Vehicle off road times at independents close to dealerships
New research has revealed that independent repairers are close to matching franchised dealers for vehicle off road times.
According to analysis of repairs carried out on the epyx 1link Service Network in the 12 months to September, vehicles spent an average of 1.73 days in franchise workshops per visit compared with 1.97 days in independents.
The research also showed that the time gap has reduced from 0.36 days in October 2025 to just 0.09 days in September 2026.
Overall, epyx has seen a slight reduction in vehicle off road times over the 12 months from October 2025, from an average of 1.68 to 1.58 days
Charlie Brooks, chief operating officer at epyx, said: “Franchised dealers have in the past tended to repair vehicles faster than independents, meaning shorter vehicle off road times. But our latest data shows this gap has narrowed, with independents becoming faster, and official repairers slowing.
“However, these two trends are far from uniform. While many independents are working hard to reduce their VOR times, not all garages in the sector are making gains. Similarly, while some franchisees are seeing their figures fall, others are improving. It’s a complex overall situation.”
