'Many Brits find their vehicles vandalised'
Date: 15/04/2008 12:00:00
Many Britons may have found that parking on the road has caused them damage to their vehicle - and potentially to their car insurance premium.
According to a recent study by the AA, 43 per cent of motorists who have parked on local streets have returned to find their vehicle or know of someone else who has found their vehicle damaged in some way.
In addition, almost three-quarters of respondents said that they have found their car vandalised deliberately through others keying, kicking or smashing their automobile.
The likelihood of damage being done to a vehicle on the street is twice that of such an occurrence happening in a car park, the findings show.
Mark Huggins, head of AA Personal Loans, said: "A car is a serious financial investment and finding it vandalised is frustrating, heartbreaking and of course expensive. If you are paying for your car with a personal loan, the last thing you want is the added financial burden of sorting out repairs so it's worth thinking about where you park."
A recent study by Autoglass found that prang and run drivers leave their victims with a £1.3 billion annual bill for repairs.