Motorists and small businesses are likely to remain cautious following the first budget from the new government.
At BookMyGarage, we don’t expect to see much change in consumer outlook following our cost of living survey which found almost half of motorists (43%) said they now shopped around to find a cheaper garage. In addition, a quarter (25.6%) said they had switched from the franchised network to the independent sector.
Both, however, are positive findings for independents utilising our platform, the UK’s leading servicing and MOT price comparison website.
A significant proportion of motorists were largely not cutting corners when it came to investing in the maintenance and repairs of their vehicles, according to the survey undertaken by more than 2,000 motorists. Only 15.4% said they had skipped or delayed a service.
Motorists no doubt breathed a sigh of relief when fuel duty was frozen at 52.95p per litre in October’s budget. The 5p cut in fuel duty introduced when the cost of living crisis descended in 2022 remained in place although Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) will be adjusted in April 2025 in a bid to further promote low-emission vehicles.
Our survey found by far the most popular cost saving measures were saving fuel by driving less (64%); shopping around for cheaper motor insurers (54%); and saving fuel by driving more economically (49%).
The findings were echoed by another survey (again of 2,000 drivers) earlier this year by Close Brothers Motor Finance. Almost three-quarters (71%) said they had either shopped around for cheaper fuel or intended to do so; 63% had either cut down on the amount they drive or planned to take fewer journeys; 43% had switched to or intended to use public transport; and 37% had delayed a car purchase.
Last year Autocar reported that motorists were either cutting back on vehicle maintenance to save money or continuing with services and repairs to stave off potential higher repair bills. The survey of 2,000 drivers by Volkswagen Financial Services (VWFS) found one-third of owners had missed an essential vehicle service in a bid to save money.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of this year, independent vehicle repairers cited rising costs as the biggest challenge they would face in 2024, according to the Motor Ombudsman’s annual survey.
Three-quarters of independent garages and franchise dealer workshops identified rising operational costs, taxes and energy bills as the most significant challenge for 2024.
It means both independents and franchised dealers are likely to be counting the pennies even more following the budget which includes raising funds for the treasury with the employer’s National Insurance contribution set at 15% on salaries above £5,000 up from 13.8% on salaries above £9,100 and the minimum wage for over-21s to rise from £11.44 to £12.21 per hour from April next year.
BookMyGarage undertook its survey of 2,113 motorists in 2022 when the cost of living crisis first began to bite.
