5 Tips to Help You Save Money on Soaring Car Repair Costs

The cost of car repairs has always been a headache for drivers, especially because it’s often a surprise expense. To make matters worse, prices are soaring.

The latest government inflation data shows that motor vehicle repair prices are up 11.6% in the past year, which is one of the highest inflation rates for any spending category. (Another auto expense, car insurance, has experienced the very highest rate of inflation lately.) Given this trend, it's increasingly important to make sure you get a fair price when your car needs to be fixed.

It’s easy to get ripped off on car repairs if you’re not knowledgeable about vehicles and don’t do your homework. Drivers may not know what repairs are necessary or what the costs should be for the repairs they do need. Opportunistic mechanics will take advantage of that if you're not careful. Here are some tips to help you navigate this tricky territory.

Get a free (or cheap) car repair diagnosis

The first step of getting your car fixed is figuring out what’s wrong. This can actually get costly with some auto repair shops charging $100 or more for diagnostic work before performing any repairs.

Auto parts stores can be a great resource because they typically offer free code readings and battery tests. If you can figure out why your engine light is on at a store like AutoZone, you may be able to avoid paying a repair shop for diagnostic services.

For more complicated issues, you can try a few mechanics in your area and see if anyone will take a look under the hood without a payment agreement. Someone may be happy to do this at no cost to hopefully acquire a new customer.

If not, look for a shop with reasonable diagnostic fees. Ideally, the shop will subtract these fees from the final repair price if you end up having the work done through them.

Choose a reputable auto mechanic

To pay a fair price for car repairs, the No. 1 most important step is finding a good mechanic you can trust, says Ben Preston, auto reporter at Consumer Reports.

“Use word of mouth,” Preston says. “Ask your friends, ask your colleagues, see where people are going for that kind of work and then just keep going to the same place.”

Customers often make the mistake of looking for the cheapest repair shop when they’d be better off with a trustworthy shop that charges a higher (but fair) price, he adds.

With a good mechanic, the repairs will prove to be long-term fixes and the shop won’t insist upon doing work you don’t actually need, which will save you money in the long run.

If possible, it’s helpful to start building your relationship with a shop when you need minor maintenance like an oil change or a tire rotation. You'll get a feel for whether you like the shop, and the stakes are much lower with this type of maintenance than if you’re going in for an expensive repair.

Dealership repair shops vs. independent mechanics

While dealership repair shops tend to perform top-notch work, once your car is out of warranty you’ll generally be better off with an independent mechanic that charges lower labor costs.

Dealership service departments have a reputation for charging high prices and pushing owners into repairs and maintenance that aren't really necessary.

“We've found that customer satisfaction at dealerships is all over the place,” Preston says. While some car brands have better repair shops than others, a good independent mechanic's services are usually better in terms of bang for your buck.

Once in a while, you may encounter a really complicated issue that a dealership is best-equipped to handle with special tools. But if you take your car to a mechanic that is experienced working on your type of vehicle, they should be able to get you back on the road in the vast majority of situations.

Consider buying your own auto parts

Buying your own parts can be a way to save money on car repairs or things that need to replaced routinely, like tires. You can compare prices online from companies like Advanced Auto Parts or RockAuto, order exactly what you need, and have your mechanic do the installation or repair.

Many drivers like to use OEM or “original equipment manufacturer” parts, which means the replacement is identical to the original. In other situations, aftermarket parts might be just fine. Either way, if you buy your parts yourself, you know exactly what's going into your vehicle.

On the other hand, it can be difficult for non-experts to sort out what parts they need. Also, your repair shop may get discounts that make their parts prices cheaper than what you can find on your own. In any event, by exploring the options, you'll be able to make a more informed decision.

Get multiple quotes

Particularly for more expensive car repairs, it's a good idea to get estimates from different shops in the area, according to Brian Moody, executive editor at Kelley Blue Book.

While this can be time consuming (and may not be feasible if your vehicle isn’t drivable), getting multiple quotes will give you confidence that you’re getting a fair price and not paying for unnecessary repairs.

There are also online tools and forums that can give you a sense of how much people typically pay for the repair your car needs.

Try to negotiate

You may not think of car repairs as something you need to haggle over, but customers can sometimes have success with the right approach.

"The most likely scenario for successful negotiations is to have an ongoing relationship with a service shop," Moody says. "As a repeat customer, that shop might be more inclined to help you by taking payments or reducing the price on one job in an effort earn your repeat business."

Dealership shops usually advertise fixed prices, but you should look into possible discounts. Some car dealerships mail out service coupons to customers or list discounts and special offers on their websites. Service advisors may also sometimes have discretionary budgets they can use to give breaks to customers, for example, if a car needs a repair and it's only a few hundred miles out of warranty, Moody says.

You're much much more likely to be able to negotiate repair prices at an independent shop, according to survey data from Consumer Reports.

When you get a price quote, ask for a breakdown of the costs (i.e. how much you’re paying for parts vs. labor). You can compare these prices with what you see online. If it looks like the quoted prices are too high, point that out to the repair shop and see if they can give you a better offer.

You can always shift your business elsewhere or take some time to think about it. Don’t be pressured to make snap decisions on car repairs when there's a lot of money on the line.

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