How We Saved $500 on Car Repairs

It shouldn’t shock you to find out that owning a car is expensive. Between the insurance, gas, registration, taxes and maintenance — it’s a luxury to own 4 wheels.

So, when my car started to act… funky, I was dreading the possible repercussions. Can you say ‘Cha Ching?’

This story has a happy ending though, so stay tuned to find out how we saved $500 in repair costs on Jayme’s car! 

A COVID-sized wrench in our plans

When the US was starting to shut down from the Coronavirus, my Jeep wouldn’t start when I got off the train to go home from work. Womp.

Since the virus was here, all of Jayme’s shows were getting canceled left and right so he was luckily in town. He drove 30 minutes to come jump my car. We thought that the battery just needed to run and it would be fine. 

Nope. 

My car needed to be jumped multiple times and then we begrudgingly replaced the battery. 

Here’s where Jayme’s car comes in. Apparently he jumped my car so many times that it messed up his car!

A week later, all of the dials on his car started going crazy at random times. His screens would randomly stop working. It was the weirdest thing and obviously a computer issue. 

Thankfully, he has been able to use his brother’s car because he is currently deployed. 

Who named dealerships dealerships. We didn’t find a deal.

Now that the country is opening back up, Jayme took his car to the dealership because they are who installed his last battery. 

They called him back 2 days later and told him it was going to be $500. 

I’m sorry, what?! 

Google + YouTube = Big Money Savers

A quick google search revealed that it was a $20 part. 

I asked if it was something Jayme felt comfortable fixing himself with his dad. And he said, “Yeah, I watched a 3 minute YouTube video and it’s just a grounding cable to my battery”. 

I suggested researching the part and looking for a local mechanic, rather than the dealership. 

Dig for that recall 

Two minutes later he called me back and said that there was a recall on this part for his car. 

He called the dealership to tell them that and they said they looked and didn’t find any recalls. 

Two hours later, the dealership did some “digging” and found the recall on his car. 

They would fix it for FREE. 

Ladies and gentlemen, was that annoying? Yes. 

Was it time consuming? Yes. 

Was it worth saving $500? HECK YES! 

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• How To Set Up An Emergency Budget

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• Dividend Investing for Beginners – Complete Dividend Investing Guide

Ways I save money:

Here at Freedom In A Budget, I am all about saving money! Here are some of the EASY ways that I save money:

• Fetch Rewards is a free grocery savings app that rewards you just for snapping pictures of your receipts. That’s really it. Free gift cards on groceries on thousands of products every day, no matter where you get your groceries. Just scan your receipts and get gift cards from places like Amazon, Target, Ulta, Applebees. Use code QHKBH to earn 2,000 points ($2)!

• Rakuten/Ebates: Rakuten is my to go way to earn Cash Back from over 2,500 stores like Macy’s, Amazon, Sephora, Walmart and much more. Join Rakuten today for free, and you’ll get a $10 Cash Bonus to get you started! Every three months, you’ll get a Big Fat Check in the mail or a PayPal payment just for shopping. 

• Credit Sesame offers Credit Score and Monitoring, Savings Recommendations and Identity Theft Protection. ALL FOR FREE.

• CIT Bank CDs provide a safe, secure way to grow your savings. With the CIT Bank No-Penalty CD, you get the security of an 11 month CD with no withdrawal penalty seven days or later after funds have been received. 

• M1 Finance is an easy to use brokerage platform that allows you to invest in Fractional Shares and auto reinvest!

• Webull Get 2 Free Stocks on WeBull when you deposit $100 (Valued up to $1400).

• Budget Templates: Excel budget templates with pre-populated categories and formulas to keep you on track with hitting your financial goals.