When your car needs a repair you can't pay for yet

If you need your car to get to work, a repair can't wait for payday. Before you borrow, a few steps can make the bill smaller, and some of them take only a phone call.

Before you pay for the repair

1. Get a written estimate

   Ask the garage to put the work and the price in writing, and to separate what has to be fixed now for the car to be safe from what can wait a few weeks. Paying for the urgent part first can bring the amount you need right now down a lot.

2. Get a second quote for big jobs

   For a large repair, another garage may quote a different price or find a cheaper fix. Garages often charge for diagnosis, so ask the price of a second look first.

3. Check for a safety recall

   Search Transport Canada's recall database by make, model and year, or enter your 17-digit vehicle identification number (VIN) on the manufacturer's website. If a recall covers the problem, talk to a dealer for that brand before you pay a garage.

4. Check your warranty and insurance

   A newer or used car may still be under a manufacturer's or extended warranty. If the damage came from a collision, a storm or vandalism, your car insurance may cover part of it.

5. Ask the garage about paying in parts

   Some garages will let you pay over a few weeks, especially if you're a regular customer. It costs nothing to ask.

Your rights at the garage

Each province has its own rules. In Ontario, for example, the province says a repair shop must give you a written estimate before charging you for work in most cases, the final bill can't be more than 10% above the estimate, and you can't be charged for work you didn't authorize. If you live elsewhere, your provincial consumer protection office can tell you the rules where you live.

When a loan makes sense

If the repair still costs more than you have, an installment loan can spread it over a few months. It makes the most sense when you need the car to keep earning, the repair costs between $300 and $3,000, and the payments fit your budget.

With Urgent Loans, one application goes to the lenders in our network:

• Loans of $300 to $3,000, repaid over 90 to 120 days
• The lenders in our network don't run credit checks. A lender may ask for more documents, such as ID, proof of income or a recent bank statement, and may verify your bank account online.
• Funds often the same day you sign, so you can pay the garage and get back on the road
• Applying is free, and nothing is final until you sign a lender's contract

For example, a $300 loan at 32% APR over 98 days is repaid in 7 bi-weekly payments of about $44.99, for a total of $314.93. This example is for illustration only. See what an installment loan costs for how to compare offers.

Be careful with loans that use your car as security

Some loans for car owners, often called car title loans, use your vehicle as security. If you fall behind on payments, the lender can take the car, which is the one thing you were trying to keep running. Before you sign any loan, check whether it uses your car as security and what happens if a payment is late.

Other options when money is short are on our emergency loans page.

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Urgent Loans is not a lender. Each lender in our network sets its own terms and makes its own decision. See how it works.