London, United Kingdom — Almost half of U.K. motorists have ‘botched’ a DIY car repair or maintenance job—but 80 percent of these drivers admit they’ll continue their own DIY repairs, according to a recent press release from Aviva’s United Kingdom operations.
Among the most frequently encountered and financially burdensome mistakes were errors in checking and replenishing fluids (22 percent), replacing car batteries (21 percent), and fixing broken interior components such as door handles or seatbelts (20 percent).
These botched repairs cost an average of £803 ($1,376) to fix, says Aviva—even though half of these DIYers did their own repairs in an attempt to save money.
More alarmingly, Aviva’s data demonstrated that a significant majority of hybrid (97%) and electric vehicle (96%) owners had attempted their own repairs or maintenance tasks within the past year. Hybrid car owners confessed to spending an average of £998 ($1,711) to rectify their mistakes, while electric vehicle owners faced the highest expenses, averaging £1,279 ($2,193).
Aviva said that, overall, a staggering 97 percent of U.K. motorists opt to carry out their own car repairs and maintenance, compared to only 75 percent a decade ago.
This shift in behaviour may be attributed to the increased availability of informational resources, noted Aviva. Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents expressed confidence in their ability to repair their cars independently.
Furthermore, over half (51 percent) of participants turned to video-sharing platforms for repair and maintenance tips, followed by websites and blogs (32 percent), and social media (19 percent).
Despite the financial setbacks caused by their previous errors, the majority of motorists (80 percent) expressed their intention to continue performing their own car repairs and maintenance.
