{"id":883460,"date":"2026-09-07T17:12:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:12:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883460\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:12:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:12:22","slug":"the-costly-business-of-car-repairs-and-the-effect-of-insurance-in-a-spare-parts-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/883460\/","title":{"rendered":"The costly business of car repairs and the effect of insurance in a spare parts crunch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Elias<\/p>\n

September 7, 2026 \u2014 6:00pm<\/p>\n

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AAA<\/p>\n

Easily repairable cars are increasingly being written off after minor accidents due to delays in sourcing replacement parts from vehicle manufacturers, Australia\u2019s peak mechanics body says, as insurers concede that the barriers to repair are inflating premiums for all motorists.<\/p>\n

Frustration at carmakers has flared up since average repair times blew out from 38.57 days in 2019 to 61.25 days in 2024, according to data from the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). It\u2019s been identified as a key contributor to rising motor insurance premiums, which the corporate regulator found have risen about 50 per cent in six years<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"TomTom Horne of Castle Automotive in Artarmon, Sydney, says dealing with manufacturers has become a growing headache.Janie Barrett<\/p>\n

Stubborn delays for replacement parts have persisted since Australia\u2019s car manufacturing sector shuttered last decade, exacerbated by the proliferation of new brands now imported into the country and more electric componentry and sensors that make modern repairs more complex.<\/p>\n

Electric vehicle uptake has also complicated the repairs ecosystem, with traditional mechanics needing to undergo electrical training to de-power and repower batteries before and after working on such cars.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Motor<\/a><\/p>\n

Insurer policy changes over the past decade, including an industry-wide shift to allow repairs using refurbished parts not sourced from the original manufacturer, have helped to reduce delays for some tasks, but shortages remain a key problem for mechanics and insurers.<\/p>\n

Difficulty sourcing parts from manufacturers who are keen to steer customers to their in-house branded dealerships for repairs has become so severe that independent mechanics sourcing parts as simple as replacement panels can exceed four months, said Motor Trades Association of Australia (MTAA) executive director Bruce Billson.<\/p>\n

As a result, where policyholders are entitled to a replacement vehicle while waiting for a repair, insurers must weigh up the cost of a rental car for that period, and whether it is cheaper than writing off the customer\u2019s vehicle at its agreed value.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are aware of insurance companies writing off vehicles because of an inability to access parts in a timely way,\u201d said Billson, a minister for small business under the former Abbott government.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some vehicles, you\u2019re waiting 22 weeks for a part, and you might get a car written off because it\u2019s uneconomic to repair,\u201d he said. \u201cThe cost of the rental car becomes a critical part of whether your insurance will write it off.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, relatively new cars that should have years left on the road are being sold at auction, in some cases to be dismantled for their increasingly lucrative spare parts, Billson said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou may have clipped your bumper from running over your kid\u2019s bike, but if your comprehensive policy includes a rental car hire while you wait for a repair, you may just find your car gets written off instead,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Since 2022, carmakers have been required to share diagnostic and repair data with independent mechanics, known as the \u201cright to repair\u201d. Billson said that while these were well intentioned, there should also be a \u201cright to timely access to parts for repairs\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"MTAAMTAA executive director Bruce Billson.Natalie Boog<\/p>\n

The result of otherwise repairable cars being written off prematurely is unnecessarily adding to insurers\u2019 costs, and inflating the size of the pool of money they need to raise from customers\u2019 premiums across the board to be in a position to fulfil policyholders\u2019 claims.<\/p>\n

An insurance council spokeswoman echoed the MTAA\u2019s concerns and said that \u201cdelays in the supply of parts are a real and growing problem\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen a vehicle sits waiting months for a part, repairs take longer, costs rise, and more cars end up being written off rather than repaired, and those pressures ultimately flow through to premiums,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The council also wants the right-to-repair laws strengthened to include parts access.<\/p>\n

\u201dInsurers and repairers both want parts available when a vehicle needs them, and we are asking government to require manufacturers to supply them in a timely manner,\u201d the council spokeswoman said.<\/p>\n

Tom Horne, owner and head mechanic of Castle Automotive in Sydney\u2019s Artarmon, said that dealing with manufacturers has become a growing headache in his 35 years in the trade.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

He recalled a recent repair of a small car, where the wait for a replacement brake hose stretched more than a month. \u201cThe car just sat there. It\u2019s stuck here waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Manufacturers are also charging more for parts, he said. \u201cIt can now cost $3000 for a smashed headlight because it\u2019s an LED and you can\u2019t just replace the globe. The car may only be worth $3000, so you may just scrap it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Car design is also turning what were previously easy fixes into cumbersome, prolonged tasks. On some new cars, Horne\u2019s hand doesn\u2019t fit in the gap where he needs to access a headlight for replacement. \u201cThey make it so hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Merle Rogers, Castle Automotive\u2019s workshop manager, said that manufacturers were deliberately throwing repair obstacles at independent mechanics.<\/p>\n

In the past year, several large car brands have begun blocking access to car diagnostics and dashboard control, requiring third part mechanics to pay for virtual tokens to be able to switch off service alerts, despite cars being fully repaired and roadworthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe serviced a car, rang up the manufacturer, asked how to turn the service light off, and they said you\u2019ll have to service it again for us to turn the light off. We told them we\u2019d just serviced it, but they said that didn\u2019t matter,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

Other manufacturers outright refuse to sell parts to independent operators. <\/p>\n

Horne does try to source secondhand parts to avoid manufacturers\u2019 long wait times and high prices, but said that the used market is unreliable. \u201cYou spend hours on the phone trying to track down the right part,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

These barriers mean that the right to repair isn\u2019t always a reality, the MTAA said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Uber\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Assistant Minister for Competition Andrew Leigh did not address calls from the MTAA and insurance council to strengthen \u201cright to repair\u201d laws for motor vehicles, but acknowledged problems plagued the sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that delays in accessing parts can cause real frustration and cost,\u201d Leigh said. \u201cWhere businesses fail to meet their obligations, consumers need confidence that the law has real teeth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"EliasElias Visontay<\/a> is a National Consumer Affairs Reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 7, 2026 \u2014 6:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":883461,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-883460","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883460","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883460"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883460\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883461"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883460"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883460"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883460"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}