Russians have prioritized car repairs over their own health

Russians are much more attentive to car maintenance than to their own health. This was reported to Izvestia on June 23 by experts from the international franchise network of Fit Service car services and the federal network of clinics "Be Healthy", who conducted a joint study.

According to the results of the survey, 87% of car owners carry out routine maintenance at least once a year. This means that the vast majority of drivers come to the car service at least once a year for scheduled oil, filter changes and basic diagnostics. A third do THIS twice a year, and another 10% apply even more often. Only 3% admit that they come to the service station only when problems arise.

The situation with disease prevention and timely check-ups (express examinations during a single visit to the clinic) is less clear, experts noted. 53% of respondents undergo regular check-ups at least once a year, that is, almost half as many as those who comply with the maintenance regulations. At the same time, for 44% of respondents, a health check once a year has become the norm, and 49% do it even less often — once every two years and less often or without a fixed schedule at all. Some of the participants admitted that they had never done a full-fledged checkout (9%). And a quarter (24%) focus only on their well-being and/or go to the doctor only when the symptoms become too pronounced to ignore.

"The importance of proper personal transport is only growing every year. Everyone understands that if you don't change the oil in the car, it will be a serious repair. Unfortunately, people do not feel such a direct connection with health yet, although the logic is absolutely the same. Prevention is almost always cheaper and easier than major repairs, whether it's an engine or an organism," said Tatiana Ovchinnikova, director of the international franchise network of Fit Service car services.

Among the respondents who regularly service cars, 70% simultaneously pay attention to preventive health checks at least once a year. The remaining third admit that, despite the discipline of the machine, doctors are rarely chosen or only when complaints are expressed. 79% of women who undergo regular maintenance are simultaneously monitoring health prevention, while among men the same indicator is 64%. In the segment over 35 years of age, the proportion of people undergoing regular maintenance and regular checkups is higher than the sample average and reaches about three quarters of respondents, while less than half of those under 35 years of age. The majority of young people postpone systemic health prevention "for later."

"For most Russians, it's a priority when they have to make a choice — me or my car, to choose in favor of a car. Let's face it honestly, that with regard to one's own health, such scrupulousness as with one's own car is rare. Only a car can always be sold and a new one purchased, but it is impossible to use this option with the body," said Alina Kondrashova, head of the Department of Preventive medicine at the Be Healthy clinic network.

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Earlier, on June 11, it was reported that average maintenance receipts for a number of common car models in Russia increased in the second quarter of this year compared to the same period last year. In 2026, owners of some mass-produced models began to visit the service more often, and the cost of a visit increased significantly for most cars. This is largely due to the natural aging of the park, experts explained.