Car repairs can be good. They remind us that we didn’t pay 40k for a brand new car with fewer repairs but with huge monthly payments! (And yay for 3 paycheck months!)~Priscilla
Thank you for that comment, Priscilla. You are absolutely right. I had not thought of it in this way, and it made paying our latest repair bill much less painful! While our pickup truck needed some planned and unplanned work (to the tune of almost $1,400-ouch!), this truck has no payment attached to it. And that is a beautiful thing!
Even with having spent close to $3,300 this year on repairs for two vehicles, this is still far less than the average monthly car payment. Sure, there are some inconveniences with maintaining older vehicles, but the tradeoff makes financial sense.
I did learn something else this week, and that is we should have a sinking fund for repairs. While this year we have been very fortunate to be able to cash flow what has come our way, I would feel better having a bit more of a buffer. Whether it be new tires, oil changes, etc., all vehicles will at some point need something.
We had been putting the planned part of this repair (sensor thingy) off on account of not having the cash set aside. In hindsight, that was poor not good planning. A sudden fist-sized hole in the muffler (we seriously heard it blow!) is what pushed us to get all remaining necessary repairs completed. Why so expensive? The truck is a 3/4 ton with a Hemi engine, need I say more? It also has only 102k miles, so we hope to have it for many years to come. For the record, we bought it from a private seller in ’08 for $13k. Money goes a lot further when you buy used.
Can our budget still handle this and pay off the Visa? Yes, but it will be super tight! In trying to take care of the four walls first, I was going to pay October’s mortgage payment with yesterday’s check. Looking at the calendar, I may need to borrow a little from our emergency fund for just a couple of days. By doing so, this will assure that the payment posts before the first of the month. While the mortgage does have a grace period, it doesn’t mean I want to use it! I sure look forward to snowballing and paying off the house, but first, we need to pay off our baby step 2 debt.
We’ve made it through the first half of the month. Although it hasn’t been easy, it has been a month of learning. When it comes to finances, learning is a good thing! I do, however, pray that the rest of the month go by without any additional out-of-pocket lessons!
How fun to open up your webpage and see my name at the top.:-) Haha, my husband said, “Are you famous or infamous?” We
have a sinking fund for car repairs. We’d RATHER spend the money paying down debt, but having that sinking fund as part of our budget makes it easier to sleep at night!
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Famous for sure! 🙂 I’m with you in that I’d rather pay down debt, but I also know having funds in place will give me more peace of mind.
We’ve always been able to cash flow car repairs while Hubs was working…..going forward we’ll also need a sinking fund for those costs. Except that we have cars that are only 3 years old right now so major repairs are a future item so tho I’ll start the sinking fund now I won’t be throwing a lot into it for a couple of years yet.
And true, repairing a car is a lot cheaper than having to buy a new(or new to-you)car. Like Kim’s tranny replacement is a killer at $1K but having to buy a new(to her)vehicle would cost a heck of a lot more, right?
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I am eager to hear how you go about deciding on how much to put into various funds. Fixed items are easy, it is things with variables that throw me. Must be the month for vehicle repairs with Kim’s car needing one too. 🙁 But, still, it makes one appreciate not having a payment!
It is quite unfortunate to say that for many car owners, car aftercare is nothing more than spilling the fuel tank and spasmodic oil change of car engine. If they suppose inspecting their vehicle before each trek is a wastage of time, then they can never be able to find out the true value of car care. Because the real truth is, if they maintain their automobile on a regular basis, then this timely car care will not only make their vehicle highly serviceable but will also prevent expensive car repairs. In addition to that, genuine car maintenance increases safety, improves fuel economy and also extends the life span of the vehicle. Hence, being a car owner, we should not hesitate to provide our vehicle with scheduled maintenance.
I don’t know what others think, but I think both timely car repair and maintenance are essential to keep the vehicle in its elite state. Because if we don’t service our car at the right time, then the smaller existing issues can become even bigger and can damage other components that will end up with a costly repair. So, if anyone does not want to break his bank by spending too much on repeated car repairs, then he should perform routine car aftercare on his vehicle. Because it will diminish the probability of major car breakdowns as well as improve the vehicle’s performance to a significant level. Thus, a car owner should never underestimate the true worth of well-timed car repair, because it is one of such step that will keep his enshrined asset safe and road-worthy.
Yes ! Definately ! It’s far more better than buying a new car ! Everyone should take good care of their vehicle and repair things which would cost not much ! But if anyone doesn’t take good care of their vehicle then he will end up in spending a lot of money ! Probably then buy a new car which is tthe most costly case here ! Nice post ! Written to the point ! I had a post of a Best truck bed tent review ! If you find it benificial then you might wanna see this ! See See here !
Very true. Always best to take care of a vehicle and avoid taking on any type of payment.
Thanks for sharing this article really all the information was very helpful for me.I am now
waiting for your new one.
Cars really make a dent on the pocket… thanks for sharing your story, very best of luck to you 🙂
When doing car or truck repairs on your vehicle you need professional hands of mechanics that can have a good eye on the work needed to be done.