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Van Maintenance Costs

November 5th, 2015 at 02:02 am

Geez. It starts with needing an oil change. Then noticing the vehicle states a code indicating tire rotation, and spark plugs need to be done. Then my husband reminds me the back rear window has been getting stuck and the motor is probably out. Yep, confirmed by the dealership. Oh and yes, you need new rear brakes!

It's all done. And the bill was $946 AFTER our 10% military discount.

We only budget $250 for this pay period towards the first three things. Clearly the other two were more expensive! I did find $100 in a buffer emergency account and $30 in home maintenance that can be applied. There is probably more. Luckily next pay period we should have some 'extra' cash to help get it paid off.

And yes, we have a healthy emergency fund...just trying not to see this as an emergency!

I must say this makes me so grateful for our Christmas fund. I've been saving $50 each month to accumulate $600 by the beginning of December. I have no worries with this big repair bill that our Christmas holiday would be impacted. I do only have eight people (including my husband and myself) that we are buying for this year. We have cut way back. In fact, I'm telling others to keep their money and spend it on their own holiday rather than on us. We don't need anything. And if we do we can buy it ourselves. Smile

How much do you spend on vehicle maintenance each year? I actually have no clue. Time to dig out repair receipts for the last few years.

Posted in Spending, Saving | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Van Maintenance Costs ”

  1. Livingalmostlarge Says:
    November 5th, 2015 at 03:46 am 1446695176
    1446695176

    No idea on car repairs, but after like year 5 I think I budgeted something like $250 a year and let it build.

  2. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    November 5th, 2015 at 04:10 am 1446696623
    1446696623

    I've only had to replace a battery, replace a tire, oil changes, etc. in the 3 years I've had my current car. So ... maybe $150/year?? With it coming up on 70k+ miles and 5 years old, I'm realizing I need to be planning a bit better for the car maintenance category - my Honda's last few years of life cost around $1k+/yr (if you factor in when the car computer died and all those shenanigans ... sigh ...)

  3. snafu Says:
    November 5th, 2015 at 02:56 pm 1446735414
    1446735414

    We had our 1st snow fall so DH had the winter tires installed, balanced etc. which costs $ 100. along with 100 point check up, wash, wax and salt protection spray. We haven't been driving much so not yet time for to have extra work done before it's needed.

  4. snafu Says:
    November 5th, 2015 at 03:37 pm 1446737870
    1446737870

    Unless it was warranty work or negotiated as part of the purchase price, I stopped having after care at the dealership. Quik Lube coupons or promo pricing is more cost and location efficient. I was quite turned off by the last two dealerships because they had teens who were part of their government subsidized 'apprentice' type program do the work without oversight by the journeyman. Worse yet was the spiel designed to scare [women particularly] to have extra work done before it's needed. I asked them to compare their suggestions for brakes or worse yet, combined with cylinders to the manual. Apparently they are expected to up sell.

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