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Published On: Tue, Jun 9th, 2015

How to Save Hundreds of Dollars on Car Repairs

Everyone knows that car repairs aren’t cheap, but not everyone knows what they can do to save a lot of money—even hundreds of dollars—on car repairs.

If you’re in search of tips that can help you save some much-needed money that would otherwise be spent on repairing your vehicle and keeping it running and looking like new, continue reading.

Make the Repairs Yourself

If you’re handy, you can definitely make a lot of car repairs yourself. With so many books, websites, and easy-to-follow tutorials on YouTube, there’s no reason why you can’t give it a try if you feel confident enough, if you have enough time, and if you have the right tools available.

Just be sure that it’s safe and that you won’t be doing more damage than good by going about it alone, as sometimes it really is best to leave a job up to the pros. If nothing else, you can learn how to maintain your car so you can reduce the need for a mechanic in those areas.

Repairs You Should Do Yourself

Even if you aren’t completely comfortable taking on most, if not all, of your car’s repairs, there are certain easier jobs that you should be doing yourself in order to save a lot of money. These include:

  • Replacing your air filter, which takes about 5 minutes
  • Replacing your fuel filter, which will also help you save money whenever you need to fuel up
  • Replacing your PCV valve, which will improve the health of your engine
  • Testing your air conditioning, which requires a piece of equipment that costs a few dollars
  • Changing the oil, which will take you about 30 minutes a few times a year
  • Replacing your brake pads, which you can do in 15 minutes, and which you’d pay a lot of money for at a mechanic
  • Flushing your cooling system, which will take you only about 10 minutes and will help extend the life of your vehicle
  • Recharging your AC system, which is a safe and easy job, even though many people are intimidated by it, and which can save you around $100 annually
photo by photoSteve101 via Flickr

photo by photoSteve101 via Flickr

Stick with a Trusted Mechanic and Be Rewarded

Try out some local mechanics, or ask for a referral from a friend or family member. Once you find a mechanic that really knows your car and how to keep it in tip-top shape, stick with him. Show your loyalty and you are likely to be rewarded by better prices and payment plans for any type of automotive services that you might need. The same strategy can be applied to body shops, such as those that can apply unique automotive masking tape for custom paint jobs.

If you have never done car repairs before, fear not, as a little bit of practice will go a long way towards giving you the confidence you need. And once you see how much money you’re able to save, you’ll prefer doing your own repairs.

Guest Author: Keith Sullivan

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