Common Car Repairs Worth Knowing About
Owning a car can be expensive, especially when you have a repair. According to CarMD, the average repair cost is $305.56. This includes $202.28 for parts and $103.27 for labor. The group also calculated the most common car repairs undertaken each year. This was based on 170,000 car repair details submitted in 2010 by owners and technicians.
Car Repair, The Common Issues
Here are the most frequent repairs according to the survey:
5. Replacing Spark Plugs
This is a small part that when faulty can result in huge problems for car owners. While changing the spark plugs on your own is a possibility, and can cost significantly less, a faulty spark plug can cause significant damage to your gas mileage and your catalytic converter. The latter of these car components is very expensive and therefore it is worth the small expense of the experienced mechanic to save on the potential costs of further repairs.
According to the survey, spark plugs were responsible for 3.71% of all repairs.
4. Replacing Mass Air Flow Sensor
This device measures how much air is supplied to the engine and then determines the amount of fuel that is required to keep it running. Nearly one in twenty repairs (4.36%) are because of a faulty mass air flow sensor; but this needn’t be the case. This repair is preventable if you replace your air filters on a regular basis. Replacing the air filters would cost you about $20-$30; a sensor repair can cost you approximately $200.
3. Catalytic Converter Replacement
The catalytic converter replacement takes up 6.4% of all repairs and the most expensive on this list. However, this repair is completely avoidable if you pay attention to other, less expensive, components of your car; for instance, your spark plugs and fuel injector. Ignoring these components for too long will result in a damaged catalytic converter and an expensive repair bill, often over $1000.
2. Loose Fuel Caps
Nearly one in ten repairs (9.28%) are because of loose fuel caps. While this repair is fairly cheap to correct, it can cause additional problems: mainly to the efficiency of your fuel usage. CarMD estimates that approximately 147 million gallons of gas is evaporated each year because of lost, damaged or missing fuel caps.
1. Oxygen Sensor Replacement
Only just being the top reason why cars end up in the repair shop, the oxygen sensor is an essential repair that needs to be done by a mechanic. The main reason for this is because the sensor that detects whether there is too much or too little gas in the tank is often hidden behind special covers that require specialist tools.
Conclusion
Many of the most frequent car repairs are fairly inexpensive. Those that are expensive are often the result of poor maintenance or smaller items not being repaired early enough. Ensure you don’t create a larger bill for yourself by having a preventative car maintenance schedule in place.
Actions you can take:
- Conduct regular car maintenance to check for potential problems before they become too serious.
- Change your air filters regularly.
- Speak to us about what preventative measures you can take to ensure your car is only in the repair shop when it is needed.