Cut Down Your Car Repair Bill with ‘Hidden Warranties’ - East Idaho News
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Cut Down Your Car Repair Bill with ‘Hidden Warranties’

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GETTY 11514 Mechanic?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1415219961119Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — When the Chen family of Silver Spring, Maryland, took their 2011 Toyota Sienna in for new brake pads, they found themselves facing a decision no family wants to make: Christmas present or car repairs.

“We love it and we’ve driven it on many family road trips, but it is just out of warranty and it’s starting to need repairs,” Sandie Chen said.

ABC News’ “Real Money” team brought in auto expert Charlie Romero, founder of Roadfly.com, to help the family’s repair bills from spinning out of control.

Romero shared the following tips with the family of five and help save them more than $1,000:

1. Find free fixes. Carmakers occasionally offer “service campaigns” for repairs that are not mentioned in warranties. Romero said they are like “hidden warranties.”

“The dealers and manufacturers might not necessarily want you to know because it’s not a safety issue,” he said. “It will cost them but it’ll save you a lot of money.”

The “Real Money” team found free paint jobs for Honda Civics and new wheel bearings for Chrysler minivans. For the Chens’ Toyota Sienna, the team found more than $450 in free fixes using SaferCar.gov and a device called CarMd, which uses the same basic technology that a mechanic’s large, expensive scanner uses, but costs much less.

2. Skip the garage. With yourmechanic, a repair man comes right to your driveway.

3. Shop around without leaving your home. Use apps like OpenBay and RepairPal to compare repair prices before you take your car into the shop.


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