How do you pay for car repairs when you are broke and have no money to pay the mechanic or auto parts supplier?
Should you invest time searching for financial assistance and free money?
Many people need their car to commute to work. In these emergency cases, financing and insurance provide the fastest answers.
People with less urgent needs can research other possible solutions. Government programs and charitable organizations are the logical places to look for low-income families: seniors, single mothers, and the disabled.
Finding financial assistance will be challenging, but it is worth a try.
Emergency Car Repair Assistance
Emergency repair assistance can get your car up and running again when you have no money to pay the mechanic. However, fast action is crucial during a crisis, so expect to find limited options.
Emergency Funding
Borrowing money is the fastest way to get emergency funding for car repairs. Of course, you must find a willing lender and incur origination fees and interest charges.
Emergency car repair loans can provide the funding needed to get your jalopy back on the road to commute to work. However, this is not free money. You will have to repay the lender.
Compare the projected borrowing costs (origination fees and interest charges) to any lost income associated with your inability to commute to work for several days. You may find that taking out a loan is the more affordable option.
Emergency Service
Other times, emergency car repair assistance should be available through pre-paid service contracts. Look through your files for the appropriate insurance and warranty paperwork.
Roadside Assistance
A roadside assistance program is handy with minor repairs that might disable your car while driving. Hopefully, you keep the paperwork or card in the glove compartment or wallet in case of unexpected emergencies.
- Jumpstart or replace a dead battery
- Change flat tires
- Tow the vehicle to the nearest dealer
If your car breaks down while you still owe money, roadside assistance can get your vehicle to the dealer, who can provide an estimate. Perhaps your insurance or a warranty will cover the charges.
Extended Warranties
People often forget about extended warranties, which provide emergency car repair assistance for mechanical breakdowns within a designated period. You may have folded the extra cost into another contract, making it easy to overlook.
Of course, you may have purchased a stand-alone extended warranty. Filing a claim will feel like getting free money to repair or replace transmissions, engines, drive axles, and other costly components.
- Auto insurance companies offer mechanical breakdown coverage as an option. Pull a copy of your policy declaration page to see if you added the extra protection.
- Auto finance companies also offer extended warranties, which may include extra charges in your monthly payment. Pull out a copy of the loan disclosure statement to verify coverage.
Auto Insurance
Do not overlook how your auto insurance might provide emergency car repair assistance. Your policy may have a contractual obligation to pay for service work after specific incidents.
- Collision coverage: pays for auto repairs after accidental encounters with other vehicles, trees, telephone poles, curbs, etc.
- Comprehensive coverage: pays for auto repair damage caused by theft, vandalism, hail, falling tree branches, etc.
Having your auto insurance cover the expenses will feel like getting free money because you do not have to reach further into your pockets to pay the mechanic.
Free Car Repair for Low-Income
Low-income families can sometimes find free car repairs when they have no money to pay the service center. This section explores how specific groups can find unique alternatives to raise money.
Of course, low-income families most frequently qualify for car repair help through government programs and charitable organizations in addition to these unique strategies.
Disabled Individuals
Free car repair for the disabled may be the only way for these low-income families to get their vehicles running again. Individuals receiving disability benefits often live check-to-check, with little room in the budget for surprise expenses.
Buying an auto while on disability benefits is challenging. The monthly check is meager, and SSI recipients must adhere to resource limits to stay eligible. Therefore, funding repairs is crucial.
Senior Citizens
Free car repair for senior citizens might be available through the government programs and charitable organizations noted below. However, other opportunities abound since retired older adults comprise many low-income families.
Loans for seniors on Social Security are hard to get, but government benefits abound. By applying for the many benefit programs available to older adults, you can reduce other household expenses and subsequently afford to fix your vehicle and regain independence.
Single Mothers
Car repair assistance for single moms helps the leaders of these low-income families stretch their budget dollars further. Once again, cutting expenses elsewhere can free up resources to get your vehicle back on the road again.
Government help for single mothers might cover other household expenses, including energy, water, housing, healthcare, home upgrades, childcare, groceries, and more.
Government Help for Car Repairs
Government assistance might repair your car when you have no money to pay the mechanic. However, most of this free money flows to state and public agencies rather than individuals.
Grants
Government grants for car repair are scarce because no federal agency provides money to individuals directly. Instead, it awards grants to universities, states, and charitable organizations to foster the public good.
Free government grants for household bills follow the same pattern. You must apply for the benefit at many different agencies receiving the funds. While you will not find direct help with auto repair, reducing other household expenses makes paying the mechanic or service center more affordable.
JARC
The Job Access and Reverse Commute (JARC Section 5316) program previously provided government car repair assistance. However, the current JARC configuration no longer provides this service.
A JARC car repair application will do you no good, as the Federal Transit Administration repealed the program and replaced it with two grants where the free money flows to state and public bodies – not individuals.
- Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307)
- Formula Grants for Rural Areas (Section 5311)
DHS
DHS car repair assistance is a government program that might help a few households raise a modest sum to pay the mechanic or service center. Each state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) is responsible.
DHS administers the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, which provides free money to promote self-sufficiency through employment. Qualified individuals can use the resources on transportation to work.
For example, the Michigan DHS car voucher program provides up to $10,000 to buy, fix, and insure a vehicle used for work-related transportation. Your state may have a similar initiative.
Organizations Helping With Car Repair
Charitable organizations in your area can help with car repairs and get your jalopy up and running when you do not have the money to fix it. However, because they rely on the generosity of donors, they face practical limits on the number of families they can assist.
Nearby Churches
Churches that help with car repairs seek to spread the gospel through charitable service to their neighbors. These religious organizations locally operate because they need lifts, tools, garages, and skilled mechanics.
- United Methodist in Powder Springs, GA
- First Baptist in Houston, TX
- His Hands Ministry in Carlisle, PA
- Willow Creek Church in Barrington, IL
- Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant and Ashley, SC
- First Evangelical Free in Maplewood, MN
- Gods Garage in Conroe, TX
Regional Organizations
Many non-profit organizations help with car repairs but operate locally. You might get lucky and find a charity near you that is available to offer assistance.
| Organization | Region Served |
| Good Guy Foundation | Arizona |
| Good Neighbor Garage | Colorado |
| Wheels from the Heart | Florida |
| Vehicles for Change | Maryland |
| Road Ready Repairs | Michigan |
| Here to Help Foundation | Michigan |
| Wheels for Women | Minnesota |
| Cars 4 Christmas | Missouri |
| Wheels 4 Hope | North Carolina |
| Working Wheels | North Carolina |
| Good News Garage | New England |
| Strengthen Our Sisters | New Jersey |
| Cars for Moms | Unknown |
National Organizations
National car repair organizations are less likely to help you fix up your existing vehicle because their operating model differs. Many solicit donations of unwanted autos as a fundraising mechanism.
Salvation Army
Salvation Army car repair assistance is hit or miss because it falls outside the primary mission of this international organization. You should contact your local center to see if they offer these benefits; however, most do not.
The Salvation Army provides various services, including disaster relief, LBTGQ+ support, homeless shelters, food pantries, rent and utility assistance, life skills, job training, and more. However, they do not list auto repair as a priority.
The Salvation Army also operates a car donation program as a fundraising mechanism. The money goes towards combatting homelessness and substance abuse.
Other Charities
Other national organizations rarely offer car repair assistance even though they fix up donated autos. As you will see, these charities sell the vehicles to wholesalers, helping them raise funds to support other aspects of their mission.
- Free Charity Cars fix donated vehicles, but not autos people already own
- 1-800-Charity Cars sell most donated vehicles to fund repairs on program autos
- Kars 4 Kids accepts donated vehicles to support services helping Jewish youth
