Should I stay or should I go

New research has revealed that 45% of motorists dislike dealing with garages and workshops to organise their vehicle’s MOT, servicing and repairs and find it more stressful than renewing their car insurance (33%).

Commissioned by MyCarNeedsA.com, the research shows that the majority of motorists are loyal to their local independent garage workshop, with 74% of respondents saying they rely on them for all their servicing, MOT and repairs.

However, it also found that 11% of motorists will ring round to get the best deal; seven per cent will ask a friend for recommendations; four per cent will look up businesses online; and another four per cent will use an online comparison site to check prices, reviews and services in their local area.

The research also shows that just 26% of motorists will book a service when they receive a dashboard message prompt, while a third always have their car serviced after a certain amount of time.  Just 19% of motorists will book a service after their car has reached a certain mileage. Once their car is over three years old, the majority of motorists (82%) forget the service dates.

Scott Hamilton, managing director of MyCarNeedsA.com, said, ‘It’s no surprise that motorists dislike dealing with garages for servicing, MOT and repairs. Often they are worried about the cost of servicing or getting their car fixed, especially at a time when they face above inflation price hikes for insurance, fuel, parking and speeding fines.

‘Motorists are having to dig deeper into their pockets to run and maintain their vehicles. It certainly pays for motorists to carry out some research and shop around when they need to book an MOT, servicing or repairs.’

MyCarNeedsA.com now works with 4,000 dealers, garage and workshop partners nationwide. Only authorised repairers provide quotes for work and only genuine parts are used on all customer vehicles.