- Up to 15 million cars will be cleaned this bank holiday weekend
- More than a quarter of men admit they will be washing the car to escape extended family
- 76% of women say they have never washed a car themselves
If you think the Easter bank holiday weekend is about overindulging in chocolate eggs and eating roast lamb then think again. Research released by OSV.ltd.uk today suggests the bank holiday is for car maintenance and in particular car washing. A huge 15 million cars could be in for a polish this weekend with 57% of men and 22% of women surveyed planning to wash their car this bank holiday.
It seems the motivation for the great Bank Holiday Monday car wash may not lie in simply wanting a gleaming car on the drive. More than a quarter (27%) of men surveyed admitted they wanted to use the car washing as an excuse to escape extended family visiting for the Easter weekend.
One in five people surveyed admitted that seeing their neighbour out cleaning their car was often the catalyst for them getting out the bucket and sponge in an effort to keep up with the Joneses. However 12% of those surveyed said they washed their car just once a year on average and 8% said they only washed their cars when they were going to be trading it in for a newer model!
The survey carried out confirmed men were more concerned than women about their car being spic and span, 26% of men wash their car at least once a week and just 8% of women doing the same. In fact a huge 76% of women surveyed admitted they had never actually washed their own car.
The car washing capital of the UK is Birmingham with 24% of residents washing their car weekly. Closely following were Chelmsford and Sheffield, with 21% and 18% of residents respectively, washing their car at least once a week. At the bottom of the table was Cheltenham where cars were washed least frequently with just 5% only being washed once a week.
Brand played a key part in how often cars were washed too, with Audi, Toyota, BMWs and Volkswagen the most frequently washed car makes. Those washed least often were Range Rover, Peugeot and Mercedes.
It would also seem that personal finances play a part in the frequency of car washing, with 16% of those asked saying that metered water made the process too expensive to do on a regular basis and 1% said they saved water from the bath and/or collect rainwater to wash their cars.Car Washing hotspots: Cities and towns where cars are washed most often
1 Birmingham
2 Chelmsford
3 Sheffield
4 London
5 BristolCities and towns where cars are washed least often.
1 Oxford
2 Bath
3 Edinburgh
4 Bournemouth
5 Cheltenham
