The Motor Vehicle Repairers Association has warned insurers that repairers will be unable to cover the cost of courtesy cars this winter. The warning comes as the association plans to launch an in-house courtesy car programme, which replaces the scheme operated with Advanced Vehicle Management.

The MVRA believes repairers may be unable to gain the necessary credit from finance houses to secure additional courtesy cars during the busy period due to weak balance sheets. This could force them to seek spot hire or daily rental vehicles to meet service obligations, which in turn would carry an unsustainable cost.

Mike Monaghan, managing director of the MVRA, said: “If insurers fail to provide some support to repair centres at this time there could be a severe impact in customer service levels.

Equally repairers could be exposed to termination if they are not able to meet the service levels required by the insurers because of the financial affect it will have on their business.

“It is because of these unreasonable demands upon the repairer that the MVRA strongly believes that the days of the free courtesy car are numbered.”

The association is now planing to supply courtesy cars itself, thought to be sourced from Vauxhall, after dropping Advanced Vehicle Management.

An MVRA spokeswoman said the scheme would help repairers to control costs. “The costs from manufacturers are rising because of falling residual values, which is being passed on to the repairers”, she said.

“The deal we are putting together will be good, but it is not the £99 deal that repairers had in the past.”