FLEETS should use their buying power to get better standards of vehicle repair rather than merely to drive down prices, according to repair centre network ABS.

Its chief executive, Alan Hodgkinson, said that whether fleets buy body repairs directly or through their insurance company, they only seemed interested in keeping down the price of the repair or premium.

'The price of repair or premium is a key point but concentrating on it to the exclusion of all else fails to take the total cost of the repair into account,' he said. 'That means looking at equally important issues such as how long the vehicle is off the road.'

Hodgkinson said almost all insurers and repairers had a 'one size fits all' approach.

He added: 'It is here that we believe fleets are misdirecting their buying power. They can use their considerable strength to demand that vehicles are repaired within a certain time frame or are at least given priority over less time-critical jobs.'

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