Auto Repair Slice of Financial Pie

Nov 29
10:01

2011

Aloysius Aucoin

Aloysius Aucoin

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Auto repair is just one slice of the car ownership financial pie. Here are some things to think about.

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When you own a car,Auto Repair Slice of Financial Pie Articles there will be many costs associated with it including auto repair. When a motorist decides to purchase a Toyota, Honda, Buick or Rolls Royce, he or she will have to realize that there will be an entire pie full of expenses and those slices must be shelled out. If not, that vehicle will stop running or be picked up by the police or the repo man. Owners should stop feeling like victims because they have to pay for auto repair. It is part of the package one signs up for when one's name is scrawled on that contract back at the car lot. Here are some of the costs associated with having one's own set of wheels:

Purchasing the vehicle: When an individual purchases a Corolla or a Civic, he or she has to pay for it in a lump sum or in increments. Often times, another vehicle was sold or traded in at the time of purchase to offset some of the cost. If the person chooses to pay in increments, that means he or she will get a handy-dandy payment coupon booklet in the mail and will have to send checks that include interest payments to the lender each month.

Insurance: In order to operate a motor vehicle on the roads, a drive must purchase car insurance. There is a minimum amount that must cover liabilities, even if the car's paid off. If a bank holds the note on it, full coverage will be required by the lender. They want to protect their investment.

Registration: In order to operate a sedan, truck or SUV on the city, county and federal roads, it must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is how they monitor who's driving what out there. There will be an initial cash outlay for registering a car at the time of purchase and a yearly amount that must be paid to keep it current. This is what those little stickers on one's license plate mean. The date on those stickers lets police officers know that the driver has paid his or her annual registration fees. If this isn't paid regularly, drivers get tickets, huge fines occur and the car will eventually end up in the impound lot.

Title: There's a fee to hold the title in the name of the current owner. Each time a vehicle is sold to another person, a new title fee will be collected by the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Maintenance: Regular maintenance such as oil changes, brake pad replacements, tire pressure checked and adjusted and tune-ups are all part of preventative maintenance. 

Repairs: If a vehicle isn't maintained, it will need auto repair more often and those reparations will be more expensive. But even in the most pristine maintained cars, parts wear out over time and will need to be repaired and replaced. 

When a motorist owns a Toyota, Honda, Jeep or Rolls Royce or any other type of vehicle, he or she will be paying multiple expenses. Purchase price, insurance, registration, title, maintenance and auto repair are all slices of the financial pie.

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