Unexpected car repairs cost drivers £600 – RAC
Unexpected car repairs are costing drivers an average of more than £600 a year, according to new data from the RAC.
It found that 59% of drivers face unexpected repair costs each year, with the average bill £617.
Meanwhile, 37% of drivers said that paying these repair bills put them under financial strain.
The research revealed that tyres top the list of unexpected motoring costs (64%), followed by brake repairs (24%), and damage to suspension parts such as shock absorbers and springs (21%).
The next most common unexpected costs were getting new exterior lights fitted (15%), repairing bodywork damage such as dents and scrapes (14%) and having to replace faulty or worn-out 12-volt batteries.
Paul Coward, chief executive of the RAC’s service, maintenance and repair division, said: “Unexpected car repairs are something every driver dreads. This is even more the case for the estimated third of drivers who find it hard to cover these costs. What’s more, we know from long-term RAC research that eight in 10 people depend on their cars, so any time a vehicle is off the road it can cause huge problems.
“Our patrols are experts at coming to drivers’ rescue when things go wrong, but not even they can fix every car.
“Now, with our growing nationwide team of RAC Mobile Mechanics we can get a wide number of repairs done at homes and workplaces. An RAC patrol simply tows a broken-down vehicle to the member’s home, then books a convenient time and date for a mobile mechanic colleague to carry out the necessary repair.
“This saves the time and effort of finding a garage that can do the repair quickly, taking away the hassle of getting to and from the garage. Helpfully, customers are also able to spread the cost of the repair over three payments by using Klarna.
