Keep Your Car Running - Budgeting 101

Most everyone has an idea of the annual costs associated with running their vehicle - from gas to oil changes, wiper replacement to tire rotation - you probably know about how much it costs to perform basic maintenance each year.

What's hard, is planning for unexpected vehicle repairs.

The truth is that our vehicles can stay on the road longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That's because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repair costs for certain vehicles.

There are several websites that can calculate the annual cost of maintenance and repairs. We found one that suggests the cost of repairs for a SUV at about $168/month; this includes anticipated costs of fuel, insurance, and repairs. But there are other sites that suggest annual repairs might be as little as $357, which comes pretty close to about $30 per month. Since the actual monthly cost to maintain your vehicle will be impacted by such factors as whether you purchased it new, used, or know its maintenance history we'd like to suggest that even if the cost of maintenance falls somewhere in the $30-$75/month range, it's still cheaper than a new car payment.

So even if you only set aside 50 buckaroos a month, you'd go a long ways towards taking care of routine maintenance and being prepared for unexpected repairs that might arise - because the other thing certain when "adulting" is that your car will need a repair and if you're already saving the moolah for that eventuality, you'll be so much happier a person when you get the repair quote.

Some folks are afraid of what can go wrong with an older car, so they ditch theirs to buy a new one. If that works best for you, that's great. But if you properly maintain your older vehicle, you'll save a lot of money on new car payments and insurance too. Keeping an older car up and running just makes good economic sense when times are tight.

So, save those nickels and dimes for your car's future needs and we'll be here to help you keep costs down and keep you in the know.

'Cause at Daddio's - your problems are our problems.

Daddio's OnPoint Auto Repair, LLC
3446 Church Street
Stevens Point, WI 54481
Shop | 715.575.2055
http://www.daddiosautorepair.com
Facebook: @DaddiosOnPoint

At Daddio's OnPoint Auto Repair, LLC we install quality NAPA replacement parts and offer a 24,000 mile/24 month warranty too.