Sunday Headlines: The Positives of Shopping Around

Welcome to the first edition of Sunday Headlines!

I thought it would be beneficial to start sharing articles from around the web to broaden your personal finance skills and possibly hear more from people who may be in a position just like you. I also want to start sharing small stories and anecdotes that could help you better your life and finances. So without further ado, let’s get started!

Last week, I suddenly realized that my car was overdue for an inspection. I quickly took it to a local inspection shop for the annual ritual only to find out that one of the headlight lamps was broken off. OK, quick fix I thought. Well, as it turned out, I needed to replace the ENTIRE headlight. I knew the large bills were coming.

After hearing the bad news, I quickly decided to shop around. What would it hurt? First, I called the local dealership and just as I expected, they wanted to rob me. They wanted $350 + labor (!) to put a new one on. I immediately said no thanks and moved on.

Next, I called the local parts shop. They wanted $150 for the headlight which was much more reasonable. I asked them how quickly they could get it and they said it would be about 4 days. I wanted it sooner so I didn’t have to drive around with an expired inspection sticker on my car. I asked if they knew of any other local parts shops that might have it in stock.

The store gave me the number for another warehouse in the area and I gave them a call. They wanted $99 for the part and I immediately ordered it. It came a few days later, I installed it myself (it too two screws) and took my car to get inspected. With the inspection the total bill came to $130. If I would have went with the dealership, I’m guessing it would have been around $430 total.

The moral of the story? By shopping around, I saved myself $300. Not too bad for about 2 hours of work!