AA called out to 128 new car breakdowns in January

The Automobile Association (AA) dealt with more than four breakdowns a day of new 161-registered cars in January.

An analysis of AA rescue assignments for the month of January reveals they were called out to fix 128 brand new vehicles. Last month also saw them attend to 741 breakdowns of cars of less than a year old.

The AA Rescue study also ranks the most popular faults among 161-reg motors, with almost a quarter (23%) of motorists battling with vehicles that won’t start. This is followed by lit-up dashboard warning lights (15%); wheel changes (15%); cutting out (6%); and simple misfuelling incidents (4%).

The AA pointed out that modern cars are increasingly complex machines and include finely-tuned electronics and software that can be prone to teething problems. It said that owners may make mistakes because they don’t know the car very well, with dashboard warning lights and mystery ‘won’t starts’ tending to be more common in younger cars.

On foot of a 30,000 surge in new car sales in January, the AA is advising motorists of the importance of familiarising themselves with their car’s manual and settings.

AA director of consumer affairs Conor Faughnan said the organisation is receiving nearly 30 calls a week to attend to new cars.

“You would like to think that when you drive out of a showroom enjoying that new car smell you won’t have to worry about a breakdown for a while, but in fact cars are vulnerable when they are very new.

“Older motorists will remember when new cars had to be ‘run in’ for a month or so. That is long gone but it is still true that if there is an issue with a car it will turn up in the first few weeks.”

Mr Faughnan said driver error is often the cause of breakdowns.

“Buying a new car means you get the benefits of the latest advances in technology, comfort and security, but often that means an array of complex — and confusing —issues to deal with. Non-starting is a popular find in new car breakdowns and it can be daunting for any motorist, seasoned or not, to even begin diagnosing the issue,” he said.