How to pay for unexpected expensive car repairs when broke
Sudden high repair costs, like a $2,700 dealership bill for premature part failures on a relatively new car, can instantly drain limited finances. Coming on top of previous financial hits or bad purchases, this leaves people unable to afford the necessary fix.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1getting a second opinion from an independent shop
- 2taking the car to an independent shop for diagnosis and better rates
- 3continuing to drive the car despite the issue
- 4trying to hold out until spring to trade in the car
- 5looking for an independent shop for a second quote
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I can’t afford it because I have already got scammed when I bought it.”source ↗
“The Nissan dealership is charging me $2700 to fix it and I don’t have the money right now for that.”source ↗
“struts leaking at 37k on a 2023 is wild. nissan really out here building cars with parts made of wet cardboard”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
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- 6Paid for an oil change but the shop didn't do the work
- 5Car repair shop broke my car and wants more money