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Car Repair

May 9th, 2018 at 07:19 pm

This is the thing about having an older car, right? You know you'll have some repairs. We budget for car service, but it wasn't enough to cover a big service/repair for D's car and then a big service/repair for mine a month later.

We are short $729.41 after all the payments in the auto servicing category. We will pay this down with other categories and then pay it off little by little until it's gone. It makes me sick, but because our finances are in good shape, we can owe this money to ourselves rather than a credit card!!!

Here are the numbers:
- D's car - $1365.86
- D uber to get home from the car place $15.08 (Grrrr)
- My car - $876.77 (service plus rear brakes plus replace broken torque mount)
- My transportation home from the car place $ZERO (It was a beautiful 1.5 mile walk along the river trail most of the way, 26 mins, I'll leave to walk back and pick up my car at 2 pm)

So D has a more expensive car than mine. It was more expensive to buy, but he had the money from an Irish account that was his before we got married to buy it. It's now 11 years old, but it's going strong. What's interesting is how much it costs to OWN compared to my cheapo car (insurance, gas and repairs).

My car is not glamorous (Nissan Versa hatchback) but it will now be in good working order for our trips to AZ and CO for soccer tournaments.

Posted in Frugal Living | 3 Comments »

3 Responses to “Car Repair”

  1. snfua Says:
    May 10th, 2018 at 02:32 pm 1525962745
    1525962745

    I'm surprised by your reaction to required car repair for a vehicle with 11 yrs service. I too keep vehicles longer than most and feel the saving in mandatory insurance and high deductible helps balance repair costs. It takes a huge effort to get KBB value from insurance after a certain point. The last figures I saw noted the average USA car payment tipped over $ 500. so I upped my ''replacement fund' contributions significantly. While some people enjoy the challenge of car shopping, I find it stressful and a lot of work researching brands and models, listening to spiels and negotiating price with the few facts I understand.

    All vehicles still need regular maintenance based on the details in their manual. Some things like tires wear down. New cars promote a lot of extras I find distracting. It gets more expensive and more inconvenient if drivers extend maintenance dates.

  2. My English Castle Says:
    May 11th, 2018 at 02:21 am 1526005300
    1526005300

    I think your reactions are like mine--I know it makes sense to do this, but I somehow don't quite believe the costs of my repairs. Completely illogical--I think I have magical thinking about cars.

  3. Buendia Says:
    May 12th, 2018 at 03:46 pm 1526139962
    1526139962

    We do put money away... $110 a month for car service... I just didn't expect two car repairs within a month - I guess I shouldn't be shocked since both of our cars are over 10 years old, but I just wish the repairs had been spaced out better. Well, that's not how it works! And my car is safe now, which is the important thing!

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