'The roads are atrocious' - West Midlands mechanic speaks out on pothole problems which cost his customers thousands of pounds

The father-of-one said he tries his best to look after people who come in with motor issues in refusing to charge for diagnostics and only for repairs that need making, but customers can still be left with problems that cost upwards of four figures.

He is currently seeing between three to five people each week whose MOT's are failing due to problems that in lots of cases could be started by driving down the same roads every day and having to avoid or drive over holes in the road. 

The veteran mechanic believes - like the Express & Star - that the council needs to act faster, smarter and more proactive when it comes to the dealing with dangerous roads which are used to take our children to school every morning.

Speaking exclusively to the Express & Star, he said: "Potholes cause problems for drivers everywhere, it's something all drivers have to deal with but it's certainly got worse over the years. 

"'I'm seeing, on average, four people a week whose MOT's are failing because of problems that are very likely to have been caused by recurring use of roads with potholes.

"The problem is that these the potholes are causing damage that drivers are unaware of for months, and it can get very dangerous for them to be honest.

"To fix the problem can be expensive, anywhere from hundreds to thousands, I would say on average £400 per person, but it has been thousands in some cases.

"We do what we can to help, unlike other places we don't charge for the diagnostics, we do that free and charge for the repair but that's really, from a business perspective, the most we an do."

Arron said it's 'difficult' to understand why drivers have to make sure their car is safe to drive when the roads are not made safe to drive on.

He said: "I suppose where I would stand is that if the public are expected to spend thousands on their cars every year so they're safe, then the government should be making sure they keep the roads safe to drive on.

"That seems fair to me."

The case is just one of countless examples of the region's ravaged roads, which we will be putting under the spotlight as we launch our dedicated Pothole Week.

Each day this week the Star will look at the impact potholes are having on drivers around different parts of the region.

It comes after the Prime Minister warned councils that their funding would be slashed if they do not meet their targets for repairing potholes. 

The RAC reckons there are more than a million potholes around Britain’s roads, and says they are one of the leading causes of call-outs. 

The organisation said almost four in 10 breakdowns it attended during the final three months of 2024 were a result of punctured tyres caused by potholes, along with other factors such as nails and screws.

Over the same period, the RAC was also called to 4,709 drivers suffering from damaged shock absorbers, broken suspension springs or distorted wheels, a 17 per cent increase on the previous quarter.

The RAC's Alice Simpson said: “The poor condition of Britain’s roads is by far and away drivers’ top concern, yet despite the mild weather our figures show there was no relief from the problem in the final quarter of 2024."

She said she expected the cold snap at the start of 2025 was likely to add to the problem.

"To prevent water-damaged roads in future, we urge local highways authorities to resurface those in the worst condition and surface dress other roads to stop them deteriorating further."

A City of Wolverhampton Council spokesperson said: “The council takes its responsibility very seriously and is investing heavily in road improvements for 2025/26 through its £9.2million highways capital programme, which has been bolstered by an additional £500,000 on top to help repair and prevent potholes.

“The council is responsible for more than 460 miles of road and over 800 miles of footway.

“As is the case up and down the country, not all potholes can be repaired at once. The Local Government Association recently pointed out the backlog of local carriageway repairs in England and Wales now stands at nearly £17 billion and may take more than a decade to fix.

“There are rules that govern which potholes we must fix first based on the risk they present to highway users and the potential for further deterioration.

“Over the past five years the council has treated more than 560 square kilometres of carriageway by resurfacing or surface dressing and repaired more than 58,000 defects in roads and footways – approximately 44 per working day.”