The typical wait for vehicle accident repairs has been predicted to lengthen from about 10 days to as much as six seeks, said Robert Macnab, lead analyst at Trend Tracker.
He expected supply to be especially tight in London and the southeast, where bodyshops’ operating costs are higher, and for repairs of high-tech vehicles such as hybrids.
Bodyshops blame, in large part, financial pressure from insurance companies — which finance an estimated 70 per cent of repairs — for squeezing profit margins.
They complain motor insurers have taken an increasingly tough approach to negotiating prices, including setting up networks of “approved” garages to which they direct policyholders.