Money Tips for Stress-Free Auto Repair Care

The holiday season is here.

Gifts begin accumulating and wallets feel a little thinner with each passing week. It’s an exciting time when the last thing you’d want to worry about is an unexpected automobile repair. Furthermore, unless a special someone provides you with the gift of free Auto Repair in your sudden future, it’s understood that servicing your vehicle should always be an important line item when working with your budget.

Auto loan payments, insurance, and fuel come up every month and are pretty easy to plan for. Plus, you can typically anticipate so many oil changes in a year and the odd engine or cabin air filter here or there. These costs are standard with vehicle ownership and part of the price we pay for safe and reliable transportation.

The real rub is when costly repair work like needing new tires, transmission replacement, a head gasket replacement or blown engine happen suddenly or “crawl up” on us and need attention at a bad time. We never want to compromise on safety items, but occasionally can find ourselves in a “pay a little now or pay a lot later” situation where we have to consider putting off important maintenance and repairs for budget reasons.

If you’d rather pay ahead: review the most expensive repairs that could occur for your vehicle and see when the particular part or system was last serviced. If it’s been awhile since your AutoCare technician has taken a look, chances are it’s smart to prepare early. Put a little away each month. This can be as easy as taking the cost of the potential repair and dividing it by 12, then saving away that amount as a budgeted line savings item. When the repair happens, you can breathe easier as you’ll already have the funds ready.

If you’d rather pay later: do it at your convenience with our NAPA EasyPay Credit Card solution. You may be saying, “The last thing I want is another credit card”, but this is a specialty card for automotive service and repair items. It lets you keep your cash and other credit cards free for other things. Want more peace of mind with your auto repair servicing? Use your NAPA EasyPay Credit Card and increase the NAPA Peace of Mind Nationwide Limited Repair Warranty which covers parts and labor on qualifying automotive repairs from 24 months or 24,000 miles to 36-months or 36,000-miles offered at participating NAPA AutoCare Centers.

Go here to learn more about the program.

Whether it’s a large unexpected repair or something as routine as wanting to get caught up on several maintenance services before a road trip, this card can help you work these important expenses into your budget. The card is easy to apply for and you’ll have an answer back while you wait. Ask your Service Advisor for details.

Posted December, 17th 2015