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Auto repairs, mechanics, and extended warranties
Repair it or trade it?
The average monthly repairs for the average American car on the road (which is a car approximately seven years old) is about 5 percent of a family’s budget, which includes tires, batteries, tune-ups, and other things that might break, such as transmissions or other major repairs.
If we compare paying 5 percent per month for maintenance on an older car to about 15 percent to buy a new car, it is no contest. Unless a car is worn out (200,000 miles or more), it is often less costly for the average family to repair their car than to replace it with another automobile.
One of the best ways to get the most out of an existing car is to establish an auto maintenance fund within the family budget. This will ensure that there will been enough money to keep the car properly maintained and to cover repairs that will inevitably arise.
When repairs are needed
“For which of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28). An absolute that is typical for all motor vehicles, regardless of the manufacturer, is that parts wear out and repairs will be needed. But before arranging to have any repair work performed, ask how the mechanic or repair shop prices its work.
Some shops charge a flat rate for labor on auto repairs and others charge on the basis of the actual time the technician worked on the repair. If the shop guarantees its work, the guarantee should be in writing.
Ask if there is a charge for all diagnostic testing. If there is no charge, then chances are a diagnostic evaluation will not be performed. Without diagnostic testing, the diagnosis of the problem becomes guesswork.
The need for any major repair work should first be confirmed or identified by a good diagnostic test. If no such test is provided, you might want to consider other repair shop options. So, although you should expect to pay for high-quality diagnostic work done on a vehicle, it will be money well spent.
Be sure to keep an accurate record of all repair experiences and save all receipts and repair orders. Do not allow a shop to keep the only copy of a repair order. Insist on a written, dated, and signed (signed by both the shop representative and the owner of the vehicle) detailed repair order for all repairs, even those done free under warranty.
This written repair order should also state in easily recognized and readable print that the shop will contact the owner for approval before any work exceeding a specified amount of time, cost, or scope of work detailed in the repair order is done.
To ensure the best quality repair work, you should insist that the mechanic use high-quality, name-brand parts when repairing the vehicle and ask for all parts that were replaced.
Choosing a mechanic
When searching for a repair shop or mechanic, ask friends for references and then check with the Better Business Bureau to determine whether any complaints have been registered against the shop suggested.
Also call the local AAA office and see if the shop has qualified as an AAA-approved facility. If so, it usually indicates that the shop has a past record of reliability, professionalism, and fairness.
The most important consideration in finding a mechanic that can be trusted should be the education or the skill level of the mechanic, based on studying and continuing education classes, not on years of experience.
Look for ASE-certified mechanics. ASE is a symbol of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, which is a voluntary, national testing program created to help the public identify shops employing knowledgeable mechanics.
Make sure the certification is current. Ask if the mechanic or shop has experience working on the same make or model vehicle that needs to be repaired and make sure the shop will honor any warranties that may be on the vehicle.
Extended warranties
Several questions must be answered before investing in extended warranties offered by the car manufacturers. (1) Does the warranty cover a period of time or number of miles that is not covered under any implied warranties? (2) Does the extended warranty cover parts and labor or just parts? (3) Does the price of the extended warranty seem reasonable in relation to the price of the parts covered?
If an extended warranty covers five years or 50,000 miles, the average driver will get only an extended warranty for approximately three years, since the average person drives more than 10,000 miles per year. However, if the extended warranty covers five years or 100,000 miles, the owner would get approximately five years of extended coverage.
If a late-model vehicle requires any major repairs within one or two years of the original warranty’s expiration, those repairs can often be done free under a “secret warranty” or “goodwill adjustment.” The Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C. has a list of secret warranties available for most models of cars sold or manufactured in the U.S. in the past ten years.
When the extended warranty covers only parts, the cost of labor is many times so great that you will not get the full benefit of buying an extended warranty, unless each part covered under the extended warranty is more expensive than the cost of the extended warranty.
Nevertheless, if you decide to buy an extended warranty, you should not pay more than $500 or $600 for an extra two or three years of coverage, and you should insist on a deductible of $25 to $50 per shop visit, not per item or repair.
In addition, any warranty that requires you to go to a particular dealer or shop for any covered repairs should be avoided.
Conclusion
Consumers spend over $20 billion a year on unnecessary repairs. The best ways to avoid costly repairs are to know the vehicle and how to identify common car problems and to know how to select a good mechanic or repair shop.
In some cases, an extended warranty might be helpful in defraying costly repair bills, but such a warranty is not always necessary, especially if the cost of the extended warranty is greater than the anticipated costs of repairs.
In order to know whether an extended warranty is right for a particular vehicle, there needs to be a through evaluation of the warranty to determine its value and whether the cost will fit into a budgeted amount set aside for automobile expenses. If not, then an extended warranty might not be the answer; instead, setting aside a certain amount dedicated to vehicle maintenance might fit your budget better.
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Crown Financial Ministries |
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