 reveals that while discounting continues to dominate dealership aftersales strategies, younger drivers are beginning to drive a generational shift in expectations around price reductions. 

, nearly three-quarters (74%) of service advisors still offer discounts on repairs and services, and almost a third (31%) say their dealership has a “culture of discounting”. The practice is especially common among advisors with less than 10 years’ experience, pointing to confidence and training gaps. 

Likewise, discounts are generally still embedded in UK motorists’ expectations. Two-thirds (66%) of drivers expect a discount on their first visit, and the same proportion expect equal or greater discounting on future work. Half (50%) say they would be less likely to return if the discount level dropped. Drivers typically anticipate a 10% reduction, while EV owners often expect slightly higher concessions. 

The report warns that routine discounting can create a cycle of expectation that erodes profitability, undermines confidence in dealership pricing and weakens dealers’ value proposition around service quality.  

However, despite the prevalence of discounting, the tide may be turning. The report shows that 82% of service advisors have changed their approach to discounting over the past year. 

Data from Bumper’s business intelligence arm, 

, highlights a steady decline in average discounts applied by dealerships: 

The report finds notable differences in the expectations of younger motorists. Drivers under 35 are less likely to expect discounts (57% vs. 66% overall) and more likely to see an initial discount as a one-off goodwill gesture (34% vs. 26% overall). 

Bumper suggests this may signal a broader generational shift toward transparency, convenience and digital-led value, rather than traditional price negotiation behaviours. 

Jack Allman, Chief Commercial Officer and Co-Founder at Bumper

, commented: “Younger drivers are reshaping expectations around pricing. Many prefer straightforward, frictionless, digital-first experiences over traditional price negotiations. As that mindset becomes more widespread, it creates a real opportunity for dealers to move away from the cycle of habitual discounting and towards long-term value propositions – whether that’s service plans, flexible payment options, or more confident pricing conversations. The result is a more stable foundation for customer retention centred around trust.” 

Bumper’s Automotive Aftersales Report 2025/26

Younger Drivers Disrupting Discount Culture

Younger Drivers Disrupting Discount Culture, Bumper Report Finds 

Bumper, the automotive payments platform, has announced a new board appointment, welcoming fintech titan Richard Davies, CEO at Allica Bank. 

Davies has served on the boards of four of the UK’s six fastest growing fintech unicorns, bringing extensive high growth leadership experience. 

Under Davies’ leadership, Allica Bank was named the fastest growing technology company in the UK in both 2023 and 2024 in the Deloitte Fast 50, and the second fastest growing company in Europe by the Financial Times in 2025.  

Before joining Allica, Davies served as Group COO at Revolut, overseeing its expansion from five to 15 million customers and its entry into new markets including Australia, Singapore and the US. During his tenure, Revolut raised $500m in its Series D funding round. 

Davies has also held senior appointments at major banks, including serving as the inaugural CEO at OakNorth Bank, CCO of the UK Commercial Bank at HSBC, and in senior leadership positions at Barclays. 

As a Non-Executive Director, Davies recently spent four years on the group board of Zepz, the global remittance payments fintech, which owns WorldRemit and SendWave. 

Drawing on his high growth fintech experience, Davies will advise on strategy, governance and commercial expansion as Bumper continues to scale across Europe. 

Bumper was recently named in the FT1000: Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2026. The inclusion marks Bumper’s sixth year in a row being recognised as one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe. 

Bumper has ambitious growth plans for the year ahead, including the upcoming launch of its first interest-bearing finance product, PayLonger, in the UK. The product will allow drivers to spread larger car repair bills over a longer period – complementing Bumper’s industry-leading interest-free Buy Now, Pay Later offering. 

James Jackson, CEO and Co-Founder at Bumper, said: “We are delighted to welcome Richard to Bumper’s board. His track record in helping scale some of the UK’s most successful fintech businesses will be invaluable as we continue our rapid growth across Europe. Richard brings deep strategic insight and a proven ability to guide high growth technology companies, and we look forward to benefiting from his experience as we continue to drive innovation across the automotive payments ecosystem.” 

Richard Davies said: “Bumper is scaling rapidly and advancing its position as a key technology partner for automotive retailers. Its powerful platform, innovation capabilities and clear strategic vision make it a compelling business to support as it enters its next phase of growth. I am excited to join the board and look forward to helping accelerate Bumper’s continued impact across the automotive payments landscape.” 

Bumper accelerates growth plans with addition of fintech titan Richard Davies to its board

Rising car maintenance costs are leaving workshops with a growing volume of partially completed safety-critical repairs, according to 

Analysis from AutoBI, Bumper’s business intelligence arm, shows that in 70% of vehicle health checks (VHCs) where ‘red’ safety critical issues were identified, drivers did not authorise all of the urgent items recommended by the technician. The pattern points to a widening conversion rate challenge for franchised retailers as motorists manage shrinking household budgets. 

The report reveals the average repair bill has climbed to £597.48, the highest in five years and up 26% since 2021.  

With nearly half of motorists (47%) saying the cost of living is affecting their ability to maintain their car, 47% of affected drivers are choosing not to approve advisory (‘amber’) VHC items. Meanwhile, 38% of affected drivers are delaying recommended repairs, and 21% are skipping scheduled services, creating significant challenges for workshop conversion rates. 

Among drivers who declined urgent (‘red’) work this year, 46% said they couldn’t afford it and 33% said the work itself was too expensive. 

With more cost-pressured drivers keeping cars longer (91%) and shifting towards independents for lower-cost work (59%), the pressure on dealership aftersales retention continues to intensify. 

“Cost is still a critical decision factor for motorists and it’s worrying that so many drivers are having to leave urgent repairs unfinished because of affordability concerns,” said Jack Allman, CCO and Co-Founder at Bumper.  

“These figures underline the need for greater support to help drivers manage repair costs and get back on the road as swiftly and safely as possible. Dealerships must continue to balance competitive pricing with value-led propositions, transparent cost structures and flexible payment options to help drivers say yes to necessary work.” 

Most drivers leave workshops with urgent repairs incomplete as affordability pressures persist, Bumper report reveals

Most drivers leave workshops with urgent repairs incomplete as affordability pressures persist

FT1000: Europe’s Fastest-Growing Companies 2026

The automotive fintech ranks at number 36 in the Fintech, Financial Services & Insurance category of the Financial Times’ prestigious list of Europe’s fastest-growing companies – and number 328 overall.

The inclusion comes after a year of impressive growth for Bumper, which last year expanded its suite of payment products with the launch of the UK’s first payments orchestration platform built for automotive, 

. Bumper Pro enables dealerships to combine in-store and online payments into a single platform – simplifying payments management, lowering costs and giving clearer visibility into sales and aftersales performance.

James Jackson, CEO and Co-Founder at Bumper

, said: “It’s an honour to be listed in the FT1000 for the sixth year in a row. The ranking follows another remarkable year of growth for Bumper – we surpassed £1.5bn in GMV, raised a further £8 million in funding and launched our new payments orchestration platform, Bumper Pro. We have ambitious plans for the year ahead and look forward to supporting even more dealerships to drive operational efficiency and reduce financial friction for their customers.”

Bumper named amongst Europe’s fastest growing companies

Bumper has today announced a series of dealership groups now live on Bumper Pro, the UK’s first payments orchestration platform built for automotive, including Riverside Motor Group.

Amongst the first dealerships to go live on Bumper Pro, Riverside has rolled out the platform across its nine sites in northern England. Since its initial installation in July, Bumper Pro has already saved Riverside over £43,800 in costs, principally in card processing fees – the equivalent of over £100,000 annually.

The motor group joins a number of dealerships up and down the country going live with Bumper Pro, including Eastbourne Motoring Co; Northern Ireland-based Browne & Day Ford; Westdrive Kia & Mazda; Broad Oak Motor Group; and Shelly Motors Kia. All have integrated Bumper Pro with the Pinewood.AI dealer management system.

The Bumper Pro platform enables dealerships to combine in-store and online payments into a single platform, simplifying payment management and lowering costs. 

It opens up new ways for customers to pay, with access to Bumper’s full suite of payments services – from PayLater to Pay by Bank, Pay by Card, and Bumper’s innovative payment terminal, PayPad.

Bumper Pro also gives dealerships the opportunity to save thousands in transaction fees with intelligent payment routing, which presents customers with a preferred payment method - optimised to balance an enhanced customer experience with the retailer's available payment channels.

The platform automatically reconciles payments in Keyloop and Pinewood.AI, to reduce manual workload.

Andrew Jackson, Operations Director at Riverside Motor Group

, said: “Bumper Pro has had a major impact on our operational efficiency, whilst driving huge savings across our dealerships. Automatically reconciled payments within Pinewood saves our team heaps of time, completely eliminating what was a previously laborious process.

“Pro has also had a positive impact on our customers. With every payment option connected seamlessly through our Bumper account, DMS and the Bumper PayPads, our drivers are given the ultimate flexible payment experience consumers have come to expect.”

, said: “We are excited to welcome Riverside alongside such a wide range of UK dealerships to the Bumper Pro platform. We built Bumper Pro to streamline dealerships’ payments systems and we’re thrilled with the impact we are already having on our partners’ businesses, simplifying payments and lowering costs for dealerships at a time when operational efficiency is critical.”

Annabelle Clarke

PR Manager

Younger Drivers Disrupting Discount Culture

Bumper accelerates growth plans with addition of fintech titan Richard Davies to its board

Most drivers leave workshops with urgent repairs incomplete as affordability pressures persist, Bumper report reveals

Bumper named amongst Europe’s fastest growing companies

Riverside rolls out Bumper Pro platform and sees substantial savings