10 Simple ways to Save Money on Car Repairs

When you were a kid, the ability to fix your own car, or at least perform routine maintenance, was an assumed part of every adult male’s repertoire of skills. It was equal parts economic necessity and rite-of-passage. It was a convenient excuse to spend most of the day in the garage with your friends. While the complexity of modern cars have made most major repairs problematic for the home mechanic, there are still a variety of simple maintenance and repair  projects that can be easily done at home for a fraction of what a professional mechanic would charge.

1.  Battery and Alternator

If either the battery or the alternator of a vehicle is not working at full capacity, it puts an unnecessary strain on the rest of the electrical system, which can lead to expensive repairs from what is completely preventable damage. In this particular instance, maintenance is usually a matter of reacting at the first sign of difficulty when it comes to starting the vehicle.

2.  Finding Your Own Replacement Parts

Cars, both new and old are constantly involved in collisions and auto accidents, which result in the vehicle being "totaled" by the insurance company. These vehicles then become prime candidates for replacement parts, and in fact, many local repair shops contact junkyards and scrappers when looking for parts. While some components from a totaled vehicle may not be safe for reuse, things like power window motors and other costly, yet small, electronic parts survive most collisions intact.

3.  Brake Pads and Rotors

The mechanical side of the motor vehicle breaking system has remained almost completely unchanged for years. While complex computer systems may control how much pressure is applied based on external road conditions and driver reaction time, the physical system itself is actually relatively simple. However, changing brake pads and rotors is a time consuming process, which is why dealerships and repair shops charge so much for the procedure.

4.  Spark Plugs

File changing spark plugs right behind brake pads and rotors in the easy yet time-consuming category. Spark plugs and wires are configured in a specific pattern based on the firing of the engine, and have to stay in that pattern in order to function properly. As long as you use proper care during the replacement process, you should have absolutely no problem with this particular job.

5.  Oil Change

While it is true that most commercial repair shops generally offer oil change packages that are extremely close to the cost of doing-it-yourself, the main advantage from this particular is peace-of-mind. Inexperienced mechanics and high school students are what make up the staff for most of the places in question.

6.  Tire Wear

Think about an uncomfortable pair of shoes you wore at one point or another during the course of your life. Wearing those shoes eventually caused you to shift your center of balance or alter your basic posture, which, given enough time lead to back pain and overall joint discomfort. Unevenly worn tires have the same impact on your car’s ball joints and hinges.

7.  Buy Stuff on the Web

When it comes to car parts, shopping online is an unpredictable experience. Many people are often selling car parts privately and wholesalers may be attempting to rotate older stock, online prices for car parts are often ridiculously lower than their real life equivalent. Then again, sometimes they are identical. However, it’s impossible to tell without looking, so spend a few minutes browsing online prior to any purchase. At the very least, you can use an online quote to drive down the price of a local vendor.

8.  Check Your Warranty

As much as it pains you to admit it, when you bought your first new car, you probably had absolutely no idea what the warranty package you selected covered. This is a bad spot to be in, because unless you are specifically mentioning it, many dealerships may “forget” if something was actually covered under your warranty. Additionally, many after-market parts come with their own independent warranty based on expected life expectancy and wear rates.

9.  Check Engine Light

When you were a kid, the term “idiot light” was the nicest phrase your dad ever used to describe the check engine light. This is based on the unreliability and general uselessness of the engine light on vehicles of his era. Things are obviously much different nowadays. The check engine light is extremely reliable indicator that something is wrong with your car and you should have a mechanic perform a diagnostic on the vehicle. Ignoring the light cannot only lead to potentially serious damage, but in some instances, it could void parts of your warranty.

10.  Remember Your Fuse Box

One of the more common ways that unscrupulous mechanics defraud unsuspecting customers is charging for costly repairs and replacement parts when all that is actually wrong is a blown fuse. If something on your car suddenly stops working, your first course of action should be to identify the appropriate fuse using the owner’s manual, and invest the buck it takes to replace it. While a blown fuse will not always be the issue, it will be the problem often enough to make a quick change worth your time.

Jessica Bosari is a freelance writer and blogger for various publications and her own telecommute writing jobs blog. You can read more of Jessica's work here. If you have any comments or questions about SavingTools or about saving money, leave your comments in the form below or email jessica@savingtools.com. Thanks!