Budgeting Tips for Car Maintenance

It Depends What Sort of Car You Choose

The reality of car maintenance and repairs is that the cost of these things largely depends on the car you pick. So it's difficult to offer a one-size-fits-all number for drivers who are interested to find out exactly how much maintenance and repairs is going to cost.

The biggest reason why these expenses rely so much on the car is that accessories and labor vary depending on the manufacturer. A lot of auto mechanics can work on a Chevy or a Toyota, so labor fees aren't very costly, and since parts for these vehicles are so very common, parts prices aren't very costly either. It's the complete opposite with high-dollar luxury cars, where very few technicians are trained to work on them and parts are in short supply.

Usual Costs

Although rates can differ from car to car, budgeting for regular maintenance isn't very difficult. You will need an oil change every 5,000 to 10,000 miles, based on company suggestions. You'll also have to replace your tires and battery every few years, together with your brake pads, which will need changing even more often. And depending on the car, you might also have to budget for items such as transmission fluid, transfer-case fluid, brake fluid and a lot more.

Before acquiring a automobile, we definitely recommend that you learn what all this repair costs -- and how frequent your automobile demands it -- so you can correctly budget what it'll cost you you to own. We also advise that you have a look at your braking system and tires to determine how quickly you'll have to pay for this work.

Preparing for Emergency Repairs

Even though it's hard to come up with an correct maintenance and repair amount for each automobile, we highly recommend that you you should always keep an emergency fund that's equal to about 5 percent of the value of the vehicle. This will be beneficial in case there's ever a surprise repair.