Top 4 Ways To Save You From Spending A Fortune On Car Repairs

Taking your car to the garage is always stressful. After all, leaving you without that much-loved vehicle leaves you wide open to sometimes excessive repair costs that aren’t always expected. And unless you’ve got plenty set aside, the chances are that your finances will feel the full force of that blow.

In large part, this is an inevitable part of being a car owner, and repairs will ultimately almost always be more affordable than waiting it out and experiencing escalating problems and roadside breakdowns as a result. Still, that’s not to say that you should pay every large-scale service bill that comes your way without question.

As any car owner will tell you, ensuring a fair price for repairs your car needs is often a case of keeping your wits about you and not being afraid to speak out. Luckily, that’s a more straightforward goal than you might expect if you keep the following pointers in mind throughout your car’s stay in any garage. 

#1: Take Someone Experienced With You

While it isn’t right, many repair garages base their pricing on how much they think you know. As a millennial still at the start of their car ownership journey, you’re at particular risk of scam merchants who assume you wouldn’t have a clue whether a bill was fair.

Hence, your first step towards saving on car repairs is to take someone more experienced, like a parent, along with you who can prove that you won’t be pushed around. That person doesn’t even need to do the talking, but simply having them along for support could see many professionals changing their tunes.

Not to mention that it’s always helpful to have a second set of eyes look over any large bill before you part with your money. 

#2: Always Seek A Second Opinion

Many people make the mistake of accepting the first repair quote they get for the sake of convenience. Yet, considering precisely how much prices can fluctuate from one garage to another, even paying the tow costs between facilities could save you.

This is because, in addition to having different ways of operating (some garages will charge more for labor, for instance), everything from supplier proximity to the size of a company can change how much you pay.

Aside from those fluctuations, ensuring that the exact diagnosis is reached from a second opinion, even if overall costs are around the same, can help you rest easy that work is genuinely necessary and worth paying for. 

#3: Consider An Affordable Alternative

For obvious reasons, a garage owner will always tell you that only they can help your vehicle, but often, there are more affordable alternatives to repair if you’re willing to look for them. Regardless of your car knowledge, even engine trouble shouldn’t be too hard to fix at home when you seek accessible options like crate engines for sale that will never exceed garage repair costs if you look in the right places.

On the same note, buying things like brake pads and new tires could save you a great deal on things like labor costs, and should be easy enough to install with the help of a quick YouTube video. Admittedly, you need to make sure you feel confident before you do more damage than good. But, if you’ve thoroughly researched these fixes, there’s no reason why they can’t serve you equally as well as whatever a garage might do. 

#4: Talk About Payment Plans

Sometimes, the sad fact is that car repairs can be so urgent or intricate that you may need to cough up. Still, don’t think that you have to clear out your bank to make this possible. Instead, always discuss payment plans that are far more manageable in the long term.

Even if they don’t openly advertise this benefit, most garages will at least consider it, and it could help you cover even hefty car costs without having to worry about doing so. 

Cars cost a lot, and there’s no way around that, but make sure you’re not paying more than you need for your latest trip to the garage by getting savvy with these pointers.