There seems to be a perfect storm brewing and ultimately it will be the customer that takes the brunt.

Bodyshops are struggling, with over 100,000 vehicles in the UK currently requiring repair, plus the daily increase, demand is outstripping supply and man hours.  It is predicted that within the industry, the waiting time will soon hit 3 months before a car is booked in, and if you want a courtesy vehicle, the wait could be even longer with rental companies having their fleet booked out and desperate to source vehicles, plus keeping the existing fleet far longer than the normally do.

So what has caused all these elements to collide at the same time?

1. Market demand
2. Shortage of rental / courtesy vehicles
3. Shortage of skilled technicians
4. Parts delays
5. Lack of stock
6. Global issues

So taking the above one by one, people have accidents, it's why we exist and just because demand is at unpresented levels, doesn't mean that people stop having prangs. The issue is just being compounded.

Rental companies on average keep their vehicles a year before trading them in, but such is the demand they are not only at capacity with current fleet, they are unable to source more or the prices to replace have been driven up so far as to make replacement not cost effective.

Good panel beaters, paint sprayers and fitters are like honest politicians, very very rare indeed. We are luck to have a superb team of highly skilled and dedicated technicians. But could I employ 4 more tomorrow? Yes, but we just can't find them.

Parts are the Achilles heel of our industry, some parts are so far behind on back order, there is no expected date. What's the knock on effect; having to tell the customer there could be a 6 weeks delay that's out of our hands and that they need the courtesy vehicle for longer. Here is the knock on affect.

It is no secret that UK and European stock of parts is dwindling. Even the most basic components are hard to source. Chips in particular are causing major issues as there simply not enough in the world, vehicle manufacturers are crying out to finish new cars but cant, and the poor old repair industry looking to source replacement parts with chips in them are even further down the list.

Global issues, where do we start. Already fuel prices are at previously unseen levels and a trip to the pump now takes a deep breath and a dollop of bravery. However, as the Russian aggression impacts the lives of the people of the Ukraine, aside from the humanitarian sacrifice, the knock on effect of global product supply is far from being realised. So many raw materials are produced and sourced from Russia, then filtered down to be processed in Eastern Europe before being shipped out into the market. The supply chain will slowly grind to a temporary halt, before other countries with the applicable natural / raw materials can take up production. This will increase costs and demand will increase as there will be a mountain of backorders to fulfil.

The accident repair industry, and us in particular in Linton will do our best to minimise your downtime and keep you mobile, but if we tell you there is a delay in booking you in, or a shortage of parts, you may not be pleased, but at least you know why.