An independent survey of 576 car hire customers released today revealed one in five respondents are living in a fantasy, selecting a car to hire they could never afford tobuy.

The national Canstar Blue survey showed Generation Y respondents are three times as likely (26%) as Baby Boomers (9%) to hire a car they wouldn’t have a hope of affording to purchase. The findings showed males are more likely (19%) to rent their dream car than females (15%).

“These results show that a sizeable group of car hire customers are happy to invest a bit extra for the luxurious experience of driving and being seen in a car beyond their means in everyday life. This isn’t surprising, given many travellers adopt a more lax mindset when enjoying themselves away from home,” said Manager of Canstar Blue Rebecca Logan.

The survey also showed a significant 14% of hire customers had crashed or dented their rental car.

“Generation Y respondents lived up to their flippant reputation, with the results showingthey were twice as likely (20%) as Baby Boomers (9%) to ding or crash theirrental car.”

“Females proved to be more cautious drivers of hire cars than males, with only 9% having anaccident compared with 17% of male respondents.”

The vast majority of car hire customers purchased appropriate insurance, with 66% making the investment to buy insurance when hiring their car.

“The results showed a significant proportion of respondents took the time to protect themselvesagainst a future dispute, with 35% taking a photograph of their car before driving away.”

“Gen Y respondents revealed a savvy edge, with 47% of respondents photographing their car initially compared with 34% of Generation X and 29% of Baby Boomers.”

The survey also showed 28% of respondents were charged a higher amount than quoted when paying for their car hire.

Avis bolted up the charts this year to take out the title of Canstar Blue’s second Car Hire Customer Satisfaction Award, beating market leading brand Hertz along with Budget, Europcar and Thrifty.

“Avis has been telling the market they ‘try harder’ for years and prides itself on providing a stress free, enjoyable car rental experience. The results show this work has paid off according to their customers.”

Canstar Blue commissions Colmar Brunton to survey 2,500 Australian consumers across a range of categories every few months to measure and track customer satisfaction.

The results of the car hire survey reported are from 576 car hire customers within the survey group who have hired a car within Australia in the last 12 months. Brands must receive at least 30 responses to be included.

“We launched Canstar Blue to give Australians a free online resource to help them with their key purchasing decisions by making it simple for them to learn from the experiences of other consumers. It is essentially a guide to product excellence as voted by customers,” Ms Logan said.

The independent survey was undertaken in conjunction with professional market researchers, Colmar Brunton.