Save Money on Car Repairs

The other day I had the joy of backing into a parked tractor-trailer.  The trailer that I hit broke my passenger’s side rear tail light and bashed in my trunk lid, yet the trailer was untouched.  I really lucked out on this accident, but since I drive a Cadillac, the repairs are still going to cost me quite some money.  The problem is that I only have liability insurance, so I’ll be picking up the tab on this one.  If you ever come across the same situation, I want to help you fix your car for as cheap as possible.

First Things First

Before you get into an accident, you need to prepare for one!  The best thing you could ever do in life is to start and keep an emergency fund.  You never know what life will throw at you, whether it’s a semi-trailer in your blind spot or a bear rolling over your car to get to your package of Dunkin Donuts, you need to prepare yourself.  Try to save up about one month’s worth of expenses that you could use at any time in case of an emergency.

Time to Go Shopping

People go to resale shops for slightly used clothes at dirt-cheap prices, so why not do that with your car.  If you’ve never been to a junk yard before, it is a giant lot full of non-working and wrecked cars.  You might think why would I look for parts on an already wrecked car?  The answer is this, not every car is wrecked from head to toe.  If you get in a fender bender, does that mean that your passenger’s seat is no longer useable?  How about if your engine is blown, isn’t the frame and everything else still good?  You can salvage useable parts off partially wrecked cars, and salvage some of your cash at the same time.  Junkyards usually start out with super cheap prices, but the one in my area has a half off day, where all parts are 50% off.  Buy as many parts from the junkyard as you can, because it will save you oodles of cash!

Time to Become a Self-Claimed Mechanic

If you’ve never gotten down and dirty, it’s time to start.  The cheapest mechanic that you know is yourself!  As long as you have a decent set of tools, you should be able to figure out how to replace your parts.  For instance, my trunk is only four bolts, so it won’t be a problem to change at all!  If you don’t know how to fix something always check the realms of YouTube for a lesson, or stop by AutoZone, because they have lesson dad’s that will show you how to fix certain things on your vehicle.  Here I’ll put the prices into perspective.  To have a brake job done on my car it is about $215!  When I do it myself, it only cost me about $75.  That’s a savings of about $140!  It is well worth the time and frustration to fix the car yourself, plus you gain priceless knowledge that can help you later in life

Final Thoughts

The cheapest way to fix your car after a wreck is not to wreck your car.  For some reason, life doesn’t like to let us go by without giving us some hiccups along the way, so it is something we will have to live with.  Remember, always keep an emergency fund, buy used or rebuilt parts, and if possible fix the parts yourself.

 

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