Why are there delays in getting cars serviced / repaired?
Nearly half the two million private cars currently on our roads are aged 10 years or more. The sheer volume of such numbers brings into even sharper focus the after-sales challenge of finding time and space to service and repair so many cars.
With many outlets already struggling to deal with high levels of repairs and servicing, the question is: how will they cope over coming years with ever-growing overall numbers.
For the record, private cars aged 10-plus (2010 and before) numbered 878,784 in March 2020 but they rose to 1,194,509 (2015 and before) by March this year (Stats. Courtesy SIMI).
The number of private cars on the national fleet under licence in March 31st 2020 was 2,187,368.
That number has since grown substantially and as of 31st March 2025 came to 2,475,792 vehicles – almost 2.5million.
Cars aged four years and more (2011 – 2016) stood at 887,690 in March 2020; that number rose to 907,633 at Q1 2025 (for 2016 – 2021).
Against that backdrop, it is realistic to expect that, as greater volumes build up, there will be even longer delays in getting cars repaired or serviced. Unless, that is, there is further major investment in larger premises, workshops, equipment etc. That would be a costly commitment at a time of big overheads and market fluidity.
Most main franchises have spent heavily on multi-bay workshops, as have independent outlets, so it is unlikely there would be much of an appetite to plough more money into that area. Main dealers can suffer from a drop-off in demand for after-sales as soon as vehicles run out of warranty and customers take their business elsewhere to avoid paying what are regarded as high repair costs.
At the same time they face losing chargeable hours while apprentices, technicians, master technicians etc are on away-days off-site either familiarising themselves with imminent new models or upskilling at training. That can come to a substantial amount. Ultimately it means fewer skilled people are available at the coalface at certain times.
Progressive independent garages are growing their turnover and throughput, but can’t overlook the need to upskill staff and update diagnostics.
Smaller outlets often can take up the slack but are restricted by fewer staff and tight workshop space that can restrict throughput. In a three-person operation, for example, it is extremely difficult to prevent delays if one is out sick.
The one area that most outlets would have no problem spending big money on is more technicians and apprentices. They are urgently needed across the business and could substantially speed up throughput. But they are like gold dust. Some are leaving, or have left the industry tempted by offers from the tech sector especially.
It’s not all gloom, however. Some mainstream brands told us in the course of our research, that their workshops are not feeling any real pinch right now because they have their own way of filling the void through in-house training for staff.
But others acknowledge that there is a shortage of technicians, especially, and that is pushing out the length of delays in booking in cars.
SIMI Deputy Director General, Tom Cullen says: “Many outlets are suffering delays. The car fleet is getting older, quickly heading for 12-years of age; there are more cars being prepared for the NCT. As well as that, there are more PCP cars coming back into the network and being repaired or serviced before sale.”
Another time-consuming factor has been the high volume of recalls to replace faulty electronics, brakes, tubes and airbags.
He adds: “Despite the state of some cars you see on the roads every day, we are getting better at minding those cars and more inclined to nip faults in the bud. It all adds up to more cars to be catered – with fewer people to work on them.” Mr Cullen emphasises: “We are adding 50,000 vehicles each year (to the fleet), with a lot of young drivers.”
Cathal Kealy, of KIA Motors told us: “No doubt, there is a shortage of technicians at present which is causing some workshop delays when it comes to service bookings but to my knowledge it would be very much in line with the industry norm. We have partnered with a recruitment agency to try and assist dealers with filling vacancies as they arise and this is proving beneficial.”
On the other side of the coin, Motor Distributors Ltd, says customer demand for service, maintenance and repair is in line with traditional patterns and are not affected in any way by the growing number of EVs being sold. A spokesman said that lead times for appointments are around seven days on average across the board.
And Sarah Hayes of Hyundai told us: “I can confirm that our dealers are not experiencing any pressure in that regard and in fact our average wait time is only five days currently in the network.”
Volkswagen claims it has had seven consecutive years of improvement in average service lead times across its dealer network. An independently verified telephone ‘Mystery Shop’ initiative indicates that lead times have reduced by three days across their dealer network so far in 2025 compared with the corresponding period in 2024.
Ciaran Cusack of the Gowan Group said: “That some of the reasons for the backlog in aftersales appointments includes higher number of cars on the road, limited workshop capacity, shortage of technicians, parts delays (in some cases but less now since Covid). All of the above factors combine to create a delay in getting through the service and repair appointments.”
He added: “The biggest strain is the shortage of technicians. There are fewer apprentices joining the motor trade each year. Apprentice technician wages are quite low in comparison with those in other trades such as electricians, plumbers etc so other trades seem more attractive.”
Mr Cusack said: “Some young people who wish to do apprenticeships are discouraged from doing so by parents and guidance councillors in favour of college and university places that are viewed as a “higher standard”.
He adds: “Lots of the multi-national tech and pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Intel etc will offer technicians attractive packages to leave the dealerships as their skillset is suited to the role of maintenance personnel.”
Maybe we should be looking more to Europe where, generally speaking, a larger portion of profits for main dealers comes from the aftersales side of the business. They make big efforts to protect it because it yields profits in good and bad times.
That isn’t always the case in Ireland, with sales generating more profits for dealerships through new, used cars and vans. The trick is to gain a balance between the two and being mindful that sales can collapse in tough times but aftersales can often hold its own.
It is obvious that some outlets are faring better than others but those latest figures show how just how high the bar is being raised for everyone in the drive to keep waiting times from escalating.