Canadian drivers are facing a “double whammy” of escalating repair costs for aging vehicles and persistently high new-car prices, according to a new report from J.D. Power Canada that tracks customer service costs across franchised dealerships and independent repair shops.
The challenging situation is prompting drivers of vehicles between four and 12 years old to hang onto their vehicles longer, but making it tough for many to balance their budgets, said J.D. Ney, automotive practice lead at the data and analytics company.
“With inflation pushing auto repair costs upward and interest rates making larger-ticket items like mortgage payments and new-vehicle purchases more expensive, owners are being hit with a double whammy.”
According to the J.D. Power 2024 Canada Customer Service Index, the average cost of a visit to a dealership rose to $465 in 2024, up 7.6 per cent from a year ago. A similar trip to an independent shop has increased to $273, up 4.2 per cent from 2023, the report found.
Despite facing higher service costs, the tougher economic environment is prompting drivers to hang onto their aging vehicles longer. The latest index found 40 per cent of visits to dealerships and 24 per cent of visits to aftermarket shops were for repairs. This compares to 31 and 21 per cent for dealerships and repair shops, respectively, last year, signalling owners are opting to make repairs as opposed to buying new vehicles, the report said.
The rising cost of repairs, meantime, has not altered how drivers are approaching fixes. Dealerships accounted for 61 per cent of repair market revenue in 2024, while the aftermarket captured 39 per cent. The breakdown is unchanged from last year.
