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New research by Churchill Car Insurance shows that women fail to make the everyday checks that keep their cars in tip-top condition.

Men and women were asked how confident they are when it comes to basic car maintenance skills.

It then put them to the test by asking them to identify points under the bonnet, such as the brake fluid and the windscreen washer fluid reservoirs.

The results show that men are more knowledgeable when it comes to their motors and consequently buzzing with confidence compared to women.

In fact, whilst well over a quarter of men (28 per cent) consider themselves to be an 'expert', only one in twenty women (5 per cent) rate themselves this highly.

At the other end of the spectrum, only one in ten men (10 per cent) consider their basic car maintenance skills to be poor or non-existent compared to nearly a third of women (31 per cent).

Women seem more comforted by being able to contact someone to help them if their car breaks down.

Two thirds of women (66 per cent) said they feel much more secure in the knowledge they can contact someone to help them if their car breaks down compared to nearly half of men (46 per cent).

Claire Foster, spokesperson for Churchill Car Insurance, said, "Having basic car maintenance knowledge can not only help prevent car breakdown situations, but can keep motorists, especially women, feeling more confident on the roads."

Churchill is giving away free breakdown cover with every car insurance policy sold until the end of September.