63% of shops anticipate increasing their fees before the end of the year in order to continue being profitable

This is what the latest study by The Motor Ombudsman showed regarding the current situation and the future challenges for repair shops in the United Kingdom. The summer survey about vehicle maintenance conducted by this organization has made it clear that the increase in operating costs is the main challenge for vehicle repair companies in 2022. Almost 80% of the shops surveyed agreed on this. 72% of them also assured that they had to increase the delays in the supply of parts and 71% report a reduction in the expense that their clients are making in regards to car maintenance. In this context, 63% of the shops consider it necessary to raise prices to obtain an adequate profit.

The survey carried out by The Motor Ombudsman shows other interesting data relative to the change in the habits of British citizens regarding car maintenance. Nine out of every ten shops respond that drivers are visiting their businesses less frequently than previous years. And when they do, 58% of the garages explain that they demand less operations like liquid fills, such as lubricants or air conditioning refills. Also, something similar happens with replacing worn-down parts: 55% of the participant garages/shops report a decrease in the number of operations like tires, brakes or windshield wipers, for example.

When asked about a forecast for the rest of the year, these businesses bring up issues such as their concern for the increasing costs, the difficulty to find qualified technicians, or the demands for higher salaries from their current employees.


According to their vision regarding the next months, about six out of every ten garages (63%) say that they will increase their prices in order to stay profitable. About the difficulty in finding personnel and the importance of keeping qualified technicians, almost half of the garages/shops (45%) explain that they will train more mechanics in the repair and maintenance of electric and hybrid vehicles