Cost of car owners neglecting their car's service reaches £154 million

One out of five (20%) car owners are skipping their car's service or other maintenance and repairs according to new research from automotive servicing and repair company, Kwik Fit.

The study shows that around seven million drivers are well aware that overlooking the needs of their cars will eventually prove more costly in the long run.

Just under half (45%) of those who have been neglecting their car's servicing or maintenance over the last 12 months say that they will be paying more, with the additional bill for drivers totalling £153.9 million. Car finance agreements also often require servicing and maintenance to be up to date and may result in additional charges if this is not the case when the car is returned.

Financial impacts are caused as a result of avoiding service and maintenance checks, and Roger Griggs, communications director at Kwik Fit, believes drivers should understand that it can also compromise safety.

"This research clearly shows that delaying servicing or maintenance often ends up hitting drivers with a bigger bill in the long run," says Roger Griggs. "We are sure that car owners could have put that £150 million, which was needlessly spent, to much better use."

"The old adage of a stitch in time saves nine remains as true today as when our grandmothers first told it to us as children. However, it's not just in the pocket where car owners can feel the impact of neglecting their car."

"Those looking after their car will find that it looks after them when they need it most, whether that's starting first time in an emergency or gripping the road service in bad weather."

Financial constraints (2.7m) have been found to be the most common reasons for car owners skipping on servicing, followed by driving fewer miles (1.9m) and planning to sell the car (1.3m).

Just over one million car owners claim that they would rather service their vehicle themselves, but didn't get round to it over the last year, and 1.3 million claim they don't believe cars need servicing as often as stated by the manufacturers.

According to Kwik Fit's research, the more experienced car owners in the UK understand the benefit of keeping on top of their car's maintenance, with only 8% of the over 65s admitting that they skipped servicing over the last year, compared to a huge 40% of younger car owners aged between 18-24.