Hoot guide to saving money on car repairsRunning a car these days is expensive - so expensive that it's putting many of us off buying one altogether. The purchase price of a new or used car is always a significant amount of money, but more often than not it's the cost of the obligatory motoring expenses, like car repairs and car insurance, that force many of us to carry on lumping it on bikes or buses, or cadging lifts from reluctant friends and long-suffering family. But at Hoot, we know it doesn't have to be this way. Cheap car insurance is our specialty, and what we don't know about cutting down on the other motoring outlays probably isn't worth knowing! This Hoot Guide covers one of the expenditures that bother many would-be drivers - mechanics' repair fees. These are particularly daunting because the kind of problems that necessitate a trip to the garage crop up often entirely without warning (particularly when you're least prepared to pay the bill) and can leave you car-less for days while they're being fixed.
Step 1: Prevention rather than cure
It's an obvious point, but the best way to avoid being ripped off at the garage is not breaking down in the first place.
Many young drivers neglect their cars by not carrying out a few essential checks before setting off every day. It might seem like an unnecessary faff, but trust us - spend a couple of minutes a day on this and you'll be amazed at how much more reliable your ride is. First, check your fluid levels: oil, water and windscreen washer. In winter, check the anti-freeze too. Then tyre pressure (you might need to visit a garage to do this, but the service is usually free) and tread depth. Last, check your lights for cracks and blown bulbs, and wipe any dirt off them. That's it - it'll take ten minutes the first time, and two or three thereafter. Problems with fluid levels, wheels and lights are very common and can cost you dear at a garage, so keep an eye on them with these easy checks and you could save a packet on repair bills. Step 2: Early diagnosis
Keeping up to date with the basic checks will prevent many car faults, but by no means all of them. Very often, things simply wear out and need replacement.
The key here is to spot these developing faults and get them fixed early, before they turn into big problems. Do the checks and listen to your engine and you'll spot them in plenty of time, but just identifying the fault isn't enough - you've got to do something about it. Anyone clever enough to drive a car can change a blown headlamp or replace a battery with the proper instruction (try a Haynes manual if the manufacturer's one is no good). All too often however, young drivers unwisely choose to do nothing rather than fix a basic fault - and this almost inevitably leads to a crash, a breakdown or an expensive trip to the garage. If there's a chip in your windscreen, for instance, get it filled as soon as possible. Catch it before the mark gets bigger than a pound coin and there's a good chance the glass company can repair your existing window on the spot. The process takes just twenty minutes and, best of all, usually costs nothing if you have fully comprehensive car insurance. Wait till it gets bigger than that or cracks, however, and you'll be looking at a whole new piece of glass. You'll have to pay your excess on even a fully comprehensive motor insurance policy, and, unlike a crack repair, it will probably affect your no claims bonus. What's more, the adhesive used will take at least 24 hours to fully dry, during which time you'll have to drive like a granny or run the risk of your new windscreen popping out of its frame and smashing into a million tiny pieces. The same goes for a blown headlamp, a dodgy battery, balding tyres or a hundred other quick fixes that, if left unattended, could land you in all sorts of trouble. Drive with an easily repairable car fault like this and you're taking your life into your own hands. Step 3: Keep your wits about you
Okay, so you're doing all your driver's checks to keep everything ticking over and whenever you notice a simple fault you do your best to fix it at home, as soon as possible.
However, no matter how vigilant or handy you get, there's always going to be a problem one day that you can't fix on your own. This doesn't mean you need to cancel those holiday plans or re-mortgage the house just yet though - keep your wits about you at the garage and you'll find you can get the work done for a fraction of the price Joe Public pays.
For starters, don't be suckered into accepting the first quote you get from the first garage you get to. Shop around - and make sure the mechanics know you're doing it. Settle for the quote which seems the most reasonable rather than the cheapest (be suspicious of any radically cheap prices as they come with strings attached) and congratulate yourself on bagging the best deal out there. Secondly, watch out for added extras. Mechanics have a nasty habit of finding more problems with your car than you told them about, so be firm when they call you up and insist on seeing the faults for yourself before forking over money for unwanted repairs (particularly if it's something you could fix at home). The last point concerns your MOT. If you want to be sure of a no-hassle pass, be sure to clean and fix everything in the car that needs it, not just the test-specific stuff. It's a little like wearing a suit to an interview - it's important to be presentable at this point even if it has little bearing on your ability to do the job. Mechanics who are presented with dirty upholstery and a dashboard covered in used tissues and sweet wrappers will expect the car's inner workings to be in a similar state of repair - and we've already heard about their ability to 'find' faults with a car in apparent fully-working order. So, with a little graft and gumption, we reckon the average driver can cut his or her repair bills in half, and benefit from a greater understanding of cars (and car mechanics). Get cheap car insurance rates from Hoot Car Insurance Services
If you're looking for really cheap car insurance rates, why not see if Hoot can save you time and money today? We know motoring is expensive - it's the reason why we put together this series of Hoot Guides, and it's the driving force behind our amazingly cheap car insurance for young drivers. If you choose a Hoot Car Insurance Services policy then you have more money to spend on the things that matter, like going out with friends or taking the family out for the day.
We can afford to offer our customers a fantastic deal on their car insurance because we have secured some great motor insurance rates from leading cheap car insurance companies. We have also reduced our overheads to offer you unbeatable savings. We have put a lot of effort into promoting our online presence and so don't have to advertise on TV. The money we save means we can afford to charge you less for young driver car insurance than our limelight craving competitors do! So try a cheap car insurance quote from Hoot today! 
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