A survey suggests that vandalism and damage by an unknown third party are among the main reasons for minor car damage.

Smart repairer Revive questioned more than 100 technicians and of those surveyed the number one repair was bumper scuffs with alloy wheel repairs coming second.

The next most common reason for call-out was vehicle vandalism or third party damage reported by almost a fifth (19%) of technicians. A large proportion of the damage had been done by an unknown person.

Mark Llewellyn, managing director of Revive, said: “Maybe it is because people are feeling the pinch financially and they fear that by leaving their details after an accidental scuff or scrape they will face high costs or lose their own no claims bonus.

“Whatever the reason it is a real shame, as what people don’t realise is that it costs far less than they think to do the right thing and a have a clear conscience.

“Most minor paintwork or alloy wheel repairs can be fixed for less than the cost of the average insurance policy excess.”

Cars with parking sensors scraped the most

Parking incidents are also common with motorists citing low walls, high kerbs, tight turns and narrow parking bays as reasons for scuffing their bumpers or damaging their alloy wheels.

Surprisingly, cars fitted with parking sensors seem to get scraped more than those without, according to Revive.

Customers pay for damage rather than go through insurer

The company also reports a rise in the number of customers paying for damage themselves rather than going through the insurance company, as well as more people having paintwork or alloy damage fixed before returning hire or leased vehicles.

Llewellyn said: “We are seeing people holding onto cars longer than they might have done previously and taking more care of them by tidying them up and to protect residual values.”
 

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