Parts Delays in Smash Repairs: What’s Happening and How We’re Keeping You Informed

A global parts shortage is slowing car repairs across Australia. Here’s what Erin Panel Works is seeing, and what we’re doing to keep the impact on you as small as possible.

If you’ve had a smash repair recently, you may have found yourself waiting longer than expected. You’re not alone. Delays in getting replacement parts from vehicle manufacturers are affecting repairers everywhere, and the Central Coast is no exception.

We believe you deserve to know what’s going on with your car. So here’s an honest look at the problem, what we’ve experienced first-hand, and the steps we take to keep your repair moving and keep you in the loop.

This is an industry-wide trend, not just a Central Coast one. According to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA), average repair times grew from 38.57 days in 2019 to 61.25 days in 2024.

The biggest cause is the wait for replacement parts from vehicle manufacturers. Industry bodies and the ICA have both raised it publicly. When a vehicle sits for months waiting on a part, the repair takes longer, costs rise, more cars get written off instead of repaired, and those pressures eventually show up in everyone’s premiums.

We can’t control global supply chains, but we can make sure no time is lost on our end and that you always know where your repair stands.

We order parts early. Where possible, we order parts before your car even arrives at our workshop, so any backorders show up straight away rather than halfway through the job. The exception is a non-drivable car that’s towed to us and stays with us, where parts are ordered once your car is in our workshop.

We look further afield for parts. We have strong relationships with a group of suppliers across Sydney and Newcastle. When a part is delayed, we reach out across that network for the best available parts, and we always explain clearly what we’ve sourced and why.

Our Key to Key system. Every vehicle is tracked through our 10-step process, from quote to collection, so we always know exactly where your repair is up to.

We communicate honestly. If a part is on backorder, we’ll tell you, and we’ll tell you why. When suppliers can’t give us an arrival date, we’ll say so honestly rather than guess, and we’ll keep you updated as soon as we hear more. Honesty and communication have been at the heart of our family business for over 30 years.

We work with all major insurers. As Suncorp’s preferred smash repairer, and handling work for NRMA, AAMI, APIA, Allianz, Shannons and more, we know how to keep the claims process running smoothly on your behalf.

Modern cars are very different from the cars of 10 or 15 years ago, and several things are working against quick turnarounds.

More technology in every panel. Bumpers now often hold parking sensors, radar and cameras. Headlights are sophisticated LED units rather than simple bulbs. One Sydney mechanic reported that a smashed LED headlight can now cost around $3,000, because the unit has to be replaced whole.

Rising costs across the board. Industry data shows repair costs have risen 26 per cent since 2022, driven by higher wages, more expensive spare parts and longer repair times.

Supply chains run through manufacturers. Many parts can only be sourced through the car maker’s own network. If a part isn’t in stock in Australia, it may need to come from overseas, and small parts can hold up a job just as much as big ones. One repairer described waiting more than a month for a single replacement brake hose on a small car.

This is one of the most frustrating outcomes for drivers, and it’s becoming more common. Australia’s peak mechanics body says easily repairable cars are increasingly being written off after minor accidents because of delays in sourcing parts from manufacturers.

An insurer generally decides to write off a car when the total cost of the claim gets too close to what the car is worth. That total isn’t just the repair bill. It also includes things like a hire car for as long as the repair takes, and the cost of rental cars to insurers has risen 70 per cent since 2019, with extended repair waits meaning insurers pay for rentals for longer. So a long wait for one expensive part can tip a claim over the line, even when the damage looks modest from the outside.