BookMyGarage drives a significant proportion of bookings into workshops within just three days of the appointment date, the company’s latest analysis of its data has revealed.
More than a third (34%) of appointments made via the service and MOT online booking and garage comparison website were for a date within a three-day window.
Meanwhile, with latest data from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) revealing that more than 1.9 million class 3 & 4 vehicles failed their MOTs in Quarter 3 (the latest period for which data is available), garages could benefit from motorists who may be looking for last-minute availability to fix faults as a result.
With 350k+ bookings made in the last 12 months on the BookMyGarage platform, a random sample of bookings, which had taken place in the past three months, was analysed to provide insights into how the platform is utilised by motorists.
The company’s data analysts found that of the bookings sampled, 34% were made within 0-3 days. Of those, 4% were made on the day of the booking itself; 36% were made the day before; 33% were made two days before; and 27% were made three days ahead of the appointment date. DVSA MOT figures (published 22.04.25) showed that failures accounted for 28.89% of all tests in Quarter 3 compared to Quarter 2 when 27.73% failed.
A total of 1,923,591 vehicles failed in classes 3 & 4 – cars, vans and passenger vehicles with up to 12 seats from September to December 2024 (Q3) out of a total of 8,245,954 tests undertaken. From July to September 2024 (Q2) slightly more tests were undertaken, a total of 8,651,489 with 1,935,300 fails. In Quarter 1 (April to June 2024), of the 7,259,696 tests completed, 1,630,645 failed (27.89%).
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment accounted for the highest proportion of MOT faults at 29.75%, followed by suspension (22.19%) and brakes (13.66%).
BookMyGarage chief marketing officer Jessica Potts said: “Our analysis tells us that more than a third
of customers utilising our platform are doing so to fulfil a last-minute requirement which makes
partnering with BookMyGarage a lucrative way for garages to secure last-minute unfilled slots or
plug any gaps from cancellations which would otherwise translate to lost revenue.
“The proportion of customers who make a booking within three days of the appointment date represents a significant number to warrant workshops factoring this into their business strategies. It shows that there are plenty of motorists who, for a likely range of reasons from busy lives to a failed MOT test, book just a few days beforehand.
“Garages can set short lead times on their direct online booking profile which we can then market to customers looking for late slots thereby increasing the likelihood of these being filled. We also have an optional feature which allows garages to accept a certain number of bookings per day within their lead time window to account for last-minute cancellations.
“In these days where every booking matters to counterbalance rising costs and cautious consumers, BookMyGarage has a significant role to play in boosting custom for workshops and even enabling motorists to find a garage quickly to fix a failed MOT fault.”
