A new global study from Autotrader, the UK automotive marketplace, has revealed how drivers around the world perceive different generations when it comes to car maintenance and their ability to carry out repairs, from changing a tyre at the roadside to handling repairs in general.
Surveying more than 3,000 motorists across 15 countries, the research set out to understand how age and experience shape trust underneath the bonnet.
When it comes to car maintenance, Gen X, those currently aged 46 to 61, earns the world’s trust by a considerable margin. Globally, 57% of drivers would most trust a Gen X driver to change a tyre, and 58% rate them as the most competent generation for car maintenance overall. In the UK, this figure was 61%.
Globally, just 2% of drivers trust Gen Z, those currently aged between 14 and 29, the most to change a tyre. In the UK, the USA, Portugal and Australia, that figure drops to zero.
The gap between how Gen Z rates themselves and how the public rates them is wide. In the UK, 43% of Gen Z drivers say they feel confident changing a tyre, yet public trust in them sits at 0%.
Which generation is seen as most overconfident?
Globally, views are closely split on which generation overestimates its car knowledge: Millennials, aged 30 to 45, are highest at 26%, followed by Gen Z at 25%, Gen X at 24% and Baby Boomers, aged 62 to 80, at 23%.
English-speaking nations tend to point at Gen Z, led by Canada at 32%, with the UK, Ireland and Poland all at 30%.
How Gen Z is learning: TikTok, YouTube and AI
Across almost every country surveyed, Gen Z leads when it comes to turning to social media, YouTube and TikTok for car maintenance guidance.
In the UK, 89% of Gen Z drivers say they use social media platforms for car maintenance advice. The USA and Germany are the exceptions, where Millennials lead on social media car guidance (76% and 67% respectively).
AI is following a similar pattern: 86% of Gen Z in the UK say they would use AI for car maintenance guidance, the highest of any generation in the country, against a global average of 65%. In the USA, Italy , and Greece, it is Gen X who leads in AI car advice.
Tom Roberts, car-selling expert at Autotrader, says: “Car knowledge has always been passed down through hands-on experience, through parents, mechanics, and years of figuring things out at the roadside. What we’re seeing now is a generational shift in how that learning happens, not a loss of appetite for it. Gen X has earned its reputation over decades, proving that credibility is something that is accumulated.
“Despite being the least trusted generation under the bonnet, it’s encouraging to see that Gen Z aren’t accepting that label passively. They’re seeking out knowledge through every tool available to them, including social media and AI.”
For the complete research on the most trusted generations when it comes to fixing cars across the globe, visit: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/cars/sell-my-car/which-generation-best-car-maintenance/