On average local drivers take just under three months (2.74) to decide what new motor to buy, while almost a quarter (23.77%) need up to six months to choose before they commit to one. The UK average is 2.94 months.
One in nine North West car owners confessed that they spent longer deciding their next choice of car, than they did choosing a new house. And more than one in ten (10.59%) said they spent more time picking a motor than they did deciding what names to call their own children.
Meanwhile seven per cent of women from the North West said they spent longer choosing a car than they did picking their wedding dress. And worryingly four per cent of married respondents told researchers they had put more effort into searching for a motor than they did into searching for a wife or husband.
The survey of 2,000 people was commissioned by Netcars.com, the UKs fastest growing car sales website, and also reveals that the over 55s are the most decisive car buyers, with 70 per cent ready to choose a new car within three months. Those aged 25-34 are the most indecisive, with four per cent taking more than 12 months to choose the car they want.
Scottish motorists are the most decisive, with over three quarters (76.3%) fit to purchase a new car in less than three months.
Louis Rix, marketing director Netcars.com, said: We conducted our survey because we were keen to establish just how important car purchasing was for our customers. I have to admit we were very surprised by the results; who would have thought that people would spend more time looking for a new car than they did for a wife? Or that buying a car was more important than giving your child a name.
Buying a car is one of the most important purchases we make and for some people it is clearly the most important. It is for this very reason that we have developed the Netcars.com website to be as user friendly both for consumers and dealers as possible.
As a used car classified website, Netcars.com offers motorists the opportunity to search for their ideal next car and also put their current vehicle up for sale for a flat fee of 15. The car then stays on the site until it is sold; a completely new way of selling compared with existing formats, which demands payment on a bi-weekly or monthly basis to keep a car advertised online.