Individuals paying more to maintain their cars because of inflation

Little Rock, Arkansas – In the more than 30 years that Coleman and Son Automotive has been in operation, a lot has changed, most notably the price of services.

“We used to see oil changes back maybe in the 90s for 20 bucks. I mean, that 1999 or change special was a is a thing of the past,” said Dee Coleman, Owner of Coleman and Son Automotive.

Coleman noted that recent years have seen a significant increase in the price of services like oil changes.

“The most common thing people gripe about is the cost of oil changes, due to the fact you must get those done more periodically,” said Coleman. “10% to 20% increase, especially on your synthetic oils.”

Not just the cost of oil changes has been the issue.

“Your cost of tires, your tires on your vehicle costs more than they did last year or the year before,” Coleman explained.

Inflation, he added, was the cause of the price increase, which also affected what they were paying.

“Just the price of parts period, we’ve seen an increase in price the parts, the normal water pumps and maintenance belts like that,” Coleman added.

“But here now we’re just used to paying it. So that’s just something that we have to do.”

But, there is encouraging news regarding supply. Coleman claimed that there aren’t any more delays than there were previously.

“The supply chain has picked up here in the last few months,” said Coleman. “It slowed down a little bit, but it caught back up and things seem to be looking pretty good.”

Coleman advised against delaying maintenance in the hopes that the expenses may decrease as they continue to rise.

“Anything that you put off can cost you more in the future. So go ahead and get that maintenance done on that vehicle,” he said.

In order to avoid unpleasant surprises when paying, Coleman urges customers to call their technician for a pricing check and to inquire about any potential savings.

“Some of my customers shop online, we don’t see a problem with that and if they can save a few dollars that way we try to help them out as well,” said Coleman.