Repairing your vehicle could be costly at times. According to the AAA studies, the annual cost of owning a vehicle could be around $8,698. The maintenance alone may cost an average of about $766 per year. If you want to get a new pair of tires, then you may have to pay an additional $500 to $700. If you are approaching a new mechanic and then the repair estimates seem to be high, you have the scope of cross-checking it with the Consumer Reports Care Repair Estimator to see if the costs are genuine and avoid overpaying. Always make sure to choose a professionalconsulting firmwhich will eventually help you take the right financial decisions considering multiple significant factors.
Paying for your care repair using credit cards
Credit cards are real friends sometimes when you are into serious trouble with a need to raise some quick money. When it comes to the need for emergency and expensive repairs, you can get benefited with the use of credit card to fill the gaps.
However, there are some adversities also associated with the usage of credit cards for your advanced cash needs. On the one hand, credit cards make it so easy to raise funds, but on now repaying properly, it can easily put you into debt trouble. You are not directly spending your own money with the use of credit cards. This abstraction is enough to convince the users to overspend without a second thought.
Keeping this in mind, on using a credit card to pay the expensive auto repairs, here are a few things one you should consider. At the first point, just as you use the credit card for making payments doesn’t mean that you have to pay it off instantly. Many use their credit card for convenience, but not for the lack of money in their savings account. Credit cards are surely a tool of convenience also, but surely not something which enables unsustainable lifestyle.
Credit cards may also offer protection against any bogus or fraud repair. For example, the credit card providers like MasterCard or Visa now offer many shopping protection initiatives also which could certainly cover a car repair bill too. You may use credit cards for such significant purchases or payments like if there is something goes wrong, you have an additional source of defense to protect against any bogus practices.
For this, one important aspect of knowing is what kind of protection does your card offer. The best way to do this is by going through the terms of conditions of your card, or you can even call the credit card company to ask them about the specific protections they offer against your requirements like a car repair. Oftentimes, the basic protection of such providers may protect you against some lemon repairs. The Firestone Complete Auto Care card is not on a Visa or a MasterCard card network but can offer some significant benefits in your need for emergency auto repair.
Using credit for auto repair
It is a very stressful thing if your car breaks down on the road and don’t have enough money to afford a costly repair. There is no need to worry as there are many alternate options out there to finance for your car repairs.
Getting a personal loan in minutes
To apply for a personal loan, you can first compare the rate of different lenders and then find the lowest eligible rate to apply for. It is possible to get an unsecured personal loan for salaried employees and also businessmen.
Unsecured loans are a reliable and quick way to pay for your auto repair. You can apply for a personal loan at the bank or a credit union, but nowadays, the online lenders offer your quicker loans. You can often get the reply in a few hours as to your eligibility for the loan, and the cash could be transferred to your account in a day or two.
With these unsecured personal loans, the interest rate may remain fixed. This means monthly repayments may not fluctuate with the changing interest rates, which makes you much easier to plan things. The loan term of such loans may span from six months to three years. The monthly payments for the long term may be lesser, but the total cost of the loan may be higher. The longer the term is, the more the interest will be which causes the higher repayment.
Pros of online personal loans: The online lenders may offer your loans on a lesser fee, and the interest rates may also be competitive when compared to traditional bank loans and credit unions. Funding also will be done quickly, which helps you to meet emergency needs like a car repair. Long term loans will also make it easier for you to repay them comfortably.
Cons of online personal loans: IT is hard to get an online personal loan if your credit score is low. If you still manage to get one with a low credit rating, you may have to bear with a higher interest rate to cover the risk.
Using a credit card
As we discussed above, most of the auto workshops do accept credit cards. There are auto-repair specific cards, which could also give you some advantages like cash backs or some special benefits on such purchases. If the applicants have a credit score typically of 670 or higher, it is possible now to apply for a new card by avoiding interest. Many of the top credit card providers offer an introductory period with 0% APR for the applicants with a high credit score.
As far as you can pay the balance before the applicable grace period, the users need not have to bear in any interest in this special case. However, before you avail such a card, ensure that you can afford to pay back the money before the introductory period. Otherwise, the interest rates may skyrocket after the protected period.
It is possible for them who have a bad credit rating also to get a credit card. However, unlike the featured cards for people with good credit, the special credit card offers for those who are with low credit scores may have a higher interest rate. There could also be a higher annual fee which the bearer needs to pay off.
Pros of using a credit card for car repair: All mechanics accept credit cards nowadays. If it is possible to qualify for the special 0% APR cards, then you can circumvent the interest and also enjoy the benefits of partial payments.
Cons of a credit card for repairs: Failing to pay off the debt in time will cost you huge interest rates on balance. Also, if you don’t have promising credit scores, it is difficult to get credit and even if so, it will come with a huge interest rate.
Now, as you know the ways to pay off your emergency car repair bills, one can explore options as mentioned above and find out the best solutions to avail.