June 12, 2013—New Jersey is the most expense state and Vermont is the cheapest when it comes to car repairs, according to a new CarMD.com report.
The average total diagnostics-and-repair bill in New Jersey was $393, according to the report, which analyzed more than 160,000 check engine-related repairs made on model year 1996-2012 vehicles in 2012.
Rounding out the top five most expensive U.S. states for auto repair were District of Columbia, California, North Carolina and Maryland.
Overall, repair costs across the nation related to a vehicles’ check-engine lights averaged $367.84, a 10 percent increase.
CarMD said the vehicle owners’ procrastination in having repairs made as a major reason for the increases as delayed repairs become more expensive as problems worsen.
The report also cited Hurricane Sandy as the reason why New Jersey car owners doubled the number of trips they made for repairs, initially for flood damage. New Jersey drivers saw a nearly 21 percent increase in labor rates and a roughly 8 percent increase in parts costs.
The most affordable state for auto repair is Vermont, at $269.72. The state also had the lowest labor and parts costs, at $153.82 and $115.90, respectively.
The District of Columbia saw the largest overall increase in repair costs, up 20 percent, while Wyoming had the greatest drop in average repair costs, down 17 percent.
