Hi, this is Nikki from the Guardian US audience team. We wanted to share a story tied to an ongoing project we’ve been conducting this year. Here’s the latest piece.
Of 10 parents who joined a WhatsApp group to regularly chat with Guardian journalists, nearly every one said that an emergency car expense had left them struggling financially this year, if not decimating their savings. That’s a deeply American experience: most car owners spend more than $1,400 annually to keep their vehicles running, said the travel organization AAA, which also conducted research that found [64 million Americans go into debt](https://newsroom.aaa.com/2017/04/one-three-u-s-drivers-cannot-pay-unexpected-car-repair-bill/) to absorb these costs.
# When disaster strikes
On 18 September, Gabriela Rangel looked out her window in California City, California. It had been raining throughout the day and showed no signs of stopping, but she needed to go pick up her five-year-old son, Rayo, from school. The streets were covered in muddy sheets of water, but as she pulled out of her driveway she could still see the gravel underneath. She was only two blocks from the school when she hit a dip in the dirt road and water flooded into her engine, stalling out her vehicle and destroying her only mode of transportation.
“This year, I had tires blow out, battery failure and my engine ruined in a flash flood. But I can’t afford a different car, so I opted to replace it with a used engine,” Rangel said.
Since the pandemic, used-car prices have surged, so she went without a car for more than two months as she and her mechanic searched for the most cost-effective options.
“Now my car is finally back from the shop … My son was so ’CITED to have his blue car back,” Rangel said. “That’s my Thanksgiving and Christmas right there.”
Another parent, Rene Mayhorn Williams, has three young daughters, who all need to go to different locations for their schools and daycares. He was sharing one car with his wife to do the pickups when disaster struck. The car lost its transmission, and mechanics said it couldn’t be fixed for six months, forcing the family to buy a new car. The mechanic then said their first car actually could be fixed in six weeks.
“We spent about $10,000 in cars within four months, which shook up our entire financial health,” Williams said. He said they are now rebuilding their savings, although it is more convenient to have the extra car for their kid’s pickups and drop-offs.
Each affected parent shared that they had spent at least $1,500 on car repairs that year. Jennifer Wilson, a single mom to a five-year-old, said this year alone she spent $4,500 on car repairs, on top of $170 per month on insurance and $45 per week on gas.
If the car has transmission problem it’s time to ditch the car.
Canuck-overseas on
I live in a city. I use rideshare/taxis. Or walking. No car, no car payments. If I need a lot of groceries (or whatever), I get it delivered. For everything, there’s an app.
Large_Surround8768 on
This is whiplash economical swing we see in any industry that is narrated to get obsolete by technology.
For at least past 10 years media and tech pandits were telling us that in few years oil change, mechanic shops and gas stations will go out of business as electric call will eliminate the need for all those industries.
For any recent highschool grad it doesn’t make sense to go to technical school and seek carrier as mechanic when everyone is telling him that he may not have a job in few years.
For past 10 years Elon has been saying that there will be no commercial drivers as cars will drive themselves and yet that day haven’t come. Now he is making the same claims about many jobs asserting that his robots will make them obsolete. If it is another empty promise it yet has to be seen. But one can’t ignore the narrative role in cause shortage and driving cost of certain services up!
NecessaryEmployer488 on
This is the overall aspect. I take my car in once a year for a full inspection and get things fixed and $3K to $5K is not unheard of with cars that are over 11 years and 120K miles. Many people ignore doing this and the car will fall apart and will not be cost effective. I have had 2 cars basically had over $5K fixes I did not get fixed initially until I pressured the manufacture and found a cheaper option to keep the car going. Took 3 months of research to investigate work arounds for now. With that said, for me 20 years and/or 200K miles are generally when a buy plan makes more sense over repair for such a large expense. I also look at [carcomplaint.com](http://carcomplaint.com) to investigate the car I have to determine if I do fix it, what is the likelihood of it lasting.
Strange-Ad420 on
And all the big name stores are for sure scammers like goodyear, firestone, monroes, dunn tire, etc, all trash
No-Special-8335 on
In France, you can buy a Twingo for €2000 and it’ll run.
If it breaks down after two years, you can even throw it away and buy another one for the same price, lol.
Dizzy_Maybe8225 on
Insurance is more expensive than cars. I can buy a cheap car, but paying a monthly insurance bill sucks. But I know car repairs are also so expensive, it feels like I should buy an EV bicycle instead.
Bimlouhay83 on
Don’t buy cars on loan. Gain some knowledge on how cars run and operate. Find out which models and years to buy and which to stay away from. Learn what to look for in used cars, specifically the one you want. Find it on marketplace and make cash purchases.
You do not need the latest and greatest. If you know what you’re looking for, high mileage doesn’t have to be a problem. Take the money saved from all of that and set it aside for mechanical issues if you cannot do the work yourself.
Considering where we are economically speaking, ie, the cost of living, housing, medical expenses, being financially broke because of a car loan and full coverage insurance is unacceptable.
Also, I know I’ll get flak for the above opinions and that’s ok. In my 42 years, I’ve had low mileage and high mileage cars and I’ve found if you make a smart purchase, a high mileage car won’t need any more maintenance than a low mileage car. I’m currently in a subaru with 307,000 miles that doesn’t let me down.
DeltaTule on
Let this be a tale of caution to everyone with car payments they “can afford.” Pay cash. You can’t afford it. Your money that would have been spent on interest payments will essentially create a free repair fun.
11 Comments
Maybe don’t buy crap cars. 😂
Hi, this is Nikki from the Guardian US audience team. We wanted to share a story tied to an ongoing project we’ve been conducting this year. Here’s the latest piece.
*From The Guardian’s Ava Macha:*
Cars are essential to everyday life for most Americans, and more than 75% of people use cars to commute every day [according to the 2025 census](https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2021.S0801?q=S0801:+COMMUTING+CHARACTERISTICS+BY+SEX&hidePreview=true). But emergency car costs can upend families financially.
Of 10 parents who joined a WhatsApp group to regularly chat with Guardian journalists, nearly every one said that an emergency car expense had left them struggling financially this year, if not decimating their savings. That’s a deeply American experience: most car owners spend more than $1,400 annually to keep their vehicles running, said the travel organization AAA, which also conducted research that found [64 million Americans go into debt](https://newsroom.aaa.com/2017/04/one-three-u-s-drivers-cannot-pay-unexpected-car-repair-bill/) to absorb these costs.
# When disaster strikes
On 18 September, Gabriela Rangel looked out her window in California City, California. It had been raining throughout the day and showed no signs of stopping, but she needed to go pick up her five-year-old son, Rayo, from school. The streets were covered in muddy sheets of water, but as she pulled out of her driveway she could still see the gravel underneath. She was only two blocks from the school when she hit a dip in the dirt road and water flooded into her engine, stalling out her vehicle and destroying her only mode of transportation.
“This year, I had tires blow out, battery failure and my engine ruined in a flash flood. But I can’t afford a different car, so I opted to replace it with a used engine,” Rangel said.
Since the pandemic, used-car prices have surged, so she went without a car for more than two months as she and her mechanic searched for the most cost-effective options.
“Now my car is finally back from the shop … My son was so ’CITED to have his blue car back,” Rangel said. “That’s my Thanksgiving and Christmas right there.”
Another parent, Rene Mayhorn Williams, has three young daughters, who all need to go to different locations for their schools and daycares. He was sharing one car with his wife to do the pickups when disaster struck. The car lost its transmission, and mechanics said it couldn’t be fixed for six months, forcing the family to buy a new car. The mechanic then said their first car actually could be fixed in six weeks.
“We spent about $10,000 in cars within four months, which shook up our entire financial health,” Williams said. He said they are now rebuilding their savings, although it is more convenient to have the extra car for their kid’s pickups and drop-offs.
Each affected parent shared that they had spent at least $1,500 on car repairs that year. Jennifer Wilson, a single mom to a five-year-old, said this year alone she spent $4,500 on car repairs, on top of $170 per month on insurance and $45 per week on gas.
[You can read more about their car expenses, and additional stories tied to this project for free at this link.](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/20/emergency-car-repair-family-expense?referring_host=Reddit&utm_campaign=guardianacct)
If the car has transmission problem it’s time to ditch the car.
I live in a city. I use rideshare/taxis. Or walking. No car, no car payments. If I need a lot of groceries (or whatever), I get it delivered. For everything, there’s an app.
This is whiplash economical swing we see in any industry that is narrated to get obsolete by technology.
For at least past 10 years media and tech pandits were telling us that in few years oil change, mechanic shops and gas stations will go out of business as electric call will eliminate the need for all those industries.
For any recent highschool grad it doesn’t make sense to go to technical school and seek carrier as mechanic when everyone is telling him that he may not have a job in few years.
For past 10 years Elon has been saying that there will be no commercial drivers as cars will drive themselves and yet that day haven’t come. Now he is making the same claims about many jobs asserting that his robots will make them obsolete. If it is another empty promise it yet has to be seen. But one can’t ignore the narrative role in cause shortage and driving cost of certain services up!
This is the overall aspect. I take my car in once a year for a full inspection and get things fixed and $3K to $5K is not unheard of with cars that are over 11 years and 120K miles. Many people ignore doing this and the car will fall apart and will not be cost effective. I have had 2 cars basically had over $5K fixes I did not get fixed initially until I pressured the manufacture and found a cheaper option to keep the car going. Took 3 months of research to investigate work arounds for now. With that said, for me 20 years and/or 200K miles are generally when a buy plan makes more sense over repair for such a large expense. I also look at [carcomplaint.com](http://carcomplaint.com) to investigate the car I have to determine if I do fix it, what is the likelihood of it lasting.
And all the big name stores are for sure scammers like goodyear, firestone, monroes, dunn tire, etc, all trash
In France, you can buy a Twingo for €2000 and it’ll run.
If it breaks down after two years, you can even throw it away and buy another one for the same price, lol.
Insurance is more expensive than cars. I can buy a cheap car, but paying a monthly insurance bill sucks. But I know car repairs are also so expensive, it feels like I should buy an EV bicycle instead.
Don’t buy cars on loan. Gain some knowledge on how cars run and operate. Find out which models and years to buy and which to stay away from. Learn what to look for in used cars, specifically the one you want. Find it on marketplace and make cash purchases.
You do not need the latest and greatest. If you know what you’re looking for, high mileage doesn’t have to be a problem. Take the money saved from all of that and set it aside for mechanical issues if you cannot do the work yourself.
Considering where we are economically speaking, ie, the cost of living, housing, medical expenses, being financially broke because of a car loan and full coverage insurance is unacceptable.
Also, I know I’ll get flak for the above opinions and that’s ok. In my 42 years, I’ve had low mileage and high mileage cars and I’ve found if you make a smart purchase, a high mileage car won’t need any more maintenance than a low mileage car. I’m currently in a subaru with 307,000 miles that doesn’t let me down.
Let this be a tale of caution to everyone with car payments they “can afford.” Pay cash. You can’t afford it. Your money that would have been spent on interest payments will essentially create a free repair fun.