4 Seriously Good Ways You Can Save Money On Vehicle Repairs
Posted by admin at 5 April 2018, at 18 : 28 PM
When you are learning to drive, you’re planning out your finances for your first car purchase. In that budget, you factor in insurance costs, vehicle finance costs, taxes, gas and lastly, maintenance. It’s important to remember that cars are machines, and machines require repairs to be able to continue to function in the right way. The problem here is that no one like getting their car put in the garage for repair. It’s expensive. It takes time and it means you have to use alternative methods of transport while you wait for those repairs to be done. The expense when it comes to car repairs largely depends on the make and model of the vehicle. It also depends on the gearbox of the car, with automatic cars being more expensive to maintain and fix than their manual counterparts.
Trying to make sure that you factor in car maintenance into your budget is extremely important. You can’t predict when the brake pads are going to fail. You can’t foresee when you will need to consider Honda parts selection for your Honda car over more budget parts. You also may not be able to get in to see your usual mechanic, which means that you will have to pay out for someone else who you haven’t factored into that budget. It’s an inconvenience on the wallet when you haven’t planned for the cost, and you also have to consider how you would get around in the meantime. No one wants to have to pay out for alternative transport, but it’s an inevitability when you wait around for your car to be fixed. Saving money on car repairs is probably the most important aspect of having to put your car into a shop. Sometimes the costs come from overzealous mechanics who charge more than necessary to get you the repairs that your car needs and sometimes the cost comes from the actual extent of the damage itself. Either way, looking for saving options should be a priority for you, and there are some seriously easy ways that you can save money on your car repairs: you just have to be on the lookout!
A Good Mechanic
It’s always worth spending money on a good mechanic, but it’s never worth relying on just one of them to help you out when things go wrong with your car. You should always aim to look for two or three different garages for your car repairs. It’s so key to find a garage or mechanic that you trust to look after your car and be honest with you about the repairs on it. If they treat you like a valued customer and an actual human being, stick with them. The reason behind having more than one of them is that you should be able to go to another trustworthy shop if your usual haunt is too busy to take your car in for the repairs that it needs. You should always ensure that the garage that you choose is properly certified, and when you are looking for a mechanic initially take to review websites and social media to get trusted reports from people who have used them. You could also swing by the garage when you don’t need any work doing at all, to meet the mechanic you hope to use and have a chat about costs. The shop itself should be welcoming and have cars repaired rather than half-done cars that are sitting and waiting.
Get Estimates
When you have two or three mechanics that you trust, approach each of them with your car issue and get quotes. If you’re not happy with any of the quotes you’ve been given, shop around a little and then return to your usual mechanic with what you’ve been offered elsewhere. Many places will barter with you if they value your custom, and make sure that all the estimates that you get given are in writing. Anyone can show up at a garage and say they were quoted less, but the proof is what will be needed to get someone to haggle with you to bring costs down. You can also take your quotes to car forums to see feedback from others and find out what they think about the quotes that you’ve been given.
Self-Diagnose Your Car
OBD-II do not get enough credit when it comes to modern cars. These on-board diagnostics that are built into the cars can be used to diagnose the problem with your car yourself. Those flashing lights on your dashboard, believe it or not, actually have a purpose. You can do your own health checks on your car and decide whether you need to be heading to the garage or you can repair the issue yourself with a new battery or replacement water. Make sure that you can actually carry out the diagnostics that are shown up on the OBD-II, as there’s no point in learning the issue yourself if you can’t fix it. Ultimately, you need to learn what all those warning beeps are pointing to!
Educate Yourself
The last thing that you want is to get robbed (well, fleeced) by your mechanic. If you take the time to educate yourself about the inner workings of your car, you can ensure that this doesn’t happen when it comes to repairs. You need to know when you should dispute your bill. Some garages take advantage of the fact that you’d be a novice and wouldn’t know what to do with the bill. You should ensure that you’re not being billed for duplicate parts, and it’s smart to ask for your old parts back after the work to dispose of yourself. There’s every chance that a garage will tell you that they’ve already disposed of the parts, but it’s best to do it yourself so you know.
Research, education and a lot of bartering are going to help you to get the right costing on your repairs. Don’t be taken for a ride when getting your ride fixed.