Average cost of car repairs soars by a third in three years
The average cost a car repairs hassoaredinrecentyears,with someelementsmorethandoubling in price in the last three years.
Advancesintechnology,materialsandproductionmethods are being blamed for the 32 per cent rise in the average repair cost.
That rise has pushed the average repair bill to £1,678, according to insurance data from 2016. The price of replacing a windscreen has risen even more dramatically, with asmuchasa123percentrisefor certain models, meaning some customersfacingbillsinexcess of £700.
According to Peter Shaw of Thatcham Research, due to changes in materials and productionmanypartswhichonce could be repaired are now havingtobereplacedentirely,driving up the cost of the work.
He commented: “[The increase] has been driven by the reparability of parts such as headlamps, increasing complexity of vehicle materials and technology and the rising cost of spare parts.”
He highlighted the use of complex safety and driver aid systems, particularly when it comes to windscreen repair and replacement. Sensors and cameras mounted behind the windscreen are used for systems such as autonomous emergency braking and traffic sign recognition. These are expensiveandrequirecalibration to ensure they are working correctly after any repair.
Speaking to industry leaders, Mr Shaw warned that with theincreasingadoptionofsuch advanceddriverassistancesystems (ADAS) repair costs could spiral even further.
He said: “The cost for windscreen-mounted ADAS calibration spans from £0 to £700 –acrosscarmanufacturersand often across similar sensors and technology. ”
Thecostofreplacingawindscreen increases dramatically if the car is fitted with ADAS. In a VW Golf, for example, it will cost 78 per cent more for an ADAS-equipped car than for one without. In a Ford Focus the increase is 123 per cent.
Beyond the complexities of ADAS, Thatcham Research says that new materials and paint finishes make repairing a panel more difficult.
Thomas Hudd, operations manager at the Thatcham Research Repair Technology Centre, said: “The rising use of a mix of new materials in modern cars is leading to more intrusive repairs.
“This means that where we were once able to partially replace a panel, we now need to replaceit.Thisisespeciallytrue ofaluminiumpanels,whichare challengingtherepairindustry as it is stiffer and harder to reshape than steel.”
And where fixing a broken headlightwasonceasimple,the introduction of LED, LED matrix and even laser units mean they often cannot be repaired at all and have to be replaced at thecostofhundredsofpounds.