Tom Phillips
Car buying expert
As someone whose first word was 'car' - and with an interest that only grew from there - it's no surprise that Tom has ended up with a career in cars. His first experience came torturing lion-based puns about Peugeots into headlines for his local newspaper, while obtaining a Masters degree in automotive journalism - yes, it's a thing - confirmed that not only did he know plenty about all things automotive, but he could string a sentence together about them too.
Having started his career proper at Autocar, What Car? and PistonHeads in 2007, he landed a job developing two now-defunct experimental online car enthusiast platforms, before joining Auto Express, running the website and building its social presence among other things.
Tom worked for TopGear in Australia in 2012, before switching gears with the Deputy Editor role at industry publication Car Design News.
Knitting together various freelance roles, plenty of travel, UX and UI design qualifications and a two-year stint for Automotive IQ in Berlin, covering connected cars, electrification and autonomous drive followed.
Tom now lives in Scotland, where he takes care of deals for Honest John and his two daughters, neither of whom have the slightest interest in saying the word car.
What advice would you give to car buyers?
If you're buying new, it's important to be brutally honest with yourself about what you need your car for and how you'll use it. Then set a budget and stick to it. Aggressively. Staying true to your needs means you're less likely to be bamboozled by the enormous number of features most new cars offer and won't end up paying over the odds for nonsense you just don't need.
That said, if you're upgrading to a new car, most salespeople have a surprisngly encyclopaedic knowledge of your car's tech, so don't miss out on understanding the functions that genuinely make life easier.
What was your first car?
I passed my test in summer 2001 and my first wheels were a fridge-freezer white ex-Motability Vauxhall Corsa. As it was in Tesco Value spec, just about the only equipment it included was a wheezy 1.2 engine - it had no power steering, airbags or even a tape player - although I like to think the total lack of tech made me a better driver, as overtakes were measured in minutes and any route that involved an incline took serious planning.
What cars do you currently own?
Our family workhorse is a 2015 Ford Focus, which replaced a Skoda Yeti with a floor that was essentially made of rust and wishful thinking. The Focus has only covered 50,000 miles, yet is seemingly also corroding away in the car park. However, it remains remarkably good to drive, not that any other member of the family appreciates a more enthusiastic approach to our local B-roads. A switch to something bigger and possibly electric, beckons.
