Well my car has been with my brother, the mechanic, for 3 days now. Here's the scoop. He is fairly confident the issue is the battery (which will be replaced for free once I get my car back here). Since he can't recreate the issue (it's sporadic) he can't be 100% sure. He fixed an issue that I had with the door ajar light staying on. This meant replacing the entire locking mechanism on the door. Cost of that part was $98.00. He also did some normal maintenance for me and the cost for parts on that was $20. He bought replacement batteries for my key fobs which were $12.00. Total cost is $130.00. I am planning on giving him $100.00 for doing all the work for me. He also cleaned the inside and wash and waxed the outside.
I'm sure having the work done at the dealership would have cost me well over $600 plus the parts.
Please be honest... do you think I am being too cheap by giving him $100.00? What is a reasonable thank you amount?
And now on to the budget. I had been planning on using everything extra in my budget to make another payment on my student loan. But since the car issues have surfaced, I am going to shift that money to pay my brother for the work and parts. Since I have been using his car, I will return it with a full tank of gas. I will also need more gas for my car to get it back home. I also made a purchase, on the recommendation of my brother, of a battery booster pack. It was on sale for $60.00 and will save me if the battery happens to get drained again. I'm thinking all of this will cost about $400.00 I have about $300 in my budget and will need to pay the addition $100 on my credit card that I used to purchase some gas for the trip up and the battery booster.
My plan is to cover these expenses and not touch my emergency fund. It will mean that I won't be able to make much, if any, of an extra payment on my student loan. This will push the pay off date back about a month.
What do you think about this? Good decision or not?
Personally if you dont have to touch your ef and you are going to make the payment on your cc of what you charged, I would just push the school loan payoff by a month.
ReplyDeleteNow if you were going to put everything on my cc and not be able to pay it in full I would say hit the ef fund. My theory is ef fund before cc
Judy
I agree with judy 100% Im having car issues except that no one knows what the issue is my car just sounds like a washing machine.
ReplyDeleteI think $100 is enough, he probably wasn't expecting anything. Your family sounds fantastic washed and waxed? Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Judy and Sarah too.
definitely a good decision for sure!!!
ReplyDeleteYou're a smart cookie! ;) I think $100 is great, and he probably isnt expecting a penny! So many people are having car issues lately...must be a virus going around! ;)
ReplyDeleteIf you can meet all the expenses without touching the E fund do it. You can always make up that month on the student loan another time!
ReplyDeleteI think $100 is a good amount. What you can do if you are uncomfortable is ask him what he would usually charge for a service like that and if it is higher then just match that amount.
ReplyDeleteOn the budget I think everyone else already told you that you have a great plan so I'm with them.
I think $100 is a perfectly good amount.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also think your second decision is good!
$100 is good, if you still feel like you need to do more, invite him over for dinner at your place!
ReplyDeleteHS
$100 is a good amount, you have a very generous brother :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with HS - $100 and invite him over for dinner sometime.
ReplyDeleteI too think the number is just right. Maybe given with a plate of cookies or a cake. Men love baking ;)
ReplyDelete