Most Common Damages that Mechanics Fix
This week, we interviewed 2 workshop mechanics and we’ve gained some insights on the most common car damages that they fix on a daily basis. Cars consist of many different collaborating and inter-related components, so the chances of something breaking is always there.
However, it seems that some things are more prone to damage than others. So here’s a list of the five most common damages to expect when owning a car.
1) Flat Tire
No matter how careful you are, ending up with a flat tire is a common situation. Depending on the extent and position of the damage, a flat tire can either be repaired at a cost of $5 – $10 by using a special elastic plug. A more expensive replacement, at $60 – $140, will depend on your tire choice.
The repairs won’t take much time either way. If you want to prevent this from happening, be careful when driving over broken glass, near construction sites where workers use nails and screws and when parking on the side of a sharp-edged sidewalk or pavement.
2) Dead Battery
Car batteries have a predetermined maximum life expectancy, ranging from 3 to 6 years. So sooner or later you’ll have to deal with a situation of a dead battery.
Depending on the type of battery, it can be either liquid-based or gel-based. Eventually, you will start to notice a decrease in electric power performance. Gel-based batteries go completely dead without a warning and it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to even jumpstart the car.
The only solution in both cases is to replace the battery with a new one. The cost of this work depends on the type and capacitance of the battery, so it ranges from $50 to $150.
3) Dead Alternator
When you’re having electric power problems but your battery is new, then chances are you’re dealing with a dead alternator situation. This is quite common among all vehicle manufacturers and models, as alternators have an overall failure rate of 4.3%!
Unfortunately, this will cost from $200 to $400 depending on the alternator brand.
4) Lights Out
Head or tail lights going dark is one of the most common damages. Thankfully it doesn’t cost much to repair as bulbs typically cost from $1 to $5 depending on the type and brand.
Moreover, you won’t have to visit a service mechanic to replace a bulb, as you can do it yourself by using a simple screw, or simply visit a petrol station and ask them to do it for you (most gas stations sell these bulbs as well).
5) Spark Plugs
When a spark plug goes dead, you will notice symptoms like difficulty to keep idle revs, the smell of gasoline coming out of the exhaust, and weird engine sounds which also has difficulty to start and rev up.
If you’re driving the car, you will notice an evident loss of horsepower. The solution is simple and cheap, as the mechanic will replace the faulty spark plug at a cost of around $5.
