How to estimate repairs for vehicles

[greenmimama]

I know not all of you do a budget, but for us right now, we need to see numbers on paper to get even more intense about our savings.

In my category of repairs on the vehicles, I am kind of at a loss of what to do besides guess, we have a 2003 Honda Odyssy and a 2010 Pontiac Vibe, is their some sort of rule of thumb to use?

Just wanting to fill in all the blanks on the budgeting sheet and I figured you guys would be the best to ask.

[greenmimama]

no one?

right now I am just guessing at $100/mo that is repairs only, as tires and oil and gas and ins. are all already factored in.

[Greg]

That's not an unreasonable budget amount.  FWIW, I take care of our older cars myself and not counting labor, it's less than that on average.  The thing about a budget is you can adjust it if needed.

I would suggest that you look back in your checkbook at how much repairs have been in the past, or maybe you keep a file for garage receipts, and then figure out an average from those.  The idea is to help you plan for future repairs, so it doesn't have to be super accurate but reasonable.

[Thegoblinchief]

Try and estimate your cost per mile. Going forward, set aside that amount in a vehicle fund. Gas, insurance, and repairs come out of that.

[FastStache]

You can budget something and start at something like .20 cents a mile which would be pretty conservative. But, this is a one of case and the law averages can be way off.

[greenmimama]

Thanks for your replies, so I am on the right track, we can of course cover it if it is more, but it feels god to have money earmarked for that purpose.

[CarDude]

For most Toyotas and Hondas, budgeting around 2k a year for repairs is more than enough, presuming you can do some things yourself or at least get repairs done at mechanics and not at the dealer.