Budgeting for repairs?

tomdempsey200

hi

not strictly motoring, but how does everyone budget for miscellaneous repairs when money is tight.

I have breakdown cover

can you get insurance for motor repairs?

The_Honeybadger

I have a household account which covers every bill including electric, gas, sky, insurance, motor tax etc etc. All my direct debits are linked to this account and all household bills are paid from it. I put a fixed amount from my salary in it every month which comes out on payday. It is all worked out on a spreadsheet at the start of the year so I know when every bill is likely to arrive. I put more than I actually need into the account so a little emergency fund builds up. This covers car servicing and repairs, surprise bills like gp or dentist visits etc. If I didn't do this I wouldn't have money when the surprise bills come around. I (or more likely my wife) would have it spent on crap we don't need.

CiniO

tomdempsey200 wrote: »

hi

not strictly motoring, but how does everyone budget for miscellaneous repairs when money is tight.

I have breakdown cover

can you get insurance for motor repairs?

I try to keep an eye on my cars. Check various things regularly, and fix problems as early as they appear.
That way I think I'm saving money.
Also I'm doing many repairs myself, and source parts from cheap sources.

And I don't have breakdown cover, as I think it's a waste of money.

visual

The problem with repairs is they can be cheap or very expensive so will always be hard to budget for especially if you get little or no warning.

The consumables you can budget for like oil petrol and servicing. But you can also add other items that are also consumables
Timing belt changes on or befor due date
Tyres a lot of factors at play but as a guide 20k isnt unreal expectation
Battery five years or older your on borrowed time
Brakes front pads every 2 years rear shoes or pads every 3 to 5. Discs if worn about 5 years
Wipers 1 to 2 years


Then your moving into items that just break that need fixing or repairing

Cv joints, gearboxes, turbos, shock absorber and suspension components. These will vary quite a lot depending on how you drive and types of roads your on.

Too many don't budge for anything other than petrol and oil change so once you move beyond that thinking there is less suprises

biko

I don't budget for it. Just keep after issues as they appear and pray
It helps that I can fix a lot things myself.