Average repair bill for pothole damage reaches record level
The average car repair bill for pothole damage has reached record levels, according to new research carried out by Kwik Fit.
It’s annual Pothole Impact Tracker report found that drivers were paying an average of £144 to fix cars damaged by potholes last year.
This is up from an average cost of £120 in both 2022 and 2023.
The report also found that more than a million drivers faced a repair bill of more than £300 last year.
The most commonly damaged components over the last year were tyres (38%), suspension (28%) and wheels (22%). Almost half (48%) of cars needing repairs also needed wheel alignment and a third (34%) required the ADAS system to be recalibrated, adding further cost.
Dan Joyce, operations director at Kwik Fit, said: “Anything which adds unnecessary costs to motorists is especially unwelcome in the current economic climate but even the financial burden is outweighed by the risk to safety.
“The main components which bear the bulk of the damage – tyres and wheels, suspension and steering – are interlinked.
“Even if a car is driveable after hitting a pothole, the impact may have compromised its handling, as can be seen by the fact that many drivers have had to have vital ADAS technology recalibrated. Not only do potholes present an immediate risk at the time of impact but they can have a longer-term effect on its safety on the road.”
The Pothole Impact Tracker report is based on a survey of 2,000 drivers and is not limited to repairs carried out in the Kwik Fit network.
