Online car repair marketplace, ClickMechanic, took a look at the greatest perils of the family road trip and the most common reasons for holiday car breakdowns estimated at 650,000 British cars this summer.
According to a recent survey, over half of British families planned to do a road trip this summer, putting more than 15.1 million drivers on the road in their own personal vehicles, averaging 1,002 miles each.
With such distances to be covered it’s no surprise that 78% said they expected to argue with passengers on their journey and more than half of respondents said this was most likely to happen just 30 miles into their trip.
While breakdowns were cited as the worst holiday nightmare for 70%, we found there are plenty of other road trip bugbears to contend with. For women their partner’s attitude to driving takes the second spot, while men find the need for frequent toilet breaks rather hard to bear!
And if you’re looking for a uniting factor, for parents it’s the ‘are we there yet?’ question that sets the teeth on edge – unbelievably, most kids will begin querying the journey’s length within ten minutes of leaving home, and will repeat the question at least seven times.
In a survey carried out by ClickMechanic, car drivers said that they had had a breakdown that could have been prevented if the car was checked and serviced, meaning that 325,000* vehicle breakdowns this summer could have been avoided if drivers had their car serviced before long trips, or performed some simple checks themselves before setting off on a journey. A staggering 26.1% of people say that they have only had their car serviced once in the last three years. It’s little wonder then, that some of the most common causes of breakdowns are so easily avoidable.
Top Five Reasons for Road Trip Breakdowns, According to ClickMechanic Survey:
- Oil levels low
- Water levels low
- Cam belt
- Clutch
- Brakes
ClickMechanic founder, Andrew Jervis, comments: ‘It’s estimated that British tourists will drive 15.2 billion miles on holiday this year – we could circumnavigate the globe over 61,000 times! With such a great distance being collectively travelled cars are put under a huge amount of pressure, so it’s not a huge surprise that some people will experience problems.
‘Getting your car fixed unexpectedly is always a hassle, but getting it fixed while in a foreign country can be a complete nightmare, especially if you don’t speak the language fluently. To me, it makes much more sense to get it serviced before you go – and with ClickMechanic you can find a professional who’s happy to come to you.
‘Of course, you can’t prepare for every eventuality, but sometimes it pays to be super organised, and car maintenance is one of those times when you really don’t want to get caught out!’
