The annual claims analysis by CarGarantie has revealed a further price increase in average repair costs: at €718, costs exceeded the €700 mark for the first time. It was only in 2022 that the costs exceeded €600.
Every year, the insurance and customer loyalty specialist CarGarantie analyses around one million expired warranty contracts for new and used cars from all European markets to determine the average repair costs for damage covered by the warranty. The specialist insurer had predicted a further significant increase for the past year. At €718 (previous year: €657), this was even higher than the record increase in the previous year.
Engine is the most expensive component
This year, the engine is once again responsible for the most expensive claims. For used cars, its share rose slightly to 26% (previous year: 25.9%). In second place is the fuel system, including turbocharger, with 17.7% (previous year: 17.6%), followed in third place by the electrical system with 12.9% (previous year: 13.4%), Fig. 1.A similar picture emerges for new cars: here, the engine is still responsible for 18.4% of repair costs (previous year: 20.4%), followed by the electrical system with 17.8% (previous year: 14.7%) and the fuel system with 15.5% (previous year: 17.1%, 2nd place), Fig. 2.
Complex electrics and electronics remain susceptible
The electrical system remains the most susceptible component in 2024. In used cars, it is responsible for more than one fifth of the claims at 21.5% (previous year: 22.1%). The fuel system and the engine follow with 18.2% (previous year: 17.7%) and 13.5% (previous year: 14.0%), Fig. 3.For new cars, the frequency of claims for electrical systems jumped to 26.1% (previous year: 22.2%). Within two years, the susceptibility of electrical systems has thus increased from just over one fifth (2022: 20.2%) to more than one quarter. At 14.9% (previous year: 14.2%), comfort electrics are also responsible for slightly more claims in new cars and are thus in second place in 2024, followed by the fuel system with 12.9% (previous year: 15.1%), Fig. 4.
Little change in the occurrence of claims
There are only a few changes in the statistics regarding in which period claims occur: in 2024, 27.1% of damage to used cars occurred within the first 5,000 km. In the previous year, the figure was 27.6 %. 21.0 % of the damage occurred only after more than 25,000 km (previous year: 21.2 %), Fig. 5. The damage occurrence after days is almost identical: as in the previous year, 25.8 % of the damage to used cars occurred only after more than 360 days (Fig. 6).
Dr Marcus Söldner, CEO of CarGarantie:
“The increase in average repair costs is not unexpected. The recent puls study had already found that most decision-makers in the automotive industry expect a price increase for workshop services. We had also already predicted a continuation of the increase. This forecast has come true, and to a significant extent: last year we already saw a price increase of around 40 euros, and this year the increase was even higher, at over 60 euros. At the moment, there are no signs that the peak has already been reached: the situation of international trade and the numerous crises give rise to fears of further increases. It is very important for both the trade and the end customer to safeguard against such costs. Therefore, the focus is more than ever on warranty and repair cost insurance.”
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