Time-consuming credit crunch commuting

During a previous recession, one former Government official found himself in trouble after suggesting the unemployed members of the population should ‘get on their bikes’ to find work. However, the latest recession is witnessing job-seekers taking four wheels rather than two to travel ever greater distances to secure employment according to research by leading online used car website, motors.co.uk.

The survey of 1,020 UK motorists has revealed a whopping 45 percent of commuters are spending more time in their cars and travelling further for work than this time last year. Of those questioned, 15 percent confessed to commuting over 40 miles per day – that’s over 9,600 annually.

Furthermore, 34 percent of the total respondents spent up to two hours a day on the road leaving them less time to spend with family and friends.

“With commuters travelling further, it’s increasingly important to select the correct car for the journey,” said Katie Wardle, motors.co.uk’s Marketing Manager. “Factors such as depreciation, fuel economy, reliability and comfort increasingly have a major impact on choice particularly following the news that the UK’s wage growth has slowed to its lowest on record.

“With these factors in mind, we have created a guide to the hidden danger of depreciation showing which of our favourite cars are most likely to keep their value. This, combined with our easy to use search function, ensures motorists are able to find the right car at the right price.”

The motors.co.uk survey also asked respondents’ views on public transport, asking which factor would be most influential in deciding to ditch the car. Surprisingly, despite money restraints, increasing road taxes/charges or increasing fuel costs were not identified as the most major influencers in the move to public transport.

The ‘Depreciation: which cars lose least money from new?’ report can be downloaded free of charge at motors.co.uk