Business news and advise

If you’re looking for a change of vehicle, the natural thing to do is to start poring over the statistical data to gauge performance figures, mileage per gallon, level of eco-friendliness and whatever other stats you’re particularly interested in.

But in my (practically based…) experience, this is a fundamental mistake. By far the wiser thing to do is to look at the history of each major motor manufacturer and to analyse their various track records – and to use this as your starting point

OK, you may quite logically think that “history is bunk” when it comes to performance on the current crop of cars available. And rapidly changing technology in the types of eco cars punters are chasing in ever-greater quantities for example may, to some extent, change the fundamental mechanics on which you’re making your decisions. But without history, what else have we to go on?

Of course, this is particularly true when it comes to new car offers. At least with used cars, you can read the individual road test reports etc. But there’s such a surfeit of those out there that it’s hard to sort the wheat from the chaff. Each model has its quirks and foibles which may or may not bother you. It’s all down to personal tastes and needs.

Thankfully, though it’s far and away easier to make the basic decision of which manufacturer to go for – based on objective analysis of all of the major car maker’s history and performance data. And on that basis alone, the wisest choice simply has to be a Honda.

That’s because Honda has been found to be the UK’s most reliable car manufacturer for an unprecedented six years in a row by the What Car? and Warranty Direct annual survey. And you can’t ask for much more than that. The ability to get from A to B successfully has to be the single main decision starting point for me.

Whilst on holiday a few years ago, I got talking to someone by the pool, as you do when slightly bored but loving the sunshine.

As we got talking, I asked him what he did for a living. He politely dodged the question and changed the subject to something else entirely.

But after a couple of loosening cold beers in the searing Greek heat, he opened up a little and told me he was a “re-po” (repossession) man acting for an agency on behalf of a number of different finance companies. And all his work was with cars.

Many of the stories he told about defensive owners and their excuses, dodges and ruses were entertaining – whilst some were a little darker, like being attacked by aggressive owners whilst gaining legitimate entry to the vehicles on which the borrowers hadn’t kept up their payments.

None of these stories remain with me though. But the one that does was what he said about Honda UK cars and their owners.

Amazingly, this re-po man of long experience reckoned he’d never, not even once, had to repossess a Honda vehicle of any description.

I asked him why this was. I was secretly delighted as a Honda devotee – but he was at a complete loss to explain this strange phenomenon.

As I thought about this conversation later, I wondered whether Honda owners were different and if so, why?

Now other re-po workers must have had many occasions to repossess Hondas just like any other car, but the statistic this chap was sharing with me was remarkable. The only reason I could come up with, was that Honda UK customers are generally more level-headed people; the kind of people who seek solidity, certainty and quality – and whose heads aren’t turned easily by fads and the like – which could lead them into financial difficulty.

I can’t prove this is true, of course, though I certainly hope it is!