New statistics on car repair and maintenance show that work on newer car models is more expensive than work on older vehicles. Prices seem to leap up sharply with the newest types.
AutoJerry, the chain of car repair shops behind the statistics, calculated its average invoices based on about one thousand car models' year of manufacture. Some 300,000 service reports from 1,300 chain locations were studied.
The reports include information on the prices of maintenance, repair and accessory jobs, but not tyre services. The AutoJerry database includes both brand garages and individual repair shops, with the latter better represented.
AutoJerry interprets one reason for the spike to be the more complicated systems found in newer cars. Expensive accessories such as Webasto parking heaters and tow hitches are also usually more often added to newer makes.
Additional gadgets are installed at the factory, however, and thus their part in the price leap is unclear. Newer cars should also be able to write off repairs as part of the vehicle's warranty, and so should not show up in the statistics.
The spare parts of older cars get cheaper with time, which is partly why cars with more mileage are less expensive to maintain.
The Finnish Central Organisation for Motor Trade and Repairs (AKL) is shocked by the survey results. The organisation says that such an acute spike in prices should not be possible. AKL suggests that the data be analysed again.