Since launch, over 150,000 drivers have used WhoCanFixMyCar.com to find a great local garage or mechanic – indeed, the company now has over 7,000 aftersales businesses on its books, nationwide – everything from independent garages and mobile mechanics to true specialists, either in specific vehicles or specific repair types.
Drivers can use WhoCanFixMyCar.com to get help with any problem – from a missing spare key to a full engine rebuild.
As a result, the company has put together a unique ‘bird’s-eye’ view of the aftersales market as a whole and here it is revealing the repair and maintenance trends that can be expected over a typical year. Whether you’re a franchisee, a fast-fitter or an independent business, this data can form the basis of your action plan for success over the next 12 months.
1. Electrical work is already on the up and will peak in January
Cold weather unquestionably increases strain on batteries and other electrical components, but by how much? According to the research, the work more than doubles, comparing January to June, and the trend actually begins earlier than you might think, in the autumn, sustaining right into April. Moreover the pattern isn’t caused purely by requests for new batteries which, at most, make up 16% of the electrical work seen in a given month. Instead, alternators, lighting and other electrical faults or gremlins are what really peak on WhoCanFixMyCar.com during the winter.
Action Plan: Advertise your electrical expertise and experience – and/or free electrical diagnosis – until the clocks go forward.
2. Potholes have a knock-on effect in the spring
Potholes develop in winter, when rainwater enters cracks in the road and freezes, weakening the asphalt surface until it eventually disintegrates, creating a pothole, causing a remarkable £2.8bn of vehicle damage every year. As well as well-publicised effects on alloy wheels and tyres, potholes can also cause more significant mechanical damage, and that’s reflected directly in WhoCanFixMyCar.com’s data. Requests for Suspension and Steering Repair work increase by around 75% comparing December and February/March/April. Coil springs, shock absorbers and tracking all follow the same trend.
Action Plan: Promote a ‘post-pothole diagnosis’ service to your existing customers from February to April.
3. When summer comes, move fast!
Unsurprisingly, the demand for Air-Conditioning work spikes in the summer, with a 10x increase in July, relative to February. But that’s not the whole story. Bear in mind the following:
– Demand for this work is completely tied to the weather, not the season. A single hot afternoon causes a spike in air-con requests.
– Other job types are temperature-linked: electric window faults, window tinting and convertible roof repairs all follow an identical trend.
Action Plan: Move fast when hot weather is forecast. Line up pre-written emails, texts, mailshots and the like in the spring, so you can be front-of-mind with a suitable offer the very day that the mercury shoots up.
4. Servicing is still linked to registration month – but the ‘season’ is a month longer than first thought.
Because WhoCanFixMyCar.com also takes on non-service mechanical work – such as clutches, cambelts, brakes and exhausts – servicing actually makes up only a moderate proportion of the total work requested – around 13%. The link to first registration month can clearly be seen in monthly requests for Servicing work (usually, but not always, with an MOT), with a 60% increase in September versus, say, May.
However, as drivers don’t always get their Service or MOT sorted immediately, over time, the service date starts to lag behind registration month: while March and September are the most common UK registration months, servicing is actually slightly more common in April and October, respectively.
Action: If you’re promoting Servicing / MOT during plate-change month, make sure to do the same the month after.
5. Drivers of older vehicles feel the Christmas pinch.
WhoCanFixMyCar.com’s user base is almost an exact representation of the typical British driver – its most popular vehicle is a Ford Focus which, at eight-nine years old, is slightly older than the average car on our roads, the discrepancy driven by a portion of vehicles that are now on a main dealer Service Plan. Looking at vehicle age month-by-month, two things are clear:
1. Average age of cars being repaired skews a little younger around a plate change – because newer cars are more likely to be involved in a new car transaction (i.e., if a new car is bought and a used one is sold, it’s very common for some repair work to be carried out – but if the used car is much older, then it’s less likely to be sold and replaced with a brand-new one.)
2. Owners of older cars are less likely to use a garage from December-March. One possible cause: they may have less disposable income and thus big expenditure in December/Jan (Christmas, and often, holidays too) takes these drivers longer to recover from.
Action: Can you offer any form of staggered payment option, or a ‘Lite’ Servicing package in January-March?
6. Come rain or shine, mobile mechanic demand is on the up.
Consumers are seeking ‘convenience’ like never before – and these expectations will feed into all aspects of their lives, including car ownership. ‘When a few taps on a smartphone brings an Uber to my door, why should I drive to an unfamiliar location – and arrange my own transport – for something far more costly, such as car maintenance’ will increasingly become a driver’s mind-set. Garages that offer a truly mobile experience – or car collection and delivery – will have the advantage.
Action: Can you perform certain repairs at a driver’s home or workplace? Or can you collect and deliver the vehicle? Many drivers will pay a small surplus, allowing you to cover your costs.
Following these six actions can help any business to plan for success in 2016.
Click here to take a look at the work available on WhoCanFixMyCar.com in your local area.
