5 Signs That Your Car is Becoming Too Costly to Own

I moonlight as a Personal Assistant/Receptionist for a Cleveland auto mechanic shop and one of the many duties I perform is to conduct road tests. This is not the flashy drive-around-the-curvy-roads-in-the-desert road tests. This is really like “The customer says the car shakes at 60mph” or “The customer says there is a rattle when braking” road test. Basically, I either take the car/truck/SUV out for a test drive before the mechanic looks at it, or after he fixes one thing to listen to how the car runs.

I’ve driven luxury Cadillacs, Mercedes and Hondas down to “why don’t they just junk this” type of car and figured out there are certain problems that warrant a car to be taken off the road.

Here are 5 Signs that a car is becoming too costly to own and harmful to the environment:

1. If you have paid your car off, but you are paying more in repairs than your former car payment. Or if you are paying monthly repair costs in addition to your car payment. Besides routine maintenance, you should not be constantly fixing your car while you’re still paying for it.
2. There is more visible rust and undercarriage rust than paint on your car. Steel oxidation is harmful to the environment and these vehicles should be sold to a junkyard for scrap and the rest sold to steel recyclers.
3. Your car consistently cannot pass the eCheck. It’s time to get a car that is more eco-friendly both for the environment and on your bank account. It will probably cost more in time to do the repairs than to buy a little newer car, even if it’s not brand new.
4. Transmission fails and it costs more to repair the car, than the car’s Kelley Blue Book value.
5. Your car is louder than your custom sound system. If you have to turn up your stereo to drown out the noise emitting from your car, it is time to start car shopping.

I’m sure you have had your car horror stories or outrageous mechanic repair costs because I know I have. However, wherever you get your car serviced, ensure they are ASE certified and ask them to show you the cause of your problem and explain the importance of getting it repaired.

Mechanics cannot give you an immediate cost to repair your car because they first have to diagnose the problem, then call for pricing on parts and determine how long it will take to fix the problem. Please do not hassle the auto mechanic about cost or time it takes to repair your vehicle. Be patient and they will call you.