HOW TO ESTIMATE CAR MAINTENANCE COST

Buying a car is one thing but maintaining a car is another. When creating an auto budget, you usually account for monthly payments, fuel, insurance and maintenance costs. This gives you the actual cost of owning a car.

Regular car maintenance is essential to keep the vehicle running and performing well. These types of care may include oil change, windscreen wiper replacement, tire rotation and brake pad replacement. How much does that cost, and how best can we estimate car maintenance costs?

BASIC STEPS IN EFFICIENTLY ESTIMATING YOUR CAR MAINTENANCE COSTS

1. GATHER MAINTENANCE RECORDS

The best way to estimate your car maintenance cost is to analyze how much you have spent on maintenance in the previous year. These could be receipts for oil changes, brake pad replacement and all other servicing expenses. It will give you an approximate of what the next maintenance budget should be. 

2. IDENTIFY YOUR MONTHLY AVERAGE

Once you can gather all your maintenance costs in the prior year, strike a monthly average by dividing the total amount by 12. For instance, if your maintenance cost for the previous year was GH₵2,500, then an average monthly budget of GH₵208.3 will be practical.

MAINTENANCE COST FOR VEHICLES

Maintenance costs differ among vehicle makes and models. It is crucial to consider the mileage of a vehicle when establishing a maintenance budget. How much you spend on a vehicle is likely to be directly proportional to how much you drive the vehicle. Therefore, the more you use the car, the more money you spend on maintenance.

Consider also the care you give to your vehicles. At purchase, most cars come with a user’s manual that usually recommends servicing at specific mileage intervals. Making sure you make all scheduled servicing appointments will influence the car’s longevity and possibly decrease maintenance costs. You’ll also need to account for what road conditions you drive your car in. This is likely to exacerbate your maintenance costs.

Finally, the older a vehicle gets, the more likely it needs additional servicing to keep it running smoothly.

Drawing up a maintenance budget doesn’t require a one size fits all approach because there are many dynamic components to consider, and it can be costly. Keep an eye out for reasonable rates on some of these car parts.  Abossey Okai auto market has some hidden gems with great deals.

To save some coins, you could consider doing the easier routine changes like oil filtering yourself; YouTube has many easy-to-follow tutorials. Importantly, establish a budget to help you cover the ongoing cost of your car without breaking the bank.

For more information on car care and related topics, keep up with our guides and blog pages.