ONE in four Yorkshire women feel they are treated like idiots by sexist mechanics when they take their car to be fixed, a new survey shows.

And more than half are likely to mention a husband or partner when booking in for repairs as a precaution against being “ripped off,” the research revealed.

The study showed Yorkshire women are among the most nervous in dealing with garages, with 25 per cent feeling unhappy about visiting.

But confidence improved with age, with 45 per cent of females over 50 feeling in charge and 86 per cent not frightened to complain, unlike women in their 20s.

The survey involving 1,330 women targeted women drivers throughout the UK between the ages of 18 to 60+ on treatment by the car industry. Most felt overcharged and intimidated with 32 per cent of the Yorkshire respondents owning up to an unpleasant experience.

The Approved Garages survey showed nearly 50 per cent of Yorkshire women mentioned a partner or husband when booking their car in to avoid overcharging.

One said: “When I dropped my car off I was told to put the kettle on. I didn’t get a proper response when I asked what work had been done and was treated like an imbecile.”

Phil Seymour, Approved Garages network manager, said: “One of our aims is to change the long-held belief that all mechanics and garages are sexist.

“Our wish is that female drivers should feel as confident and as comfortable visiting one of our garages as our male customers do.”

The good news is almost half of the women polled believed the industry had improved slightly and was more female-friendly.