Garages ‘rejecting’ electric car owners for crucial reason

Garages are “turning away” electric car owners over one crucial problem manufacturers are installing in modern vehicles, according to experts. New data from LKQ Euro Car Parts, seen exclusively by The Express, has revealed nearly nine in 10 independent garages have been forced to “turn away” or refer EV and plug-in hybrid work in the past six months.

Local garages are struggling to access vehicle data, diagnostics and technical information, with manufacturers often locking this behind fault codes controlled by brands.

It means that local mechanics often cannot read the fault code to figure out what is wrong with a car, pushing drivers towards franchised dealers who have bespoke tools to check errors in their cars.

More than one in four independent garages say diagnostic access concerns in newer EV brands were discouraging further investment across sites.

Mark Cranmer, owner at Station Garage in Hyde, Greater Manchester, told The Express: “We’re consistently seeing more EVs and hybrids coming through the door, and our customers need to know that, as their local independent garage, we’re able to service and repair them safely and to the right standard.

“For us, it’s about staying competitive and making sure we can keep offering the level of service our customers expect as vehicles change. People come to independent garages because they trust us and value the relationship they have with us, so we want to be able to keep supporting them as their cars become more complex. The more straightforward it is to access the information, training and support we need, the easier it is for garages like ours to keep more of that work in the workshop.”

However, LKQ Car Parts has warned that this figure could well rise to £550million due to servicing premiums charged by franchised dealers compared to independent garages. They warned that a routine service can cost between £80 and £170 more at a franchised dealer in a blow to cash-strapped road users.

The UK does have a new Security-related Repair and Maintenance Information (SERMI) scheme, that allows independent garages to access critical security-related vehicle data.

But, Andy Southby, Chief Commercial Officer for LKQ UK & Ireland told The Express: “Our data shows that independent garages are not standing still on EVs. They’ve invested heavily in skills, training and equipment – and we’re seeing that appetite first-hand through our LKQ Academy training platform – but they can only realise the return on this investment if they can access the data, diagnostics and technical information they need to do their jobs.”