Reading: Car Owners Put off Services and Buying Tyres Says Survey

By Denna Bowman

Rising motoring costs are forcing some drivers to cut back on maintenance essentials such as servicing and tyres, according to a new survey.

The Glass’s Guide report revealed that a worrying 13 per cent of vehicle owners admitted they had put off buying replacement tyres, while 15 per cent had postponed routine service.

The report claimed that almost half (46 percent) of motorists questioned admitted they had cut back on car expenditure during the last year.

Around 15 per cent had rescheduled the rectification of bodywork repairs and 13 per cent of the respondents had pushed back a scheduled check on their vehicle’s air conditioning system.

Underlining how the aftermarket sector has been hit hard by the recession, 24 per cent of the respondents in the Glass’s survey said they had put off the purchase of car accessories, such as alloy wheels and off-the-shelf satellite navigation systems.

Andy Carroll, managing director of Glass’s, said: “While it is inevitable that some consumers will respond to deteriorating economic conditions by cutting back on aspects of their motoring expenditure, it is concerning that scheduled services and tyre purchases are being deferred.”

However, more vehicle owners are saving money by going online to order new tyres.

Etyres, the UKs leading online tyre company, has seen demand soar during the past 12 months as consumers take advantage of its low prices – up to 40% cheaper than the traditional high street depots – for a convenient mobile fitting service.

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 28th, 2009 at 4:26 am and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.