The cost of replacement parts has fallen over the past three years, according to Trend Tracker.
The automotive research company has analysed 150,000 authorised insurance repair estimates. The average insurance accident repair cost dropped from £1,420 in 2003 to £1,310 in 2005. And the cost of parts per insurance repair averaged £702 in 2003 but fell by 16% to £592 in 2005.
As a percentage of the total cost, parts now account for 45.2%, compared with 49.4% in 2003.
Legislative changes, such as the 2002 Block Exemption Regulation, have made a difference by encouraging more competition for original equipment (OE) parts.
The results of the research are contained in Trend Tracker's “The Car Body Repair Market in the UK” report.
