**Car Repairs Are the Worst: Why You Need Emergency Money**
Think that having $1,000 in your emergency fund is enough? Think again! Normally, I don’t talk much about this, but in the last two weeks, I’ve had to use my emergency funds more than I’d like. Without that money, I’d be in serious trouble, risking one of my investments or taking on unnecessary debt.
Here’s what happened:
Two weeks ago, my wife called me to say she’d found water on the floor of her car’s passenger side. It had been raining all day, so it was strange that water had gotten in. When she got home, we checked with a flashlight but couldn’t figure out where the water came from. We decided to keep an eye on it.
A few days later, her car wouldn’t start. We thought the battery was dead, so we took it to a local repair shop. They confirmed the battery was dead and replaced it, costing $190. But that wasn’t the end of it. The car still had major problems. The shop found numerous electrical issues they couldn’t fix, so we had to take the car to a more expensive dealership service center.
They found the problem: a small leak in the sunroof was letting rainwater into the car’s frame, corroding electrical connectors and shorting out the dashboard. The total repair cost: $1,850. And to make matters worse, the parts needed wouldn’t be available for almost a week. As both my wife and I need our cars for work, we had to rent a car for the week at $30 a day, adding another $210 to the bill.
Total emergency cost: $2,250.
Luckily, we had emergency savings in our Ally account to cover this. But it was still frustrating – it’s the most I’ve ever spent on an unexpected car repair. I normally expect repair bills around $500, not in the four figures!
I can’t imagine what people without an emergency fund do in these situations. The car was non-functional without the repairs, no corners could be cut. What do less prepared people do? Take on debt? Take money from somewhere else?
Every option is terrible. Debt isn’t a good option—you need to fight against it. The lesson here is clear: if you don’t have an emergency fund, you’re unprepared. You need money for unexpected events. I never thought my wife’s car would have such an expensive issue. This is just one example of an unplanned expense. No matter how optimistic or well-intentioned you are with your money, you need to be ready for these mini-crises.
