No one is spared from inflation, much less motorists who, out of necessity or comfort, must continue to pay for fuel, maintenance, repairs and even washing their cars despite the increase in prices.
Others, like certain Uber drivers, have already modified their engine to use gas instead of gasoline. Expansión spoke with an auto mechanic and a driver and car expert from Mexico City to find out how inflation affects the Mexican motorist.
The Inegi data says ‘almost’ everything
Sending the car to a maintenance service is already 8.06% more expensive than last year, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), but this is only an average of the types of maintenance, such as tuning, painting and bodywork, among others.
A tuning service for a 4-cylinder car in Mexico City cost $2,188 in 2019, but in June 2022 it rose to 2,400 pesos. That is to say, an increase of almost 10%, between both years, according to the data collected by the Inegi.
Although, in fact, there are workshops and agencies where the cost has skyrocketed up to 30%, according to what Daniel Jiménez, an automotive engineer from the City of Puebla, and Rodrigo Lozoya, a motorist and car expert from CDMX, told Expansión.
Car insurance getting more expensive
By law, motorists must have insurance in CDMX. But car insurance has also increased after the pandemic. Only between June 2021 and June 2022, the price of coverage grew 10.31%, on average, according to the Inegi.
Rodrigo Lozoya is a motorist from Mexico City and one of the founders of the Mazda brand community in the country. He is one of the drivers who likes to have his vehicle in optimal condition and with everything in order. But this passion costs more and more money.
Only last year, the price to insure your car was 7,300 pesos, but at this point in 2022, the same protection is priced at 10,000 pesos. “There are two factors, inflation itself” and “the shortage of semiconductors” for radios, car computers, says Rodrigo.
Expenses accelerate more than the engine
But not only insurance has risen, all parts to repair and maintain cars as well.
If a Mexican motorist gets a flat tire, replacing it will be 15.24% higher than in 2021. It is one of the goods that has increased its price the most for users, but not more than lubricating oils, which have become more expensive 2. 3%.
And, if we talk about the most common parts to maintain a car, such as spark plugs, air pumps and hoses, among others, prices have increased by up to 30%, according to the experience of Rodrigo, who has also worked in car dealerships for a few years.
To give an example, a stabilizer screw that he bought a year and a half ago, explains Rodrigo, cost him just over 280 pesos, but just two months ago, that same piece was already selling for about 500 pesos.
Repairs to months without interest
Daniel Jiménez, an auto mechanic in the city of Puebla, has also noticed that customers decide not to completely repair their cars anymore, due to the inflation in parts:
“They have easily gone up 30%”, for example, “in December (2021) a spark plug cost 28 pesos and right now it costs you 39 or 40 pesos. And if there are four in your car, it’s already 40 pesos more,” explained Daniel.
“A basic service for your car, depending on the model, already costs up to 600 pesos more than a year ago,” he points out.
Daniel Jiménez, as a mechanic, also warns his clients when the price of a maintenance or repair service may be out of their budget. And, when possible, it gives payment facilities to the most faithful.
I have, for example, I have ‘Clip’ -an application for digital payments- and it has the option of months. And they can pay 200 or 300 pesos for six months, because it helps them a lot”.
Prevent to avoid spending more
The secret to not letting inflation catch motorists on the curve is prevention. According to Daniel Jiménez, whose garage is located in the city of Puebla, there are two types of customers: those who give regular and complete maintenance to their car and those who go to the garage when there is no other choice.
The former, says Daniel, are used to having a budget to maintain the car and this allows them to always take into account the costs involved. But it also helps you keep your unit moving, performing well, and without a costly breakdown.
On the other side are the unsuspecting, who only take the car to the workshop when there is no other choice. “Mechanics live more than careless people,” says Daniel Jiménez sincerely.
Buy cheaper, but less durable parts
Currently there is a wide range of brands for different parts, from tires to spark plugs. And there are people who already buy the cheapest ones in Mercado Libre, says Daniel.
But to save a few bucks, a driver may sacrifice stability and safety when driving, for example, in the rain. Well, there are tire brands that do not have enough friction in these conditions, explains Rodrigo Lozoya.
Daniel Jiménez also warns his clients that he uses certain prestigious brands because the quality is guaranteed.
Rodrigo Lozoya recommended visiting Internet forums and groups to clear up doubts and find advice, such as the one that he manages on Facebook. There, a community of nearly 15,000 car enthusiasts share their experiences buying parts, auto services, and other tips for keeping engines in tip-top shape without spending too much.
Agency or mechanical workshop
For the two experts consulted by Expansión, there is no great difference, in terms of quality, between the service that can be provided by an agency for the maintenance of a car or that which can be obtained in a mechanical workshop.
What happens is that the profit of the agencies is “in the sale of services”, says Rodrigo Lozoya. And, to ensure that customers will arrive, they extend warranties for the cars they sell for up to seven years, valid “as long as you don’t take the car to a workshop other than the agency’s.”
But the cost can be more expensive. “A tuning service, for example, can be worth 600 pesos in a mechanical workshop and in the agency it will cost 1,500 pesos,” says Daniel, who also knows the brands and the type of oil used in the agencies and that they are not very other than the ones he uses to repair his customers’ cars.
From a half full tank to using gas instead of gasoline
Tires, insurance, repair, oil and tires, everything has gone up. But also an essential product: gasoline.
“Before I filled my tank with 850 pesos,” says Rodrigo, who now costs about 1,250 pesos to have the fuel needle ‘full’. This, for whom the car is their main work tool, may be reason enough to take more drastic measures. As is the case with Uber drivers.
“Lately I have used Uber a lot and they have told me that they have already decided to switch to gas,” explains Rodrigo, referring to the fact that now, instead of using gasoline, Uber drivers change the system so that the engine runs on gas. This is cheaper, since this type of fuel provides almost twice the kilometers traveled for the same money that would be spent on gasoline.
