Car Repairs

Last week, we took our car to the dealership to fix the windshield wipers and to get an oil change. In its review of the car, the dealership (I do not want to give the car company name but it is a name of a planet and rhymes with Maturn) found that the water pump and belt needed to be replaced. Along with a few other things they found, the grand total of repairs was $1,350! The car is barely worth that amount. Therefore, I took the car to a local mechanic who is a family friend of a friend. After looking at the water pump, belt, etc., they determined that the only thing that needed to be replaced was the idler pulley (whatever that is). They said that the water pump and belt looked fine. The total of today’s repairs: $182.45! That’s quite a difference.

A few things. First, the new mechanic will be getting a lot more business, while the Maturn dealership, well not so much. Look again at the prices again. Instead of looking into buying a new car, we can now wait and try to save a little more money. I don't know about you, but we know very little about car repairs, so you put so much trust into professionals. I feel violated, although it could have been much worse. We could have paid $1,350 and been in even more debt.