Thank goodness we live in Vermont!  Berlin City Kia, your Burlington auto repair specialists, would like to share some intriguing research done by CarMD.  Trust us, you'll like what you read!



You're going to pay more per year for car maintenance if you live in a western state, and the cheapest states for repairs related to a "Check Engine" light are Mississippi and Washington D.C. That's according to fresh data from the annual CarMD Vehicle Health Index, an analysis of repairs made to 225,000 vehicles with problems that led to a CEL. The average cost to fix the problem and extinguish the lamp is $305.56 in the United States, with Florida coming closest to said average at $305.05. Alaskan motorists can expect to pay the most for such repairs on average ($353.74), while Mississippi residents have been shown to shell out the least ($256.47).

Across the board, the most common repair is replacing an oxygen sensor, and the CarMD study breaks out its results by average parts and labor cost in each state. While informative, these results are admittedly narrowly focused on problems on OBD-II vehicles (built between 1996 and present) that cause the "check engine" lamp to alert the driver. The sample size of a quarter-million vehicles was polled through CarMD's network of Automotive Service Excellence-certified technicians, skipping over some shops and technicians entirely and not counting problems with other systems not tied into the check engine lamp.  If you are looking for Burlington car repair Berlin City Kia, is ready to help you in anyway possible. So stop by and visit with any of our knowledgeable team members.

"Through comprehensive data collected via CarMD's nationwide network of Automotive Service Excellence-certified technicians, we are able to provide national and state-by-state transparency into vehicle repair costs," said Art Jacobsen, VP, CarMD.com Corp. "We are releasing this data to empower consumers and mechanics with a better understanding of common repairs and costs, and to call attention to the fact that, regardless of region, drivers who follow a regularly scheduled maintenance program and address small problems early tend to have fewer catastrophic vehicle failures, reducing overall repair costs."  Your Williston Kia dealer, Berlin City Kia, is capable of handling any repair you need.  Our technicians are factory trained and certified and always use the best genuine Kia auto parts Burlington has to offer.

Several interesting highlights emerge when comparing costs and ranking repairs for each state. While Alaska's no. 1 ranking can be attributed to cold weather, which wreaks havoc on the longevity of a car's parts, it is surprising to see Alaska's average labor costs at 30% higher and Idaho's automotive labor costs 34% higher than the U.S. average. Western states round out the top five most expensive spots, with only two non-western states listed in the top 10, including New Jersey at no. 7 and Arkansas at no. 9. Drivers in the Southwest pay about 10% more than drivers in the Northeast and 16% more than drivers in the Midwest for repairs.  Southwest labor costs are higher as are the type of repairs due to dry air, build up and dust, such as clogged mass airflow sensor, which shows up more frequently and increases costs.

The following is the ranking of the states/districts with the lowest car repair costs, according to CarMD:
State    Average Cost
(Parts & Labor)    Average
Parts Cost    Average
Labor Cost
Mississippi    $256.47
(16% lower than U.S. avg.)    $179.61
(11% less than U.S. avg.)    $109.67
(6% higher than U.S. avg.)
D.C.    $265.29
(13% lower than U.S. avg.)    $178.93
(12% less than U.S. avg.)    $104.91
(1% higher than U.S. avg.)
Vermont    $273.91
(10% lower than U.S. avg.)    $201.09
(1% less than U.S. avg.)    $103.27
(4% less than U.S. avg.)
Indiana    $276.70
(9% lower than U.S. avg.)    $182.28
(10% less than U.S. avg.)    $101.12
(10% less than U.S. avg.)
Montana    $280.93
(8% lower than U.S. avg.)    $159.21
(21% less than U.S. avg.)    $121.72
(18% higher than U.S. avg.)

This chart shows exactly where we fall in order of the least expensive service areas.  Vermont Kia owners should be happy to see that when they visit Berlin City Kia they know they are getting quality, certified work at a very reasonable cost.