As we all know, car repairs can be quite expensive (especially at a new car dealer as they charge the most), but by keeping your car regularly serviced and maintained and choosing your mechanic wisely, you can reduce those car repair bills significantly. You should be aware that you do not need to use (and shouldn’t use) your new car dealer for anything other than warranty work. Their parts and labor costs are absolutely ridiculous and they will always recommend services and parts replacements that are not needed and completely unnecessary (they go by manufacturers recommendations for the harshest conditions of which almost none of us qualify for – this keeps the service revenues and profits up and will quickly drain your bank account with little effect on the usefulness and dependability of your automobile).
Here’s what you need to know and do to save big money on car repairs and have greater safety and reliability in a nut shell:
1. Shop prices and recommended repairs around. If a car dealer tells you that your car requires $5,000 in repairs and it is still running then drive it to a non-franchised service shop or center and see what they say. You will probably be surprised that all that is needed is a $150 repair or similar. 9 times out of ten this is the case in every state.
2. Find an honest, reliable mechanic and stick with them. Yes, you can either go on Craigslist and find one that will come to your house or find one at your local non-franchised car dealer. You can also go to your local new car dealer and befriend one of the mechanics back in the service area and have them work on your car after hours or off the clock for cash (this is why the service managers at new car dealers have in recent years put up signs disallowing customers from being in the service area – it’s not for your safety as you would think, it’s so they don’t lose the revenue and profits).
3. Ask your pastor at your local church. This is especially important for single mothers and widows whom will probably be afraid of asking someone they do not know from Craigslist to meet them at their home to fix their car. This is why, for Craigslist you should have the car fixed at a public area or a trusted male friends house – your safety is more important than the car. It is important to note that there are many great mechanics and workers that are honest and hardworking that post their services on Craigslist, but it is still the internet and as everyone knows there are freaks and such out there so be cautious. Many larger churches have programs that offer free maintenance and greatly discounted repairs and even parts, in some cases, to their members. Even if your church doesn’t offer this, I’m sure your pastor, priest, minister, etc… will know someone whom will repair your car for very cheap as a favor.
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4. Buy your parts separately. Yes, places like Autozone and Pepboys will always have cheaper prices on parts than your local new car dealer, but you can do better, much, much better. Every large metro area and most smaller cities even has a wholesale only auto parts supply. These are reserved for wholesale only businesses. You cannot just walk in and buy parts as they will not sell to the public. But what you can do is befriend someone that goes in to buy some parts there or better yet, register a local business (it can be out of your own home) and open a wholesale account. Then you can enjoy savings on the same parts your new car dealer purchases and uses for discounts of 50% or more! 5. Another idea is to get parts from a salvage yard. Notice I did not say junk yard, this is because most salvage yards have newer cars and trucks that have very high quality parts that you can easily get dirt cheap. Many of these salvage yards will actually pull the part for you and even deliver to you at a very low cost. Savings here is in the 50% to over 95% range and well worth it for many parts. The best place to start is Car-parts.com. They have a database that is constantly updated with parts from thousands of salvage yards on every make, year and model of car you can think of. All parts are listed by price and distance and you can even choose by condition and color if applicable (like the color of a door handle, for instance).
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