Auto Repair Costs Are Up 20% 🛠️

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it’s almost 20% more expensive to repair and maintain your car this year than last year. So what’s the deal? Dealers are charging up to $796 for an oil change in some markets 🤯.

The past few years have been a perfect storm for rising car maintenance and repair costs. The residual pandemic issues can still be felt today, although, used car prices have been dropping steadily. The microchip shortage, reduced workforce, supply & demand, quality control.

A side view mirror replacement seems like a minor issue but can be very expensive due to cameras, sensors and microchips that are required to make everything operational.

Tesla made over the air updates a norm and now many manufactures have followed in their footsteps. So forget about replacing a simple radio, now you have to replace an entire computer unit that can cost over $3,000.

Buying a used EV is like a game of hot potato 🥔. You definitely don’t want to be stuck with the car when the battery dies and you are out of warranty. A replacement battery can range between $15,000 to over $55,000 for some brands.

Do-It-Yourselfers Rejoice!

If you have the time, the skill and the tools, routine vehicle maintenance isn’t so bad. You’ve probably have seen the gradual increase in price over the years for parts, and of course you pay yourself in your beverage of choice for the labor.

The beauty of YouTube is that you can literally find how-to-videos on just about any service, repair or modification. I doubt there is a plethora of 992 Turbo S owners who wrench on their $300,000 rocket, but hey, there’s a video for the few!

Cars Are Lasting Longer

The average age of cars on the road has reach an all-time-high of 12.5 years, per S&P Global Mobility. Older cars usually means more repairs. More repairs, means waiting longer for appointments. A J.D. Power 2023 study that surveyed over 62,000 registered car owners, found that the average wait time is now 5.6 days for brands such as BMW, Mercedes and Tesla.

Ford, Toyota, Honda and other mass market brands averaged 4.8 days. So with the technician labor shortage, more older cars on the road, inflation, complexity of repairs, and rising cost for parts, will we see costs come down any time soon?

Technician salaries are hitting $100,000+ in some markets in order to retain talent. Even if inflation gets under control and prices for parts stabilize, the shortage in skilled labor will not help your next repair bill.

According to the NADA, 76,000 technicians have to be replaced every year. The retiring technicians have don’t have anyone to train. We see a similar problem across other industries such as electricians, plumbers and other skilled trades. As salaries and wages increase, maybe trade schools will see an uptick in applicants.

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