What Can You Do If You Have Costly Auto Repairs But No Monry

At some point, your vehicle'south probable to break down. Don't let car repair costs break your bank too.

There are a multitude of things that can go wrong when you own a car, from a young man shopper swinging their car door into yours to create a gnarly dent or a pesky check engine light glowing a sickly amber on your dash.

Cars seemingly have a manner of knowing when you're strapped for greenbacks, too. On a week when your rent'south due, you've lost three days' pay to recover from the influenza, and you but bought groceries, you could almost bet that y'all'll hear a rrrng-ding-bang from somewhere in your car.

So what do yous do when your car breaks downwardly and you tin can't beget to repair information technology, or repairing it ways skimping on other bills? Fortunately, y'all tin do some early on planning so that a brake replacement (or some other repair) doesn't break the depository financial institution.

How Much Do Machine Repairs Price?

A 2022 AAA survey establish that the average car repair price is between $500 and $600. Such a cost isn't insignificant; the aforementioned survey constitute that 64 million Americans would go into debt to pay for such a repair.

Maintenance is another significant cistron in the price of owning a automobile, and lack of maintenance tin can complicate — and increase the cost of — motorcar repairs. In other words, if y'all've neglected to properly maintain your auto, the toll of repairing information technology could quickly exceed the average.

Types of car repairs

Non all auto repairs are equal. Buffing out a ding from the quarter panel differs from replacing the ignition in both cost and importance.

Naturally, body repairs are usually the least expensive and include:

Type of Car Body Repair	Average Toll
Dented bumper	$350 to $450
Deep or extensive damage to paint	$300 to $1,000 for a single-phase coat of paint; $1,000 to $iii,500 to repair and pigment over deeper or more extensive harm
Cracked windshield	$110 for repair; $410 for replacement
Strut or daze absorber replacement	$488 to $597
Wheel alignment	$115 to $302
Ball joint replacement	$225 to $285
Rear-end harm	Hundreds to potentially tens of thousands of dollars (depending on severity)

A glowing check engine light tin bespeak anything from a small effect to something more severe — and expensive. According to the CarMD 2022 Vehicle Health Index, the 10 most common check engine repairs are:

Blazon of Replacement	Boilerplate Cost
Catalytic converter	$1,375.lxx
Oxygen sensor	$245.88
Ignition curl and spark plug	$386.89
Loose fuel cap tightening or replacement	$25
Mass air menses sensor	$345.69
Ignition coil	$214.98
Evaporative emissions purge command valve	$144.07
Fuel injector	$457.63
Evaporative emissions purge solenoid	$150.85
Thermostat	$240.46

Other vehicle components are also decumbent to failure and tin lead to a hefty repair or replacement cost. Vehicle service contract data compiled by RateGenius showed the most frequent component failures in 2022 were:

Blazon of Component Failure	Average Claim Amount
Water pump	$533
A/C compressor	$890
Alternator	$511
Manual/drivetrain	$two,756
A/C condenser	$836
Suspension control arm	$747
Radio	$812
Rack and pinion gear	$1,245
Engine — consummate associates	$3,269

Repair costs increment for luxury or sports cars, so you may exist on the hook for repair costs that exceed the average.

Does Car Insurance Cover Automobile Repairs?

Car insurance doesn't cover the cost of maintenance or regular repairs, like a wheel alignment or h2o pump replacement. Even so, collision coverage does pay for repairs stemming from an accident, whether it involves simply your vehicle or another vehicle or object.

As its name implies, comprehensive coverage protects confronting more than collisions, including damage from:

Animals,
Natural disasters and burn down,
Rioting and vandalism,
Theft of all or role of the auto,
Falling objects, and
Cleaved windshields.

If your car needs repairs following a covered event, great! Your insurer (or the insurance company that covers the driver who hitting you) volition pay for the cost of repairs, minus your policy's deductible.

What automobile insurance won't embrace are all the other potential ways your motorcar tin can go kaput.

9 Ways to Pay for Car Repairs

Planning for the eventuality of machine repairs means you don't have to rely on whether or not car insurance covers the crusade.

Earlier getting overwhelmed by the potential of a large auto repair beak, consider the options available to you and your budget and figure out what methods piece of work to pay for your motorcar repairs.

1. Mechanical breakup insurance

Mechanical breakdown insurance, or MBI, is a type of insurance that pays for the repairs to sure (yous guessed it) mechanical breakdowns.

Substantially, MBI covers damage to your machine resulting from incidents that wouldn't be covered past your normal machine insurance. In other words, if you get into an accident, car insurance will pay for repairs, but if your engine lights upwardly like the Quaternary of July on your fashion to work, MBI would kick in to repair and replace information technology.

MBI covers:

Electrical systems
Oil pumps
Timing gears
Valves
Brakes
Transmissions

Mechanical breakup insurance does not embrace wear-and-tear or the cost of maintenance, though some policies may provide coverage for A/C, steering, or fuel systems.

Similar car insurance, MBI policies typically take a deductible. However, MBI isn't available for every automobile. An MBI policy tin can only exist purchased for a new machine or a car beneath a sure mileage (every bit divers by the specific policy).

two. Warranties

Different types of warranties are available depending on how you buy a car and if it's new or used.

Manufactory or manufacturer'southward warranties

Factory or manufacturer'south warranties are standard warranties included in the purchase of a new car. They're generally comprised of multiple types of warranties that provide different coverages with the sole caveat that the covered incident must be the result of a mill defect.

In other words, if a part fails or breaks of its own accord (for example, by misuse, wearable-and-tear, lack of maintenance, or equally the upshot of an accident), a manufactory warranty won't help y'all.

For example, a steering cycle issue acquired by a software glitch or faulty ability steering motor associates could lead to a recall and repair covered nether your manufacturing plant warranty.

The dissimilar components of a manufacturing plant warranty are in force for diverse lengths of time, depending on the type of coverage provided. For example, bumper-to-bumper coverage is frequently considered the about comprehensive attribute of a factory warranty merely is probable the first warranty component to elapse.

In some cases, yous may exist able to extend manufacturing plant warranty coverage after it expires.

Dealer warranties

Warranties offered by dealers, peculiarly in the auction of a used machine, include:

Implied warranties: an unwritten promise that a used car'southward basic functions work and the car runs.
Limited warranties: a blazon of warranty that specifies certain aspects and components of the used car are covered and volition exist serviced by the dealer.
Full warranties: guarantee gratis repair or replacement of covered components and systems inside the warranty period (regardless of possessor). If a repair is impossible to complete, the vehicle owner is entitled to a vehicle replacement or full refund.

Naturally, express warranties are nigh commonly offered by used automobile dealers. Even so, dealerships may instead sell a car "as-is" to reduce or fully remove some or all implied warranties.

Extended warranties

Extended warranties are frequently referred to as "service contracts," only the two products are not necessarily the same. Fifty-fifty more disruptive is the incorrect interchangeability between extended warranties and MBI.

In the latter case, extended warranties are not an insurance product. Where insurance companies offer MBI, a wider swath of providers tin can offer extended warranties. Furthermore, extended warranties aren't offered by just the manufacturer or dealer.

3rd-political party or standalone extended warranties provide varying types of coverage depending on the specific programme, but routine maintenance and article of clothing-and-tear are usually not covered. In some cases, you may exist able to purchase "wrap" coverage that would pay to repair anything other than the vehicle's powertrain.

Some extended warranties provide additional protection and extras, such as roadside assistance, towing, and rental car reimbursement.

Because extended warranties can vary so wildly in coverage, advisedly read over the policy before purchasing it to ensure information technology offers the protection yous want and demand.

3. Vehicle service contracts

Vehicle service contracts are optional plans sold by manufacturers, dealerships, and third-party providers. They tin be purchased at the same time you purchase a new or used car or later on, and are bachelor for older cars or those with high mileage.

VSCs provide more comprehensive coverage than warranties. Typical VSCs provide coverage for mechanical problems, including relatively uncomplicated fixes — like air conditioning on the fritz — or more pressing (and expensive) problems, such as an engine replacement.

Vehicle service contracts do not embrace corrective problems, routine maintenance, or wear-and-tear. Some VSCs as well include a number of "exclusions" — specific parts or situations not covered by the programme in question.

Because these exclusions are so specific, yous may be responsible for paying for a portion of a repair that'south otherwise covered if a certain part is excluded from coverage.

As a bonus, many VSCs provide extra coverage in the form of roadside assistance and towing and rental reimbursement.

4. Personal loans

Personal loans can serve every bit a means to pay for car repairs without leaving you broke. You can use for a personal loan at your preferred bank or credit union, and many even offering online applications. In many cases, personal loans are deposited into your bank business relationship by the side by side business organisation day.

Friends and family tin also offer yous a personal loan, though be wary of just how personal it tin get when borrowing from someone you know (and be sure not to accept advantage of their kindness, either).

Money borrowed through a personal loan can exist used for any purpose and, subsequently, whatsoever sort of car repair. So long every bit you borrow plenty to cover the mechanic'due south nib, y'all're articulate and golden.

The only requirement is that you pay dorsum the loan — both the primary and any accumulated interest — as agreed. Notwithstanding, considering personal loans are installment loans, the corporeality you've borrowed is broken upward into much more affordable monthly payments compared to the total and upfront cost of paying for repairs with your savings.

5. Auto repair loans or payment plans

Some mechanics and repair shops offer car repair loans or other types of financing options.

Larger mechanics, like bondage, may offering an auto repair loan or payment programme themselves. With a payment plan, you're responsible for making installment payments directly to the shop. Other mechanics, especially smaller motorcar shops, work with a network of lenders to offer loans to customers.

One time your loan has been approved, the lender may pay the repair shop itself or effect you a credit card to pay the mechanic yourself.

Regardless of which selection you cull or is available to you, the coin you infringe or use must go toward:

Repairs and service,
Maintenance,
Tires, and/or
Your insurance deductible.

Funds typically can't exist used to pay for your extended warranty or any prepaid services. Non-essential parts, installations, and repairs aren't typically covered either.

6. Credit cards

16% of Americans would apply a credit card for an emergency, such every bit an unexpected auto repair. Maintaining an emergency credit card isn't a bad thought, though it'due south not always the best idea to rely on information technology as your get-go choice.

Withal, sometimes the stars just don't align. If your car'south out of warranty and non otherwise covered, you don't have enough savings to cover a repair, and you tin't or don't want to apply for a loan, a credit card can make the deviation between y'all getting to work or not.

By paying with a credit card, you're non restricted from what services or components you tin can have repaired or replaced. Instead, yous're limited by the bachelor credit you accept on your carte. If the cost of repairs exceeds what you lot can charge to your card, y'all may take to make upward the difference through some other method.

7. DIY

A wealth of resource are available to guide yous through performing some less complex repairs yourself.

Past taking the DIY road, y'all could conceivably save hundreds — or even thousands — in substitution for a piffling effort, the toll of parts, and maybe a case of beer or two for a friend.

If you're not mechanically-inclined or just not interested, consider buying used parts online or from a local auto shop or junkyard, then having them professionally installed at the mechanic of your choice. This path will exist more expensive than doing it all yourself, only you'll besides exist saving coin past not paying for new replacement parts.

viii. Contribute to a dedicated savings account

One of the easiest ways of avoiding the stressors of an unexpected car repair is to save for repair costs beforehand. Strive to sock away coin — or auto refinance savings — into an emergency fund for the inevitable trip to a mechanic.

Your savings tin be used for repairs of any nature, and many banks and credit unions offer options to automatically deposit a portion of each paycheck into a savings account. Over fourth dimension, these relatively small deposits add up and can eventually go toward car repairs or maintenance.

9. Sell your auto

Sometimes repairing a car simply isn't worth it to you but is a quick fix to someone else willing to take the car off your easily. As a effect, you could sell your broken car for greenbacks to exist used equally a down payment for a new car or to purchase a used car outright.

If your car's not in sellable status or you lot're just sick of trying to get rid of information technology, you could too endeavor departing it out for cash. DIYers and local mechanics can use the operation components to repair a automobile in better status or Frankenstein one back to life, and you tin use the cash to get dorsum on the road again.

What Car Repair Payment Methods Should I Avoid?

Some methods of paying for auto repairs tin can go you back on the road, just can cost you far more than in the long run. Steering articulate of ill-advised payment options and unscrupulous lenders can salve you from a bigger headache than figuring out how you'll pay to fix your car through one of the methods above.

Title loans

A car title loan is a short-term loan in which you lot sign your car title over to a championship company, which, in turn, uses your car as collateral. You are and so loaned a percentage of your car'south value that can be used for automobile repairs or other purposes.

Championship loans do non impact or accept into consideration your credit score, just usually require full repayment — including interest — within fifteen to thirty days.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the typical APR of a title loan is 300%, which makes this form of financing incredibly expensive. In add-on, borrowers must commonly pay fees for taking out a title loan.

The CFPB has establish that four out of five borrowers fail to pay off a title loan in a single payment, prompting them to roll over the loan from month to month and incurring college involvement charges and fees.

Because your car is used equally collateral, defaulting on a championship loan ways the lender volition seize or reclaim the vehicle. Ane out of every v borrowers lose their vehicles to a title loan company for failure to pay, according to CFPB research.

Payday loans

Payday loans are besides called cash or check accelerate loans and represent another type of brusk-term financing with an extremely high interest rate. Payday loans are based on a combination of your income and credit. The average payday loan amount is near $500 with an April of 400%, along with other fees.

Repayment of a payday loan, including interest, is typically due upon your next payday, hence the name. If you fail to pay dorsum the loan on fourth dimension, the lender continually rolls it into a new term while adding additional fees and penalties, on meridian of accumulating involvement.

Payday loans narrowly beat title loans considering they're unsecured — the lender has no collateral to reclaim. Still, because of fees and exceptionally high interest rates, they tin be hard to pay off in fourth dimension and should be avoided to the best of your ability.

Do GAP Waivers Pay for Auto Repairs?

GAP coverage, or guaranteed asset protection, is sold in the form of a waiver or insurance policy and helps embrace the gaps between what you owe on your machine loan and what your auto insurance pays out for a covered incident.

Simply how does GAP assistance in the case of motorcar repairs?

Brusk answer: Information technology doesn't. GAP only covers events in which your car is a total loss. Fifty-fifty if you intend on tying some scrap together and pedaling your totaled auto like Fred Flintstone, GAP isn't a production that will help yous with any mechanical breakdowns or malfunctions.

Tin can I Negotiate the Cost of Vehicle Repairs?

Whether you're paying with your own cash or through a loan, the less repairs cost, the less you spend overall. As with well-nigh interpersonal situations in life, communication is cardinal.

Get-go, exist prepared to store around. Unless y'all demand to have your car repaired at a specific authorized repair facility to satisfy the requirements of a warranty or other policy, take one shop'south estimate to a competitor to see if you can get a better bargain.

Conduct in heed that shops aren't typically able to reduce their labor cost or fixed-price services. However, as with DIY repairs, you can opt to use non-OEM, or non-manufacturer, parts to reduce repair costs. Some "broken" components don't need to be replaced right away, either.

Try explaining your financial state of affairs to your mechanic, every bit well. If you've done your enquiry to observe a reputable and trustworthy shop, your mechanic might be more than willing to work with you on cost or ways to brand your vehicle at to the lowest degree roadworthy, if fixing it entirely is out of your budget.

How to Avoid Costly and Unexpected Car Repairs

Ultimately, the key to fugitive plush car repairs is to maintain your vehicle. Though there's no guarantee something won't become wrong, proper maintenance can nip a lot of problems in the bud before they become expensive — or forbid the issue entirely.

By staying upwards-to-engagement on replacing fluids, checking your oil, keeping it clean, and otherwise taking intendance of your vehicle, you can stave off the worst of overwhelming machine repair bills.

Certain, in that location's some cost involved in maintaining your automobile, merely information technology's likewise an investment in your vehicle's longevity, your long-term finances, and your stress levels.

If all else fails, planning alee and knowing how to pay for car repairs tin can reduce your stress and out-of-pocket expenses if and when your car breaks downward — and keep you lot away from predatory practices like title and payday loans.

Daniel Mattia

Daniel Mattia is a freelance content writer and author. He's written extensively nearly insurance, personal finance, and small business. Daniel's by and electric current clients include The Zebra, Bestow, Ensurem, and others across a multifariousness of industries.