Motorists paying more than £600 a year on unexpected car repairs

Almost six in 10 drivers say they are hit with surprise repair costs for their car every year, typically forking out £617.

More than a third (37%) of those facing these repairs said they experienced financial difficulty in paying for them.

Tyres top the list of unexpected motoring costs (64%), followed by brake repairs on 24%.

A further fifth (21%) were seemingly victims of Britain’s poor road surfaces as they had to pay out for new suspension parts such as shock absorbers and springs. For cars between three and 10 years old, this figure was dramatically higher at 30%.

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.

“Unexpected car repairs are something every driver dreads,” said Paul Coward, chief executive of the RAC’s service, maintenance and repair division.

“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.”

Ultimately, a well-maintained vehicle is far less likely to break down and result in costly unexpected repairs.

Regular servicing is key, as well as ensuring any advisories in the MOT are addressed before they become illegal or go wrong.