New cars add £402m to crash repair sector
Accidents involving new cars generate £402m for the UK crash repair sector.
A study by Accident Exchange found that 10% of all accidents involved 15 and 65-plate cars, with the 57th day of owning a new car the most hazardous for drivers.
In fact, 32 per cent of all 15 and 65-plate accidents happened within just two months of ownership.
The study recorded about 2.2 million accidents from March 2015 to February 2016, with 196,000 involving 2015 models – the average cost of repair for these vehicles is £2,050.
Scott Hamilton-Cooper, director of operations at Accident Exchange, said, ‘Any accident is a traumatic and emotional affair for the owner and passengers, but this increases for those driving brand new vehicles usually costing a lot of money.
‘It is vital that the messages of manufacturer approved processes, equipment and technicians are communicated to all customers – longstanding and new – in order to protect the integrity of the vehicle and return it to factory finish condition.
‘An efficient accident management programme will make the process dramatically easier for the driver and help retain the repair work within the network, which in turn boosts retention and revenue.’
Accident Research has also found that, in the past, 63% of motorists involved in an accident will purchase a new car within six months.
