With everyone concerned with where the dollars go, but still want to maintain their cars, it pays to look to the future to plan and budget accordingly. While you cannot predict many of the repairs your car may need, you can do some preventative maintenance. These services will vary from car to car.
How do you know what will be needed? The best place to start is your owner’s manual. Inside should be a schedule of recommended services at specific mileage intervals. This would include services of the various fluids, inspections of many components, timing belts, tune-ups, and more. If you do not have the manual, you can access these on line. Most repair shops can also print the services from their technical data. If all else fails, the shop can do an annual inspection of your car and advise you as to the needed services.
Most all fluids in your car should be serviced at some point. With so many long life fluids in use, there is a tendency to not inspect these fluids until the service interval is reached. Keep in mind that this long life expectancy is determined within ideal conditions that no vehicle ever sees; therefore be sure to have all fluids inspected regularly. It is also important to use the proper fluids. There are many different antifreeze/coolants, transmission fluids (automatic and manual), driveline fluids, oils and soon even freons for the a/c systems.
As the definition of a tune-up changes by vehicle and as time goes on, try to be proactive with this aspect of your car. Gas engine cars still all use spark plugs so those can be replaced before they fail; the life varies from 30,000 to 70,000 miles. If your car has a fuel filter (fewer do) these should be changed every 24,000 miles or so. Periodic cleaning of fuel injectors and upper intakes are a good idea too. These two services can increase fuel economy and restore performance.
One big expense found on many cars is replacement of the timing belt. Recommended replacement varies from 60,000 to 105,000 miles and can be very expensive if related components are replaced at the same time. The other side of that coin if the belt breaks can be much, much more expensive as internal engine damage can occur. This is certainly an area that can be budgeted for.
These and many other repairs and maintenances can be planned and budgeted for well in advance. This will help reduce the number of unexpected repairs since the car is in the shop and will be inspected more thoroughly. Visit your shop and have them inspect your car and prepare a listed of foreseeable services and repairs that are needed. With your budget in place you can more easily schedule and have your car running better.
This is the time of year that one tends to look into the year and attempt to plan. This is the perfect time to add your vehicle’s needs and expenses into the mix. Though no one can tell exactly what may arise, you can at least be financially prepared to some extent. It is tough at times to budget for some things, but if you just set a little aside you can have some funds available for normal and unexpected repairs.
First, take a look at what you know your car will need. Items like oil changes are easy to plan; you know tires wear out as do brakes. What does my car need in the way of normal maintenance? Transmission service? Tune-up? Alignment? If you are not sure have your local repair shop look the car over and evaluate the needs and prioritize them for you. They can also give you an estimate of costs so you can better plan.
How much to set aside? Of course this depends on the above analysis and other factors. How many miles do I drive? The make and model of car will also affect the expenses. Even if your tires are good now, get a quote or two on tires so that you can add that to your budget. The age and mileage of your car will also affect the needs. Are you considering replacing the car or passing it on to someone? And of course, what can I afford?
Every little bit helps. Even if you set just $10 aside each week, this is $520 towards repairs. This will cover most of the basic needs and then some. A good figure is $50 per month, some may need to budget twice that. This should cover most basic expenses plus have some carry over into the next year, which is good, for those expenses that come sooner or later. Plus if you have the money there, you can do more to provide better maintenance and extend the life of your car. If you have fewer expenses than expected, you will have money towards your next car.
A little planning can go a long ways. Take a look, examine your car and see what it may need. Set the money aside, either in a separate account (much like the Christmas accounts) or simply into an envelope marked for your car. It will take discipline and habit, but it will pay off. It can be much better than tapping a credit card again and again. Let you local repair shop help your planning with realistic list of needs.