These are the top 10 unnecessary car services that mechanics are charging you for – and it’s costing Brits £3.4billion every year
Clueless motorists are spending £90 more than they should be for unnecessary work and up-sells
UK car owners are being robbed out of £3.4billion annually by mechanics and garages selling them needless services.
Drivers are overspending £90 on average for each vehicle, with a change in brake fluid being the most common unnecessary charge.
Many car manufacturers, however, recommend flushing and changing brake fluid every two years or around 20,000 miles.
A new study by breakdown service Green Flag revealed that Brits are also being conned into paying for unrequired anti-freeze draining and refills, along with buying fuel/oil cleaners.
New brake pads and discs are also being needlessly sold despite wear being within safety limits, as well as new windowscreen wipers.
Mechanics are providing unnecessary battery replacements and wheel alignments (tracking) too, while oil top-ups, new tyres and pollen filters make up the 10 most common needless services.
TOP 10 UP-SELLS & UNNECESSARY WORK
- Brake fluid change
- Anti-freeze drain and refill
- Fuel/oil cleaners
- Brake pads and discs (when wear is within safety limits)
- Wiper replacement
- Battery replacement
- Tracking (Wheel Alignment)
- Oil top-ups
- New tyres (when tread is well within legal limit)
- Pollen filters
The study also found that Brits lack basic car knowledge to challenge these garage services and prices.
This includes more than half of drivers being unaware of what the MOT test involves.
Almost two thirds of motorists have no idea what MOT (Ministry of Transport) even stands for.
A third also feel apprehensive about negotiating with garages, while one in three stated doing so made them anxious.
There is also a massive gender gap in when it comes to estimating the price of repairs.
One in five men nationwide are confident about the rough price they should be paying, while only one in 10 women said the same.
Younger drivers, aged 16 to 24, underestimate the cost of car servicing the most, however, a whopping 40 per cent of all Brits do so.
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Meanwhile, Londoners are paying £507.62 on average for their car repairs - the highest in the country.
Garages based in Leeds, Glasgow, Sheffield and Southampton are the next most expensive.
However, car owners in Nottingham enjoy the lowest costs, spending an average of £348.84 on repairs.