You don't have to take care of the importer's garages, but you must keep records of the care you did elsewhere/Reuven Castro
Buying a car is just the beginning.
In the years to come, you will spend tens of thousands of shekels on garage maintenance - especially when it comes to a vehicle that is no longer under the importer's responsibility - on repairing faults, and on insurance.
Only the insurance section became more expensive by about 30% in the last year.
But you can dramatically reduce these costs, and still keep your vehicle.
Here are 10 things anyone can do that will significantly reduce ongoing maintenance costs in an era of soaring cost of living.
A "motorcycle garage" operated in a private apartment.
This is not the way to save money/says the Israel Police
1. You don't have to deal with an importer's garage.
Even with a new car, you don't have to take care of the garage from its importer's network.
Unlike in the past, the importer cannot deny you the warranty if the vehicle was serviced at another and less expensive garage.
However, you must keep documentation for the treatment, so that in the event of a warranty failure, you can prove that the vehicle was indeed treated on time.
The garage must also be a garage licensed by the Ministry of Transportation, not some garage worker who takes care of cars on the sidewalk near the house.
There is no lack of professional garages that are not importer garages, some of them also specialize in specific manufacturers.
Ask for recommendations from other car owners, and in groups of car owners of your model on social networks.
By the way, specifically for vehicles that are several years old, which are already out of warranty, today there are discounts and sales at the importers' garages.
Worth checking out.
2. Ask for quotes,
especially before major treatment, and compare.
Your car before replacing the timing belt?
You didn't change the brakes in the previous treatment, and this will happen this time?
Ask for quotes in advance before the treatment and you can save hundreds of shekels.
A garage cannot anticipate faults that will be identified during the service, but can give you a price estimate according to the components that are included in the service according to the manufacturer's instructions and whose replacement does not depend on wear and tear (spark plugs, oil, filters, timing belt, etc.), or the cost of changing discs if you require it.
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The garage must give you a quote even for non-original parts/Nir Ben Tovim, manufacturer
3. Ask for non-original spare parts.
The car licensing law requires the garages to give you two price quotes: according to original parts and according to non-original parts.
Ask for both.
Ask who the suppliers of the non-original parts are.
This market is very broad, from parts that are identical to the originals that are produced by the same suppliers and only do not come with the manufacturer's symbol, to parts of poor quality that reached the market due to the negligence of the Ministry of Transportation, which is supposed to supervise the field.
A reliable garage that cares about its name will offer replacement parts that are still of high quality.
4. Bargain.
Did you get a cheaper offer?
Are you old customers?
It is allowed to ask for a discount and the garage to improve its offer.
5. You will also use used parts.
Don't buy used tires, nor a second-hand airbag.
But there are quite a few spare parts for which there is no reason not to use those that were disassembled from a vehicle that went off the road.
Mirrors, handles, air conditioning vents, and also body parts.
Contact your nearest disassembly center, or look for them online.
Puncturing tires for a police car by the boys of the hills in Yitzhar September 23, 2020/Israel Police Spokesperson
Change tires on time, and with quality rubber, but check prices before you go to the tire shop
6. Order new spare parts from abroad. It is possible by yourself, it is possible with the help of websites that specialize in this. You will need the catalog number of the part (MKT).
Do not import spare parts defined as safety (the list on the website of the Ministry of Transport), for which special tests and approvals were required.
7. Comparing tire prices.
The days when a tire dealer would show you an inflated price list and then cut from it as he saw fit, are over.
Today there are tire price comparison sites that also allow placing an order.
Make sure the offered tire is in stock, sometimes fictitious prices of missing models are also displayed there.
Even if you don't order, you can arrive at the tire better prepared.
8. Haggle over insurance prices.
Insurance prices have jumped sharply in the last two years, with the increase in car thefts.
So expect an increase in price at the next renewal date, even if you were not involved in accidents in the last year.
Do not automatically accept the renewal offer from your insurance company, ask for offers from other companies, and if you also chose to return to the company that insured you, remember that Moked always has the option of reducing the price even more.
A hybrid car saves fuel and is environmentally friendly, but you should buy protection in case you need to replace the expensive battery/ShutterStock
9. Extension of warranty on hybrids.
There are tens of thousands of hybrid cars in Israel from Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Honda and other manufacturers that have already passed the warranty period, and their owners are exposed to spending NIS 9,000-20,000 for replacing a failed battery.
Importers Toyota, Hyundai and Kia offer extended warranty on the battery, for a fee of several hundred shekels per year, and an annual inspection of the battery at the garage.
10. A solution against the theft of converters.
A problem that continues to bother, especially hybrid Toyota and Subaru owners, who find their vehicle without a catalytic converter, a theft that will be recognized by an unbearable noise after the next start.
The thieves dismantle the converters because of the rare and expensive metals installed in them, such as palladium.
At Toyota garages, those interested install a screw that makes it very difficult to steal the converter, and there are field improvement workshops like Aspir that offer special protection, which will save you an expense of about a thousand shekels or more over the new price.
More on the same topic:
Car Maintenance
garages
Cost of living