{"id":6025,"date":"2022-08-17T17:05:03","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T16:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/?p=6025"},"modified":"2025-02-26T21:46:41","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T21:46:41","slug":"rising-costs-means-25-of-drivers-are-skipping-vital-car-repairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scrapcarnetwork.org\/news\/rising-costs-means-25-of-drivers-are-skipping-vital-car-repairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Rising costs means 25% of drivers are skipping vital car repairs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The growing pressure of fuel prices still shows no signs of abating just yet, and drivers are feeling the squeeze more than ever. The average cost of repairing and maintaining a car is now reaching about \u00a3500 a year, so the situation has reached a crisis point for millions of drivers up and down the country, with the desperation of many drivers captured in a rather worrying survey<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0recently published in the Daily Express.<\/p>\n

The survey covered 1500 drivers from across the country, and 25% of them told researchers how they\u2019re now having to skip vital car repairs just to stay on the roads. That\u2019s opening them up to a variety of risks, from eye-watering fines to potential accidents that could end up scrapping their car<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the only takeaway though – here are the survey\u2019s main findings!<\/p>\n

Drivers are delaying or skipping their MOT<\/h2>\n

You don\u2019t have to be a driver to know that your MOT is not optional. It\u2019s an annual safety check that basically ensures that your car is still in a roadworthy condition. Unroadworthy cars pose a risk to everyone around them, including pedestrians, cyclists, other drivers, and of course the occupants of the vehicle itself. That\u2019s why every single vehicle being driven on UK roads needs to have a valid MOT.<\/p>\n

Despite that, 16% of the survey\u2019s respondents admitted to running a risk by delaying their MOT. While they\u2019re in a completely unenviable position, we should say here that the law takes that sort of thing very seriously – if you\u2019re caught doing the same, you could be looking at a three-figure fine at the very least, potentially going all the way up to \u00a32500 if you\u2019re driving a car that\u2019s judged to be in a dangerous condition.<\/p>\n

(If you\u2019re worried about your own, it might be worth checking out our post on the best ways to prepare for an MOT test<\/a><\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"car<\/p>\n

Young drivers are being hit the hardest<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s probably no surprise to find that drivers under 25 are suffering the most with prices, especially given their relatively limited access to higher incomes early in their careers. According to the survey, just under 50% have avoided getting a repair in recent months, and 45% have dodged getting their MOT or car service because they simply cannot cover the cost. (Again, we should emphasise; while a car service is optional up to a point, an MOT definitely isn\u2019t!)<\/p>\n

The number of drivers in trouble is growing<\/h2>\n

The amount of drivers already avoiding their MOT is worrying enough, but that number looks only set to grow in future – 44% of the survey\u2019s respondents said that they might be forced to avoid their MOT in future. Now, that\u2019s just the sample size from the survey – but if we were to apply that to the entire UK population of over 30 million drivers, that could equate to about 18 million licence holders avoiding repairs and driving potentially dangerous vehicles on our roads.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, over 1 in 5 of the survey\u2019s respondents (21%) say they\u2019re suffering from weekly or even daily stress to do with their vehicles. (No wonder!)<\/p>\n

Surge of interest in electric<\/h2>\n

With the rising cost of fuel still showing no signs of abating, it makes sense that more and more drivers are considering a switch to electric vehicles. (Those with the disposable income to do so, anyway.) According to research by Next Green Car, there\u2019s been a 74% growth in registered electric cars since 2020. What\u2019s more, the number of electric vehicles that the UK bought in March 2022 alone tops the number of electric cars that were bought in the entirety of 2019.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re thinking about a similar replacement of your own vehicle – or you\u2019ve just decided that it\u2019s too expensive to run anymore – that\u2019s where we can help here at Scrap Car Network. You can count on us to give you the best price for your scrap car \u2013 all you need to do is\u00a0enter your car reg and postcode<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0into the fields on our site, and we\u2019ll get you an instant online quote before you can say cash for cars. It only takes a few seconds. Curious to find out how much yours is worth?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The growing pressure of fuel prices still shows no signs of abating just yet, and drivers are feeling the squeeze more than ever. The average cost of repairing and maintaining a car is now reaching about \u00a3500 a year, so the situation has reached a crisis point for millions of drivers up and down the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":113,"featured_media":6031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16,1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n