Frugal Car Repair
As luck would have it, my car’s driver’s side headlight burned out this past weekend.
I noticed the faulty headlight when I came home from work Saturday morning as I nosed into my parking spot
Car repairs you can still save money.
facing our building. The reflective pattern was different than usual. (It was daylight, but my headlights automatically come on when the car is running. That aggravates my wife. She wants to decide when they’re on, but I was glad to have the “heads up”.) Anyway, I saw a blank space where there should have been a faint glow. “That’s odd,” I thought. “Gotta be the headlight.” This should be a frugal car repair. I got out and checked. I was right.
Ok, it was Saturday morning. Most Saturdays—after we have breakfast—we set out to accomplish a (never-ending) list of errands. I decided the first stop would be the local car parts shop.
It didn’t take much time to explain the problem to the technician. He inspected my car to make sure I was asking for the correct headlight. Then, he went to work changing it. As he was changing the headlight, he sort of gave the engine compartment the once over. He asked, “Have you had any trouble with your battery? It’s getting old.” He offered to check it for free.
Frugal Car Repair
I was a little surprised. I mean … I hadn’t had any problems, but I bought this car last June. (By the way, I paid cash for it: I don’t believe in debt. It briefly crossed my mind that the tech was setting me up, but I really didn’t know how old the battery was. Then, I remembered my wife had said she’d had a hard time getting it started a couple of weeks ago. She wanted to call it a starter problem. I attributed it to being really, really cold. But hey, I figured the price was right (free), so the check wouldn’t cost me more than a bit of time, and it is better to be safe than sorry. So, I told him, “Go ahead.” The technician finished installing the headlight, checked it to make sure it worked properly, and moved on to the battery.
car battery I pay cash for everything
After a series of short tests, the technician’s verdict was that the battery was indeed bad. I asked about the test results and what they meant. I don’t think I ever mentioned this in any of my posts, but years ago I worked awhile in Sear’s automotive department, so I do know something about automobiles. Anyway, the tech explained the tests to me and what they meant. I was satisfied with his explanation and agreed that the battery was likely to become a problem. (I’m now willing to bet my wife’s problem was an indication of things to come.)
Well, this was unexpected, but the expense of replacing the battery was manageable. As part of my budget, I regularly set aside funds to keep the car in good shape; I was already tapping some of those funds to replace the headlight. I think the decision to replace the battery was a good one: Ultimately, it’s always more expensive to wait until you’re stranded than to do preventative maintenance—that better safe than sorry thing. So, time to shop for a battery.
I bought the manufacturer’s recommended battery, and the store had it in stock. All I needed to do was pay, and the tech would install it and dispose of the old one.
As I was waiting at the cash register for the bill, I was just looking around. I noticed a sign that said, “Free $20.00 gift card if you buy this name brand battery”—the same brand I was buying. I inquired about the deal and was told the sale had been over for a week and the sign should have been taken down. The manager was right there and heard the conversation. He said that since there was no date on the sign itself I could have a $20.oo discount. (I jumped on that!) I knew i would save money.
I charged the battery (and earlier, the headlight) to my rewards credit card. Read my article on earn money using your credit card . Later in the evening, after I got home, I transferred money from my saving account to checking account, and paid the charges off. (The two ways I pay for things are (1) cash or (2) with the rewards card, and if I do it that way, I pay off the charges before any interest is accrued: paying interest is not frugal.)
Let me show you how this was a frugal car repair.
So, how was I frugal in this event?
1. I paid attention to my surroundings at the store. Because I noticed a sale sign that had not been taken down, I received a $20.00 discount.
2. I had the money in my saving account to pay for the repairs.
3. I paid off the newly acquired balance on my charge card just a few hours after making the charges. I won’t pay interest on them.
4. I paid for the parts with my rewards credit card and recouped $1.72 (Everything counts).
All things given, this event was a good exercise in frugality.
Conclusion
A frugal car repair isn’t always about the money. Sometimes you have to think about what’s best for your car.