Vehicle repair costs continue to rise, leaving fleet managers with some increasingly difficult decisions about whether older vehicles are still worth repairing.
New data from Sell Your Problem Car suggests that vehicle repair costs are now almost 26% higher than they were in 2020. The average repair bill has also increased by approximately 8% in the past year alone.
For fleets already facing higher fuel, insurance and operating costs, this additional pressure can quickly affect budgets, vehicle replacement plans and overall profitability.
Repairable does not always mean economical
A vehicle may be technically repairable, but that does not necessarily mean repairing it is the right commercial decision.
Sean Wright, vehicle specialist at Sell Your Problem Car, explained:
“From our position in the problem vehicle market, we are seeing more cars reach a point where the repair is possible, but the numbers no longer add up.
“Alternator repairs, for example, rose from an average of £492.26 in 2024 to £607.67 in 2025. That type of increase can quickly change the decision on an older vehicle, particularly where there are other faults, signs of wear or no warranty cover in place.
“The industry needs to look beyond whether a repair can be completed and consider whether the cost is justified by the value, condition and likely future reliability of the vehicle.”
This is particularly important during the busy summer breakdown period, when repair networks are under greater pressure and vehicle downtime can quickly become expensive.
Before approving a major repair, fleet managers should consider the vehicle’s age, mileage, condition, residual value and recent repair history. A single fault may be worth fixing, but several developing problems could suggest that it is time to replace the vehicle.
Modern faults can be difficult to price
Modern vehicles are increasingly reliant on sensors, software and interconnected electronic systems. This can make even a relatively simple warning light much more difficult and expensive to diagnose.
Wright said:
“Many everyday faults are now connected to wider electronic systems, which makes the final repair bill harder to predict at the start.
“A warning light or sensor issue may involve diagnostics, software checks, specialist tools and several stages of labour before the underlying problem is found.
“From what we see, the difficulty often comes when an owner has already paid for diagnosis and one repair, only for another linked issue to appear. By that stage, the amount invested can be difficult to recover through the value of the car.”
This is where fleets can easily fall into the trap of continuing to spend money because they have already invested in the initial diagnosis or repair.
Every further repair should be considered on its own commercial merits. Money already spent cannot be recovered, so the key question should always be whether the next repair represents good value.
Make the decision before costs build up
Waiting too long can lead to additional labour, storage, recovery and replacement vehicle costs. There is also the operational impact of having a vehicle unavailable for several days or weeks.
Wright advised:
“Too often, fleets, insurers and dealers only consider an alternative route after further costs have already built up through labour, storage and downtime.
“A better approach would assess repair cost, residual value, downtime and recoverable value at the same stage. This would help businesses make earlier decisions, avoid unnecessary spending and direct the vehicle into the most suitable route before more value is lost.”
I think this is an important point for every fleet manager. The repair quote is only one part of the true cost.
The full calculation should include:
- The estimated repair cost
- The possibility of further related faults
- The vehicle’s current and post-repair value
- Recovery, storage and diagnostic charges
- Replacement vehicle or hire costs
- Lost productivity during downtime
- The likely reliability of the vehicle after repair
Looking at all these costs together makes it much easier to decide whether to repair, replace or dispose of the vehicle.
Could repair inflation affect the used vehicle market?
Rising costs may also mean more vehicles leave fleets earlier than originally planned, even when they remain technically repairable.
Wright warned:
“Over the next few years, rising repair costs could lead to more vehicles leaving fleets and ownership cycles earlier than expected, even when they remain technically repairable.
“That may reduce the supply of affordable used vehicles, change replacement patterns and place more pressure on remarketing and salvage channels.
“For the wider industry, the challenge will be managing that shift without allowing usable value to disappear from the vehicle lifecycle.”
If more businesses replace vehicles earlier, demand for suitable used fleet vehicles could increase while supply becomes more limited. This may place further pressure on replacement budgets and make forward planning even more important.
