Franchised car retailers to benefit from £45m air-con aftersales boost ahead of UK heatwave

Franchised car dealers have been alerted to an impending heatwave which will see UK drivers spend over £45 million on air conditioning services, and garages “inundated” with re-gas services, according to WhoCanFixMyCar.com.

The marketplace has predicted that there will be over one million air con units serviced in total in the months of June, July and August, having already seen a 2500% increase in requests in May compared to April, based on internal garage and consumer data and franchisees should be competing with independent garages for the work.

WhoCanFixMyCar.com’s co-founder, Al Preston, said: “If demand for air con services continues to increase at the rate it is then garages are going to be inundated with work; it’s great for them but they need to be prepared for the influx of jobs.”

In May 2018 alone, circa 350,000 drivers nationwide had an aircon re-gas performed on their cars – the most common aircon service.

When taking the increase in demand into account, a further one million drivers are expected need a re-gas performed this summer.

The average quote for an aircon re-gas on WhoCanFixMyCar.com last month was £57 compared to £42 last May, representing a 26% increase.

Due to new regulations on the gas that is used in the air conditioning systems, those with newer cars could expect to pay between £150 and £300.

“Some drivers don’t realise their air conditioning units need servicing and as it’s not part of a MOT test it falls under the radar,” said Preston.

“I think what has happened is people have been using their air con units more in recent weeks and realised it’s not working the way it should, so are booking in for a service. Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than driving in a hot car, so I’m not surprised that drivers are rushing to get it fixed.

“I’d recommend that members of the public shop around for repair and servicing costs, as it can be expensive.”

In response, WhoCanFixMyCar.com has created a page on site for drivers to view and compare prices for re-gassing air conditioning units in their local area here.