Nearly a third of motorists have delayed getting their car serviced because of money problems brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey.
Garage comparison site BookMyGarage.com polled 10,000 of its subscribers in August and found that tight financial restraints had led to 32 per cent of them putting off the essential work.
What’s more, 29 per cent of them had postponed servicing just because their car had covered far fewer miles while the UK was in lockdown.
Citing a Motor Ombudsman-commissioned YouGov poll of 765 people that separately found that more than half – 56 per cent – took advantage of the government’s MOT test six-month exemption, BookMyGarage said the number of drivers who had also delayed getting a service equated to some 12.5 million cars across the UK’s 38.2 million registered vehicles.
As such, it said, garages were bracing themselves for a massive increase in work, with people being urged to book MOT slots soon to avoid the rush.
Research by BookMyGarage also revealed that the amount of extra repair work needed by cars booked in for an MOT in July nearly doubled from 25 per cent in July 2019 to 48 per cent, prompting concerns.
Jessica Potts, head of marketing for BookMyGarage, said: ‘The figures we’ve seen coming through our network of 9,000 franchise and independent garages suggests that the pandemic and lockdown has definitely had an adverse effect on the health of our cars.
‘It’s understandable that motorists have wanted to save money during the pandemic, as many have unfortunately lost their jobs, earned less because of the furlough scheme or taken pay cuts. But it’s important that motorists get their cars up to scratch now that Britain’s car parc is moving again.’
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