Councils have been forced to pay out more than £2.6 million in compensation since 2009, according to Scottish Conservative research.
That equates to more than £36, 000 in Fife alone.
The true figure is expected to be much higher as some local authorities failed to respond to the Freedom of Information request.
Conservative MSPs have repeated calls to create an additional pothole fund to enable struggling councils to catch up with long-standing road repairs.
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone said:
"It is often a frustrating and lengthy process for motorists to claim compensation for damage caused to their cars on public roads.
"If roads were better maintained in the first place then this unnecessary cost to the public purse would be greatly minimised.
"Many of our roads are a national embarrassment and it's time the SNP ended its piecemeal approach to road maintenance and came up with a longer-term strategy.
"A pothole fund would be a major step forward in helping councils to finally get our roads up to a better standard to benefit motorists across the country.
"The UK Government has led the way with a dedicated pothole fund and there is no reason why it would not work in Scotland too."
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