There are few things worse than your car breaking down. Leaving you stranded miles from home, or unable to get to work until the repairs are done. According to research by Frost & Sullivan for SMMT, in the UK we spend a collective £21.1 billion a year on car servicing and repairs – that’s the equivalent of £695.39 per car! So what are some of the most common reasons we fork out for car costs. And how can we cut the cost by catching problems before they become expensive?
Related: Three Ways to Tackle the Unexpected
1. Battery problems
All batteries inevitably go flat over time. Looked after properly, a car battery should last 3-5 years. But things like short journeys and the stop-start nature of rush hour traffic can shorten your battery’s life significantly. Taking your car out for a longer drive regularly can help. You don’t need to travel the length and breadth of the country, about half an hour’s drive will do. If you’re worried about your car battery, then your car becoming slower than usual to start, or not starting at all, and warning lights that flash on and off at random are the main warning signs to look out for.
Other battery problems that can result in car costs can be harder to anticipate and predict. You can’t do much to safeguard against a leaky battery, for example. But being able to smell rotten eggs, and the smell getting worse the closer you are to the battery is a dead giveaway that you have one. Battery problems can also be a symptom of a bigger problem with your car. So if you find that you’re churning through batteries like nobody’s business, then there could be something a little more untoward going on that a mechanic should investigate for you.
2. Using the wrong fuel
Human error gets the better of us all at one time or another. According to the AA, somebody misfuels their car once every three and a half minutes. So putting petrol in a diesel car, or vice versa, either happens to a lot of people as a one off, or a few people keep making the same mistake over and over! If it’s ever happened to you, you’ll know what a potentially costly headache it can be. Especially if you don’t realise your error and start your engine.
Fortunately, it’s supposed to be very difficult to actually get diesel into a petrol engine. This is because the fuel nozzle should be too big for the filler neck. To stop you putting petrol in a diesel car, there are all kinds of gadgets and gizmos to help catch you out before you do any damage, although a sticker on your fuel cap to make you stop and think before you bring a fuel nozzle anywhere near your car will do the same job!
3. Wheel and tyre problems
Not all wheel and tyre problems are possible to predict. Looking after your tyres and checking them regularly can help you prevent surprise car costs. A few of the things you should keep an eye on are:
- Tyre pressure – every car is different, but you can easily check the recommended tyre pressures for your make and model online
- Tyre tread – UK law requires tyres to continuously have at least 1.6mm of tread around the central ¾ of each tyre. Many tyres have tread depth gauges built into their patterns to help you be able to tell when they’re about worn out, but you can pick up a
- Uneven wear – if your tyres have more tread left in some places than others, this could be a sign that your wheels are misaligned. Your wheels can become misaligned easily if you hit a curb or a pothole, even if you don’t hit it hard. Misaligned wheels increase your risk of a blowout, and will make your car less fuel efficient, too
- General condition – if your tyres have any splits in them where the rubber has decayed, are bulging, or if you spot anything like nails lodged in your tyres, then it’s probably time to replace them before they fail on you unexpectedly or cause further damage to your car.
4. Cracked windscreens
It only takes a pebble from the road to hit your windscreen and create a chip in the glass. Or hitting a nasty pothole to turn that chip into an enormous crack. There’s nothing you can do to avoid it, it’s sheer bad luck. The cost of replacing your windscreen may not seem like a massive one in the grand scheme of car repairs. But even having to shell out a couple of hundred pounds can take a big chunk out of your finances.
If you get a chip in your windscreen, get it looked at before it turns into a full blown crack. More often than not chips can be repaired without having to replace the whole windscreen. Under most insurance policies repairing chipped windscreens is free of charge but replacing a windscreen will still result in car costs for your excess, so it definitely pays to have it seen to sooner rather than later.
5. Lost keys
Even picturing yourself in the midst of a frantic search for keys is stressful. With car key technology getting increasingly fancy, with features both for your convenience, like key-free systems, and to prevent theft, like microchips in the key, replacing a lost key now costs an average of £215 and having to replace the whole central locking system can cost in excess of £1000. Numbers like that are enough to strike dread into anyone who hears the question “have you seen my car keys?”!
If you’re prone to losing things, the best thing you can do is ensure you have a spare car key stashed away somewhere safe. If you don’t have a spare, then you may want to consider speaking to a dealership about having one cut and what they will charge. At least then you can plan for the car costs. You can also acquire a new car key in your own time and on your own terms!
Of course, there are also all sorts of car troubles that there’s just no way of predicting before they happen. Although clutch problems and other mechanical failures are more common in older cars, they can happen at any time. So we rely on our cars so heavily that getting the repairs done, and fast, is crucial. If you find yourself with this kind of emergency on your hands, remember that there’s always a solution. Take your time to find the best way to solve your problems, not just the quickest.
Do you have any other tips to avoid car costs? Let us know in the comments!
