£152.75 an hour to get your car fixed (29/06/04)
Motorists are being charged as much as £152.75 an hour for labour to get their cars repaired, according to data released by independent automotive warranty specialist, Warranty Direct (
www.warrantydirect.co.uk) today.
Analysis of twenty-seven manufacturers highlights the dramatic variation across the country with the headline £152.75 an hour being charged by a BMW franchised dealer in Central London. This figure compares to a combined franchised and independent garage average of £56.72 for the whole country.
The Thames Valley belt of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire is the most expensive region in the UK with an average hourly charge of £68.61. Scotland is the cheapest, nearly sixty percent less, with an average of just £43.12.
Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, Porsche and Audi dealers provided the five most expensive rates recorded by Warranty Direct. At the other end, Mazda delivered an average of £44 an hour, yet the dearest franchised dealer noted would set you back double that figure. Similarly, a Ford may cost £50 on average but a London franchised dealer will charge £106.