Factors That Influence How Much Car Maintenance Costs
There are some things you can do to reduce your car maintenance costs, but some expenses are unavoidable. Here a few key factors to consider while budgeting:
Your Car
Generally, the more expensive the car, the more it costs to maintain. This is because replacement parts are more expensive. Newer cars may cost less to maintain because the original parts are still in good shape and you can get by with routine maintenance, such as oil changes, for the first 2 – 3 years. Cars with 50,000 miles and more begin to require routine maintenance, such as replacing the tires, brake pads, battery and more.
The closer the car gets to 100,000 miles, the more likely the car develops serious problems with engine parts like the alternator, camshaft, head gasket, radiator or fuel pump. These repairs can be closer to $1,000 or more and, perhaps more importantly, leave you without a car for a week or two while it’s in the shop.
These expensive repairs are easier to justify (and budget for) if you own the car outright and are no longer making payments. In this case, you might want to up your monthly repair budget to $100 or more to cover sudden expensive car repairs.
How Much You Drive
There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” When applied to cars, this means that the more you drive and pile up miles, the faster parts break down. This is why you should anticipate car maintenance costs based on miles driven, not just the age of the vehicle.
Your Driving Environment
Where you drive affects the life of the vehicle, as parts break down faster in extreme environments. Here are a few driving environments that affect car life:
- City vs. rural/highway driving: City driving involves more braking and turning, while highway driving puts less stress on brakes and suspension
- Road quality: Bumpy roads place more stress on the car’s suspension, wheels and tires
- Weather: Extreme hot or cold temperatures can stress car parts; cold weather also leads to potholes in the roads; in some regions salt or other chemicals that are corrosive to car parts are spread on the roads to melt ice
