The percentage of motorists who would be “anxious and financially stressed” by an expensive, unexpected car repair bill is falling, shows research carried out for the RAC Dealer Network.
Those who would feel this way about having to spend £1,000 at a garage to keep their car on the road is now 33% compared to 46% when the same question was asked in 2023 and 37% in 2021.
However, there has been an increase in those who, while they could afford the expense, would still be worried. Today, 43% say they would be “anxious but not financially stressed” compared to 38% in 2023 and 45% in 2021.
Lee Coomber, RAC client director at Assurant, which partners with the RAC in the aftersales sector, said: “This data provides quite a subtle understanding of how motorists’ attitudes to being hit with a big, unplanned motoring bill has changed over the last few years. The picture it provides covers the immediate post-pandemic period, through peaks in food and power inflation, to today.
“It shows concern about finances would have understandably been highest when unusually high demands were being made on household expenses around 2023. However, perhaps more surprising is that although people today feel their finances are under less pressure, they would still feel anxious.
“To some extent, this is reflective of wider trends in consumer confidence where people report they are now more financially secure but are reducing spending because they are worried about the possibility of the economy failing in the near future. Really, we’re looking at a loss of certainty.”
Lee added that a £1,000 repair bill for a used car was a common claim level through the RAC-branded warranties provided by the RAC Dealer Network – with issues such as transmission issues, air conditioning compressors or timing chain failure easily costing this much.
Lee added: “People are generally aware that car repair costs have been rising quite rapidly in recent years and across the RAC Dealer Network, we have seen a long-term trend towards higher extended warranty sales. This underlines the growing demand that exists for improved cover as people seek to protect themselves from unexpected motoring costs – whether their impetus is financial or to avoid anxiety.”
