Pinoy Auto BlogThe Philippines' Premier Automotive and Car Blog

One thing you have to note these days, if you can save in any way as far as car repairs is concerned you would be more than willing to grab it. For pinoy car owners who often want to save and make do with fabricated repairs for their cars, rest assured they would grab it. Compared to having your car fixed as a whole or bringing it to the actual Casa, imagine the savings you can get. If you are lucky, you can even get better service since we all know that some car shops can shortchange you so that you will come back.

Fabricating repairs can include various car parts such as:

1. Under Chassis
2. Engine Support
3. Bushings
4. Air Conditioning
5. Brakes and Clutch
6. Tires
7. Dents
8. Suspensions

There will always be the so-called “replacement parts” or “second hand parts” that will be offered to you. Compared to the brand new or original ones, you can make do with them but the timeline for their durability is surely incomparable to the authentic one.

However, cost-wise, these are the alternative you just have to consider. With limited budgets and the need to use your car, you have to get repairs done even if they would mean for a temporary period of time.

Just be sure you save up to replace them with better parts after some months though. Expect these fabricated parts to give ways as they are walking in between safety and durability. They are bound to give in a couple of months so be wiser.

In a time where finances are much of a burden, people are turning towards public transportation to get to their point of destination. For the time being that the economy is on a turnstile, sacrifices which include that of using your own car is not only a necessity but an option.

Through all of this you have to wonder how cars will fare. This covers both brand new and second hand vehicles in the market. In short, to gain extra income for rising expenses, selling your car may be an option. But that is if someone will buy it.

Through the years we have seen a lot of Filipinos buying second hand cars like the usual Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic or even the Mazda 323. But today, people have stayed away from them, seeing them as additional expenses as far as fuel and car maintenance is concerned. On the average you can expect to spend at least PHP 5,000.00 on a car for maintenance while gasoline varies depending on your destination. And no thanks to the regular price increases, people are left with nothing much to spend for gas these days.

For the brand new vehicles, who in his right mind can afford to spare on the average PHP 700,000.00 to PHP 1,000,000 on a car these days? They can always use the financial assistance from banks but can you handle the monthly amortization that ranges from PHP12,000.00 to PHP25,000.00 a month? That is like spending rent on an apartment and perhaps your monthly utilities and groceries already.

The point here is that cars are a luxury. While we all want to live in it, we just have to face the fact that now is not a great time to pursue it. We can dream of buying a car. But let us wait for the right time to do it.

If you are the type who is quite particular about repairs to your car, replacement parts would normally leave you with two options: Japan or Taiwan. If you are a frequent visitor of car part shops, these will be the choices for certain parts that will be offered to you. Of the two, Taiwan parts are normally the cheaper one since they are considered as imitation parts that have a lesser product lifecycle compared to Japan or original parts.

Japan parts often mean durability. They are normally the parts that are close to what the exact specs of your car needs. However, they are costly and unless you are willing to use second-hand parts that will still cost more or luckily the same as a Taiwan part, the price for Japan parts may knock you off your feet. Brand new Japan parts are the safest route to maintain the same level of quality that your car has. There are people who however turn to Taiwan parts due to prices and can do for a certain time, perhaps half of the actual durability life of a part.

Mechanical parts of vehicles are quite sensitive. Take for example engine support bushings. Comparing the Taiwan made ones to the original ones can be seen in a couple of months. Engine support bushings normally last for 3 to 5 years, depending on the use of a vehicle. Taiwan made engine support bushings normally last for 6 months to a year. That is how much difference you can expect between the two.

While everything should not be entirely blamed on the part manufacturers, you have to put into consideration the wear and tear and road conditions your car drives on. In this case, Philippine roads are known to be unstable and that is why we often find ourselves needing repairs especially if your car chassis are not that solidly built like Mitsubishi vehicles that have pricey replacements parts as well.

Banawe has been christened the auto parts capital of the Philippines mainly because you can almost find everything you want for your car there, ranging from mechanical to accessories. As far as where they came from, these shops either prey on cars that have been abandoned or thrown at the nearest junkyard.

There are over a 100 shops present there and depending on the model of your car, you are bound to have a hard time deciding where to buy. As far as pricing is concerned, they are far more cheaper than the standard casa shops which offer the same service and parts but perhaps 100% more expensive than what you can find by simply walking along the streets of Banawe.

One thing you should avoid however are the fixers who seem to offer assistance but are really there to score one over you. For example, if you arrive there with a broken tail light or a shattered window, expect them to swarm all over you. When they see this, it means potential earnings for them.

At times they can be irritating especially if you talk about more than one person offering to fix a certain part of your car. In fact, at times when you just pass by the streets, they will point at something in your car which does not really need anything fixed. That is how desperate some people there operate to earn a decent buck. Decent but surely questionable if you don’t know where they are getting the parts.

The parts they bring to you are really coming from the stores around. As far as pricing is concerned, they usually earn a certain percentage, sometimes 10%, of the total cost of that particular part. But what you may want to avoid is stolen parts being sold to you. If they want to earn big time, stealing is the best way to earn for these fixers.

In a manner of speaking, you too become an “accessory” to the crime when you buy it from them. Try to avoid them and go directly to the stores. At least you know they are parts worth buying.

With the prices of fuel becoming overly impractical at this stage, alternatives to continue enjoying the benefits of having our private vehicles has been a need. Some have cut down on their trips while others have been checking out alternative fuel. There are two fuel alternates being spread in the world today, namely:

1. Biofuel
2. Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)

In the Philippines, only the second one, LPG has been introduce in the market. While I have my own cars and am aching for avoiding the high priced gasoline today there are some things such as the reliability of LPG on cars. Among them include safety and the impact it will have on the car’s engine.

On safety, it has been passed on that once an LPG tank in your car leaks, it is bound to result in health-related problems. One of the more famous issues is skin diseases stemming from the fumes. This is of course assuming that the LPG tank is installed at the back trunk of your car. So if you are planning to install an LPG tank, make sure that it is outside your car, preferably below the trunk which most taxis have done today.

As for its impact on the car engine, nothing has really been said. We all know for a fact that there are engines that have preference for the fuel density. Unleaded gasoline for example has been known to cause problems to the engine, forcing some car owners to avoid it and the price of having an untimely engine overhaul. Where does the LPG fuel stand here? Is it good for your car?

to be continued…