Are 'careful lady drivers' really better to buy used cars from?

Hundreds of used car listings on Trade Me are using "lady drivers" as a selling point. Photo/ 123RF

Hundreds of listings for used cars on Trade Me are advertising female owners as a selling point.

About 500 current listings featured the term "lady driver" or similar, a cliche Trade Me's head of motors Alan Clark said he's seen ever since vehicle listings started on the site.

"One of the oldest stereotypes in the book is the vehicle has been owned by 'one careful lady driver'," Clark said.

"The implication is that a female driver is gentler on the vehicle - they aren't heavy on the brakes and they don't cause huge wear and tear to the engine by pushing it to the limit."

All kinds of stereotypes were levelled at drivers - that young men were reckless on their cars and city drivers were rude, Clark said.

"Our experience, of course, is that this is just a huge generalisation - we know plenty of our members are very careful male drivers and we know plenty of women who give their a car a tougher time than most people.

"It doesn't look like our buyers are looking for vehicles with 'one lady driver' it doesn't appear anywhere in our most searched terms on Trade Me Motors.

"Search terms like 'well maintained' and 'excellent condition' are far more popular."

There were about 80,000 used car listings on Trade Me at the moment.

He said the stereotypes levelled at motorists were just that, and due diligence should be done on every second-hand vehicle purchase.

Automobile Association (AA) spokeswoman Mehpara Khan agreed.

"There are a number of assumptions people have about female owners, from the condition of the car through to whether it's had any modification.

"But it's never a good idea to assume anything. If you're interested in buying a car, go see it for yourself and get a pre-purchase inspection to give you a clearer picture of what you're about to buy."

Claims data from AA Insurance (AAI) showed that while young women were less likely to cause an car accident than their male peers, these roles reversed as women got older.

Insurance premiums were therefore higher for older women than older men, but lower for younger women than younger men.

The 2017 AA Insurance Driver Survey of 1,000 Kiwi drivers aged 18+ years, found that two thirds of drivers have had a car accident in their lifetime, with 66 per cent happening between the ages of 15-29 years.

Men were more likely to have had an accident during this time (71 per cent) compared to women (64 per cent).