Nobody likes auto repairs, particularly repairs of the sudden selection. They may be expensive and ill-timed for family budgets, they usually can result in equally sudden auto-rental and taxi prices till the autos are mounted.
Now, there’s a brand new drawback in U.S. households: Budget woes and rising vehicle-maintenance prices have gotten so excessive in 2023 that “few American drivers have enough money to pay for a single, unexpected repair without going into debt,” a new survey reports.
Don’t Miss: You Can Save a Lot By Doing Car Repairs Yourself
The survey of 1,400 American car owners conducted by Jerry, an auto insurance services platform, concluded that Americans are running on fumes when it comes to handling out-of-the-blue auto repairs.
This from the report:
- No shot with unexpected repairs. 26% of Americans say they would not be able to pay for a $500 repair job if their car broke down tomorrow. “Another 37% could not cover a $1,000 repair job, and more than half (58%) could not pay $3,000 for car repairs.
- Car loans affected by repair bills. In the past three years, 6% of American drivers have defaulted on a car loan because repair costs left them unable to keep up with payments or exceeded the value of their vehicles.
- Jobs jeopardized. More than 20% of U.S. vehicle owners say they could lose their job if their car broke down and they were unable to quickly repair it. “Only 41% said they definitely would not lose their job,” the examine famous.
- Car-repair prices are a stress magnet. About one-third of American automobile homeowners fear “often” or “always” that an sudden automobile restore invoice will create a tense monetary hardship for them and their households.
Perhaps the most important draw back to the Jerry report is that rising automobile repairs are busting American drivers’ budgets, “forcing many to borrow money to keep their cars and trucks running and pushing some into delinquency and default on existing,” examine analysts mentioned.
All advised, the price of repairing automobiles and vans has risen by 30% since March 2020. “That’s faster than overall inflation, which itself was the highest in four decades,” the report said.
Don’t Miss: The Average New-Car Payment Sounds Like a Sick Joke
Source: www.thestreet.com”