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You’re in the middle of nowhere. Let’s say it’s hot, dry, and you’re low on water. Suddenly, there’s a gust of wind and something rolls into the road. You try to dodge it, but you catch it with a rear tire. You hear that telltale fwop of a tire depressurizing and the TPMS light starts flashing at you urgently before you can even finish pulling to the shoulder.
For enthusiasts, the above sounds like the makings of mild inconvenience. Most of us could have a spare on (or at the very least, the slurry can inserted) in a matter of minutes—perhaps a little more if it’s our first rodeo with that particular car—but if you’re a less-experienced (or incapacitated) motorist, you might find yourself suddenly stranded.
Picture yourself in that moment. Now, ask yourself this: When a pair of headlights appears on the horizon, who are you hoping to see behind the wheel?
According to Autotrader, your answer is likely “Anybody who isn’t Gen Z.”
Generational birth year ranges. Pew Research Center
The story came out of the used car dealer’s U.K. arm, but the company’s researchers surveyed 3,000 motorists worldwide and asked them which generations they’d trust to get them out of a simple automotive maintenance jam. The only other generation to score as low as Gen Z is—to put it somewhat indelicately—no longer with us.
I’m sure there are more than a few octogenarians out there still changing their own tires, but the oldest members of the Silent Generation will hit the century mark in 2028. Largely, this is a group of people that is either no longer driving, or on the cusp of hanging up its proverbial keys for good. The larger share of drivers over the age of 65 are Baby Boomers, who made precious few appearances in the survey highlights, despite scoring high marks for credibility in the UK, specifically.
Most of the commentary was instead focused on younger groups, whose knowledge (and mechanical skills) aren’t held in particularly high regard by anybody.
“Globally, just 2% of drivers trust Gen Z, those currently aged between 14 and 29, most to change a tyre,” the report said. “In the UK, USA, Portugal and Australia, that figure drops to zero.”
While our youngest drivers may not have the world’s confidence, they do at least have some of their own. Between about 30 and 45% (depending on the country) of Gen Z drivers surveyed had confidence in their own ability to perform basic repairs, and many even reported having successfully performed one or more.
“Of the Gen Z drivers who have attempted a repair, the majority say they did not make things worse: 88% in Italy, 86% in the UK, and 85% in the Netherlands report the same,” the report said.
So, Gen Z’s reputation is likely a bit undeserved, but even those Gen Z drivers who felt confident in their own abilities still put their faith in older generations when it came to know-how. Otherwise, the list wouldn’t look like this:
Which generation is most and least trusted
CountryMost Trusted Generation% Trusting ThemLeast Trusted Generation% Trusting ThemUSAGen X67%Gen Z0%PortugalGen X64%Gen Z0%NetherlandsGen X63%Gen Z2%IrelandGen X62%Silent Generation0%SpainGen X62%Silent Generation0%UKGen X61%Gen Z0%New ZealandGen X60%Silent Generation0%GreeceGen X59%Silent Generation0%AustraliaGen X58%Gen Z0%GermanyGen X56%Silent Generation2%ItalyGen X56%Gen Z1%CanadaGen X55%Gen Z1%FranceGen X53%Silent Generation1%PolandGen X50%Silent Generation1%South AfricaMillennials46%Silent Generation1%Autotrader UK
Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, the world’s trust in Gen X appears to have been earned the old-fashioned way, and probably won’t be easily eroded.
“Car knowledge has always been passed down through hands-on experience, through parents, mechanics, and years of figuring things out at the roadside.” said Tom Roberts, car selling expert at Autotrader. “What we’re seeing now is a generational shift in how that learning happens, not a loss of appetite for it. Gen X has earned its reputation over decades, proving that credibility is something that is accumulated.”
That shift of course refers to the wide availability of maintenance and repair guides on social media, which Gen Z cited as its primary source of information. Here in the United States, Millennials (who are quickly becoming America’s economic core) are on that bandwagon too. This category does not include AI-based sources, which the study covered separately:
“86% of Gen Z in the UK say they would use AI for car maintenance guidance, the highest of any generation in the country, against a global average of 65%,” the report said. “In the USA, Italy and Greece, it is Gen X who leads on AI car advice.”
As for which generations are most overconfident in their repair abilities? Those responses were a bit more mixed. Millennials, Baby Boomers and Gen X all took some shots, depending on the location of the respondent.
Stubbornness and overconfidence extend beyond simple generational mindsets. Cultural differences also come into play, as became evident when Autotrader asked respondents what they’d do first in the event of a breakdown.
“Globally, most drivers call a friend or family member first (39%) when in a breakdown, followed by a breakdown service (30%) and a professional mechanic (19%),” the report said. “Only 6% turn to online advice immediately, and another 6% would attempt a fix alone.”
“Interestingly, while Canadians might be the least likely to reach out to friends and family (37%) or even breakdown services (35%) when stranded, it’s the USA that is home to the most self-reliant drivers across the board,” it continued. “10% of Americans say that, if they were stranded at the roadside with a car issue, they would try to fix it by themselves without calling anyone, the highest of any country.”
Just 10%? My fellow Americans, those are rookie numbers. Let’s get to work on that!
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
