Pricing perception improving

17 April 2015  

The number of people feeling ripped off following a visit to a workshop is dropping, with only 23% believing they are paying unfair prices for servicing.

A study of over 2,000 UK drivers conducted by ClickMechanic looked into the attitudes of car workshops and their dealings with the public. In addition to the number that stated they felt ripped off, 25% of respondents felt nervous about even entering the garage.

The study showed that roughly half of people (45%) have no idea how much common repairs on an average household car should cost. In fact, a third of consumers feel uncomfortable with questioning the quote they receive because they don’t know very much about car repairs or servicing. 23% thought the quotes they received were based on a complete guess of the amount of time the repairs to their car would take, whereas a further 10% gave their mechanic less credit; believing the quote was based on what the mechanic felt they could get away with charging on the day. Combined, this results in a third of people believing that the prices they received were plucked from thin air.

Andrew Jervis, Co-founder and CEO of ClickMechanic, said: “Most mechanics are reliable and trustworthy, but there are a minority of cowboys taking advantage of the fact that most consumers just don’t know how much their car repairs should cost. Consumers are paying a lot of money to keep their car on the road and in times of austerity there is an obligation on the mechanic to be honest about the average price of repairs and establish a level of trust.”

However the survey does show that 77% of drivers surveyed believe that they are paying a fair price for their servicing and repairs, which should encourage the industry that the poor perception over pricing at least is beginning to change.