IF you're shopping for a secondhand car how can you be certain it has been well looked after?

According to new research, Ford owners are the most slovenly in the UK when it comes to getting their cars serviced and cleaned.

Ford drivers were found to service their car the least, typically once every five years. What’s more, it was also found that Ford drivers haven’t cleaned their car for six months on average too.

If true, that just goes to show how good the humble Ford is - they sure can take a licking and keep on ticking.

Drivers of Minis admit to being the most proud of their vehicles, whereas those driving a Skoda were found to be the least proud. What’s more, Mini drivers were found to service their car most frequently, doing so twice a year on average, compared to Ford owners who average once every five years.

The team at www.Fixter.co.uk carried out the study to find out more about motoring habits in Britain.

For the purpose of the study, 2,430 UK-based adults aged 18 or over were quizzed, all of whom revealed that they hold a full driving license and own their own car.

All participants stated what car they owned and provided the colour of their vehicle prior to questioning. Initially, all respondents were asked "When was the last time you took your car to be serviced?" Researchers then broke down the responses to find which cars were serviced the most and least frequently, with the following five topping the list of most frequently serviced:

  • 1. Mini – Every 6 months (on average)
  • 2. Audi – Every 8 months
  • 3. Renault – Every 10 months
  • 4. Volkswagen - Every 10 months
  • 5. Vauxhall – Once a year

The following five were found to be the car makes serviced the least often:

  • 1. Ford – Every 5 years (on average)
  • 2. Skoda – Every 4 years and 8 months
  • 3. Honda – Every 4 years and 6 months
  • 4. Toyota – Every 4 years
  • 5. BMW – Every 3 years and 9 months

It was also uncovered that those with blue cars were found to be serviced less often than any other colour, averaging once every 14 months.

White cars were serviced the most frequently (once every 8 months, on average.)

Of all participants, it was found that those with Hondas were the least likely to have cleaned their car recently, with Honda drivers admitting they last did this seven months ago, on average.

Ford drivers and Vauxhall drivers (both six months ago, on average) closely followed.

Finally, when respondents were asked if they were proud of their car, those with Mini’s topped the list of most proud, with 93% of drivers stating they were, followed by Volkswagen drivers (89%) and Audi drivers (85%).

Those with Skodas (26%), Fords (33%) and Kias (41%) were found to be the least proud.

Matt Lewis, spokesperson for www.Fixter.co.uk, commented: "Most people will use their car every single day so it’s important to ensure that you are looking after it, even if you don’t love it and only purchased it out of necessity. Cars should be serviced at least once a year, with some models needing servicing more frequently. No matter how much you disdain your car, you don’t want to be breaking down on a motorway or paying for repairs that could have been avoided."