How common are home DIY car repairs in the UK?

Even though the cost-of-living crisis has started to simmer down in recent months, it’s safe to say that, for many of us, we’re still in penny-saving mode – especially when it comes to expenses around our cars.

Whether that’s getting smart with how many trips you take per day or hunting around for the nearest petrol station in your local area, there are plenty of things you can do to cut back on car costs.

But we’d also argue there are some bigger things that you should avoid doing – such as handling car DIY repairs yourself rather than sending it to a garage. Because let’s face it, most of us don’t have a clue about how our cars operate under the bonnet.

Yet, despite this obvious hurdle, many Brits have decided to take essential car repairs into their own hands, rather than having to accommodate potentially expensive mechanic payments into their budgets.

And as you might expect, this has led to more than a few Brits immediately regretting this decision when their DIY repairs go wrong – but just how common are DIY car repairs in the UK?

To find out, we surveyed 1,000 UK residents across the country to find out whether or not they’ve done their own car DIY repairs, and whether or not it cost them more money to repair afterwards. Not only that, but we also spoke to a car repair and scrapping expert on why selling your car for scrap might actually be a better financial option overall.

How many Brits have attempted to fix their own cars?

Starting with how many Brits have attempted to fix their own cars in recent months, you may be surprised to learn that roughly 37% of car owners have tried to make such necessary repairs themselves in order to save money, with about half of male drivers saying they’ve dabbled in car DIY alongside 25% of female drivers.

Perhaps more interestingly though, just 13% of men and 9% of women claimed their DIY repairs had wound up costing them extra money, though 20% of millennials said their car projects set them back financially in the long run – suggesting that many of the DIY jobs people are taking on are likely focused on simple and small repair jobs.

Indeed, it would seem that the most common DIY car repairs attempted by drivers are windscreen wiper changes and battery swaps, both of which have been carried out by 48% and 46% of UK drivers respectively, while other more complex repairs have pretty much been avoided by all but the most confident car DIYers.

As for the areas in the UK where self-repair car jobs gone wrong are most common, Southampton came out on top as the city most likely to see drivers attempting mechanical repairs at home, only to pay more money afterwards to fix their repair errors (15%).

This is in stark contrast to Manchester, where 50% of drivers said their attempted repairs had been successful, with only 10% of those mending their car at home needing to pay more for fixes after the fact.

How many Brits have considered scrapping their cars instead?

So, it’s clear that more than a few drivers have made the effort to fix their car themselves to save money, but how many Brits have considered taking the alternative route of simply scrapping their car entirely?

Well, according to our survey, at least 20% of UK car owners have debated whether or not to scrap their car instead of fixing it, with millennials being more likely than any other generation to consider selling their car to a metal dealer (28%).

As you might expect, the main reason behind drivers looking to scrap their cars is high repair costs, especially when something big breaks (41%), with second-hand car maintenance then being a close second in this area (33%).

And in terms of where car scrapping is on the mind for most residents, Belfast could be seeing a surge in cars sold for scrap, with 57% of those we surveyed making it a major consideration for their finances.

How much do Brits spend on car repairs annually?

With all this talk around carrying out DIY car repairs as a way to save money, it’s worth asking just how much the average Brit spends on care repairs annually – and it turns out it’s a lot more than you might think!

Case and point, around 49% of Brits spend an average of £1,000 or more on car repairs annually each year, with millennials spending the most on car repairs yearly out of all generations at 40%!

As for where repairs are most expensive, you might be surprised to learn that Manchester was the top city for this factor, with 37% of drivers paying over £1,000 compared to just 6% of Leeds residents and 19% of Londoners.

Tips on how to save money on your car

Even though our survey suggests that DIY car jobs are a lot more common and successful than you might think, we’d argue that, unless you feel confident in your DIY skills, you should look for other simpler ways to save money on your car and leave the repairs to the professionals.

Speaking of which, here are our top tips for saving money on your car over the course of a year:

• Haggle on car insurance – Besides car repairs and fuel prices, car insurance costs can often be far more expensive than we’d like, which makes haggling on price and looking for cheaper options when renewal times approach very important. For example, if you find a cheaper insurance option, you may be able to haggle your current insurer down to the same price to keep your current cover setup. And as an aside, if you want to save money on car insurance in general, it’s usually cheaper to pay your cover in one go at the start of each year, rather than monthly.
• Make sure you MOT your car – While we’re all guilty of forgetting our MOT dates from time to time, having your car MOTed on time is essential for potentially catching car problems before they happen. And if you’re worried about failing your MOT and having to pay for a retest, make sure you give your car’s basics a once-over before taking it in (checking bulbs, lights, indicators, etc).
• Learn to make small repairs – Although we don’t necessarily recommend doing DIY repairs on your car personally, learning how to make small repairs can pay off in the long run. Things such as handling oil changes yourself, swapping out your tyres, and replacing fuel and air filters directly are relatively simple tasks to do once you understand how, and it means you won’t need to pay more for a mechanic to do it instead.
• Keep your car clean – Another common car maintenance cost that most people forget about, it’s almost always much cheaper to clean your car yourself than going to a car wash. And as an added bonus, staying up to date with car cleanliness will help to avoid things like rusting or semi-permanent staining, which can reduce your car’s sale value.
• Don’t ignore any issues – Last, but not least, if you do find a mechanical issue of any kind with your car, don’t wait until it gets worse to have it fixed. It might feel painful to pay the initial cost, but it’s practically guaranteed to be cheaper to sort these problems immediately than leaving it till months down the line when they could very well be worse.

What should you consider when scrapping your car?

Finally, if you’ve decided that scrapping your car might be the best option for you, rather than paying for more repairs, but you don’t know where to start, we’ve shared our top-level insights into the general scrapping process below:

• Research your local scrapyards – One of the first things you should do when scrapping your car is to collect a list of your local scrapyards to see your available options and how reputable they are. Finding a reputable scrap merchant is essential if you want the best deal for your car, and to avoid unintentional legal trouble, so make sure you do your research on each dealer before committing to one.
• Get multiple quotes – Much like insurance hunting and home renovation projects, you always want to find multiple quotes for scrapping your car to see what sort of offers are available. That way, you can make sure you’re getting the maximum scrap value for your car possible.
• Compare your quote to your car’s sale value – Once you have your chosen quote in hand, be sure to compare it with your car’s sale value. Although you may be able to get a lot of money for scrapping your car, if its sale value is higher and you know you can sell it on, then you’re probably better off selling it rather than giving it to scrap.
• Acquire the necessary documents – If you’ve done all of the above and decided that you do want to scrap your car, you next need to acquire all the essential documents required for legal scrapping to take place. These include your ID, your car’s V5c log book, and if you have it to hand, its service history.
• Make sure you remove all personal items – After you’ve set a date to scrap your car, make sure you remove all essential personal belongings from your car well in advance, and do a final check on the day, to ensure you don’t lose anything vital when you hand your car over.
• Speak to an expert first – Finally, but perhaps most importantly, if you have settled on scrapping your car, make sure you speak to an expert before you decide anything, like the team here at Car.co.uk. Even though it might seem simple, the scrapping process can be quite tricky if you’re unfamiliar with it, so having an expert by your side to guide you along the way can be a major benefit.

Speak to the Car.co.uk team about scrapping your car

So, there you have it, our insights into how common UK car DIY repairs are, as well as a few tips you can follow around saving money on your car or starting the scrapping process if you feel it's no longer driveable.

And remember, if you want further advice on how much you could scrap your car for, as well as car finance and insurance deals that are budget-friendly, don’t forget to visit the Car.co.uk blog for more insightful pieces like this one!

Speak to the team at Car.co.uk for scrapping, insurance, and finance, whatever you need to make looking after your car easier.