid cash for their current car, and the propensity to pay cash increased with age. Of those who didn't pay cash for their current car, 64.5 per cent took out a personal loan for it, with women (75.1 per cent) more likely than men (43.3).
The most important element of a car loan is the low interest rate, with 73.9 per cent of respondents ranking this first. The second most important element was a repayment amount that suits them (26.2 per cent), and a low application fee (25.9 per cent).
Other interesting facts:
- 53.0 per cent know how much interest they are paying in total for their loan. Men were much more likely than women to know how much interest they would be paying in total (65.7 per cent vs 40.8 per cent).
- 40.2 per cent of respondents paid out their personal loan early.
- Of those who did not have a personal loan, 54.4 per cent lease their current car. Men are much more likely than women to lease their car, at 60.6 per cent of men vs 39.7 per cent of women.
- 5.4 per cent of respondents normally keep their car for less than two years, 27.0 per cent keep their car for two to four years, and 34.1 per cent keep their car for four to six years. One third of all respondents keep their car for longer than six years.
- When shopping around for the right car finance, more than half of all respondents would compare different lenders (60.6 per cent), use online calculators to check how much they could borrow (58.2 per cent) or speak to their main bank to find out about their products (57.8 per cent).
- One third of respondents would speak to family/friends who know about the topic (37.9 per cent), submit applications or quote requests online (36.2 per cent), read articles or information published online about car loans (33.0 per cent) when shopping around for a car loan.
- Women are much more likely than men to speak to friends or family who know about the topic (43.8 per cent of women vs 33.4 per cent of men).
- One quarter (25.4 per cent) of respondents would speak to a car dealer to get information about a car loan.
