One in 10 motorists admit to postponing their next car service by up to a year to save money, while 5% have pushed back on the checks by more than a year, relying instead on the annual MOT to ensure their car is road worthy.

According to the RAC research, one in 10 drivers have also decided to service their car themselves, or have asked family or friends to help them out.

The poll of 1,900 drivers by the motoring group also revealed that 9% said they’ve chosen cheaper options, such as swapping a full or major service due for a minor one instead.

Meanwhile 8% said they switched garage to a cheaper mechanic to save cash.

High inflation has caused the price of servicing vehicles to increase, but the RAC said a poorly maintained car “poses all sorts of risks for drivers”, from a breakdown to a much bigger garage repair bill in the future.

‘False economy’

RAC breakdown spokesman, Rod Dennis, said: “Not keeping on top of servicing a vehicle is almost always a false economy, as the probability of suffering a breakdown emergency and having to fork out even more for expensive repairs down the line go up massively.

“So, while drivers might feel the best thing to do is to put off servicing or opt for a cheaper service even if their car is due a full one, we advise strongly against it as repair costs are likely to snowball when things start to go wrong.”

Dennis added that the RAC mobile mechanics are also handling an increasing number of repair jobs, often after members have been rescued from the side of the road by an RAC patrol and then need to get their cars fixed.