MEMA study reveals auto maintenance spending trends

Motor, Nov 2003 by Nash, Tom

High-income, self-employed consumers living in the western United States devote a higher portion of their household expenditures to maintaining and repairing their cars, according to the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA).

"Vehicle maintenance and repair costs vary greatly when looking at household income, types of employment and the regions of the country where consumers live," said Frank Hampshire, MEMA director of research. The study of automotive service consumers between 1991 and 2001 revealed that:

* Retirees spend much less on vehicle repair and maintenance than the average wage earner, probably due to factors such as their fixed income, less ability to drive due to poor health and fewer miles driven without a daily commute to work.

* Peaks in automotive maintenance by profession follow overall economic trends. For example, self-employed workers spent $100 to $200 more per year on auto repair and maintenance than the average wage earner from 1995 to 1999-figures that reflect the economic boom. However, expenditures of the self-employed dropped to the same level for all workers during the recessionary years of 2000 and 2001.

* Consumers in the highest income group spent 310% more on maintenance and repair than those in the lowest income group. This disparity is influenced by such factors as lower-priced parts for less expensive cars, lower income consumers putting off repairs and maintenance and higher income consumers logging more miles.

Consumers living in the western region of the countiy spend more on maintenance and repair due to longer driving distances across wide-open spaces and a higher cost of living, in such areas as California, for example.