Tips on saving you money for that next trip to the mechanic, plus a website that gives you unbiased quotes on your repairs!
Lets face it, sometimes you can be over-quoted on repairs when you visit a mechanic. I just had this happen to me recently, what was supposed to cost only $300 in the beginning, ended up costing roughly $1,200 in the end. This may not be the case with every mechanic, but if you ever find yourself in a situation similar to this one, the best thing you can do is go in prepared.
The most obvious tip to saving money on car repairs for is preventative maintenance, but at what point do you change your oil? Is it better to put premium gas in my car than regular gas, who has the best deals on preventative maintenance?
How often should I change my oil?
A lot of people seem to be sort of confused on how many miles you should drive before getting your oil changed, and there are even some tactics companies will use to scare you into getting your oil changed when it’s not needed.
In the early 70′s there was a Jiffy Lube campaign stating that you needed your oil changed every 3,000 miles, this is a little excessive, but a good starting point to know when it’s time to get that oil changed. The average American drives about 12,000 miles a year, so at about $25 an oil change, $100 a year is a small price to pay for something much worse happening later on.
Is premium Gas better for my car than regular gas?
If you put premium gas into a car that recommends regular gas, the only difference you’ll notice is that you have less money afterward. According to the American Petroleum Institute, premium has higher energy content, which can give better gas mileage, but the difference is so minute, it’s hard to notice any advantage to doing this.
The mid grade fuel just has a higher hesitance to combustion, which means that on some super or turbo charged car, mid grade fuel can arguably give a slight advantage to reducing engine damage. What it all really comes down to, though, is making sure that you put whatever fuel is recommended for your specific car. If it says to put premium in there, you have to use premium, if not, then stick to regular grade gas.
Where can I find the best deals on preventative maintenance?
When it comes down to getting your oil changed, car checked up and any other over preventative auto maintenance I would trust some of the bigger names. Midas has a great function on their website where they allow you to search for coupons you can clip out on their site by entering your zip code. Jiffy Lube has an instant $5 off coupon when you bring your car to get serviced by them.
If you’re a real DIY’er you can always perform any of these maintenance procedures yourself, but please DO NOT attempt any DIY work on your car unless you feel you can really handle it. Overall, though most big name places are usually having great deals and have good service for keeping your car all tuned up.
Last but not least, here is a great website I found that actually allows you to enter the make/model of you car, some of the problems, and it will give you a completely unbiased quote based on your information. The site is called Repair Pal and does a great job of equipping you with some good information about how much it will REALLY cost to get your car fixed.
Also check out:
Car Talk
DIY Oil Change Deals
Premium Gas vs Regular Gas
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Car Maintenance is not a big technical job, and a novice with minimal car-related knowledge can also do it easily
Thanks for the comment! If you do enough research it is easy to keep your car running in good condition, just make sure you keep it up on a regular basis!
An interesting article i found on easy ways to save money here which may help. http://sahmanswers.com/news.php?readmore=1286