CONSUMERS find dealer-speak the most frustrating part of buying a used car, according to the latest research.

Network Q, the used vehicle retailer, polled over 2,000 consumers and found that car terms like FSH, ESR and ICE confuse the average consumer rather than making the buying process simpler. Ninety-five per cent of men and 98 per cent of women do not know what the most common terms mean.

The research also revealed that 27 per cent of those polled believed second-hand car dealers deliberately use car jargon to confuse potential customers into a sale and 39 per cent are put off buying a used car due to dealer-speak.

In an effort to eradicate the confusion and to make the process of buying a used car easier, Network Q has identified the top 10 most confusing car terms and teamed up with the Plain English Campaign to produce a jargon-free guide to dealer-speak. Network Q have also announced a complete ban of car jargon in all of its 440 UK retail sites.

The top 10 most confusing car terms are:

1. 18AW – 18 inch Alloy Wheels

2. FAR – Front Arm Rest

3. ESR – Electric Sun Roof

4. ICE – In Car Entertainment

5. EFW – Electric Front Windows

6. T&T – Taxed and MOT

7. EW – Electric Windows

8. FSH – Full Service History

9. PAS – Power Assisted Steering

10. BHP – Brake Horse Power

Stuart Sims of Network Q said: "We’ve produced a Plain English guide to car jargon and banned it from our forecourts in response to the massive 37 per cent of consumers who find abbreviated jargon the most frustrating part of the used car buying process.

“With a quarter of all consumers believing that dealers deliberately use car jargon to bamboozle them into a sale, we want to clear up the confusion and change the public’s perception of used car dealers."