Saving Money on Car Repairs (and Maintenance)

By

niftygirl

Go to Firestone if there is one in your area. They have a life-long maintenance package. For example, if you have your tires rotated, they offer you a life-long package so that for the length of time that you own your vehicle you can take it to any Firestone nation-wide once you have purchased this package you will never be charged for a tire rotate,balance and allignment ever again. Mine cost $106 plus the first time charge for the work, but from now on when I take it in for an oil change($20.00) I can have my tires rotated, balanced and alligned for no extra charge as long as i own my car. It pays for itself the 2nd visit. Yhey also have other packages for brakes, etc. and we have already decided to purchase that when it is time to have our brakes done.""

By

Walt816

Another thought is to buy the service manual for your specific year, make and model of car. The service manual will have specific steps and drawings for your car. While more costly than the generic books it may tell you enough to fix something simple and when you really need to take it to a shop with proper diagnostic tools.

By Nicole (Guest Post)

I totally agree with the previous posts... you can do a lot of the work yourself! You can save a lot of money, plus you have the comfort of knowing the job is done right. Checking the fluids and changing the oil is extremely easy, and you only need a wrench to do it! Get a repair book at your local auto store... you'd be surprised by how much you can do yourself!

By

coreenhart

Just as with major surgery, if your car needs something expensive, get at least one other opinion! We took our car to a dealership that we trust, because it had a shimmy in the front end. I waited 4.5 hours to get the estimate, which was $822.00. I was told it needed a control arm, struts, and some other things. My husband took it to a tire dealership and showed it to him. The mechanic used a crowbar to demonstrate to my husband that there was no wear in those parts. He eyeballed it while it was up on the rack and spotted a bent rim. He replaced the rim for $16.00. That was a year and a half ago, and we have not had any problems since then. I was proud of my husband for saving us $800.

By bambi2003 (Guest Post)

We always do any of the easy repairs ourselves, we have a book and do what we can. Also I've found that a country mechanic is a LOT cheaper than someone in a city or a well known company. We found a great mechanic in a little country town not to far from us and he charges $40 an hour labor and he lets us bring in our own parts, and that brings me to the next point always try the junkyard first. We needed a part for my husbands car new it would have been over $100, we got it for less than $20. Having a car is expensive, but if you try a little you can save a penny or two and every bit helps.

By Jess (Guest Post)

Our local library offers an on-line resource that allows us to look up books on repairing your make and model of car. Ask your libary if they have this resource, or carry the hard copies of the books. Simiple repairs can be easily done if you have the book.