Although no one will argue with the fact that having a car these days is a necessity rather than a luxury, it’s also clear that every car owner needs to be prepared for extra costs of owning a vehicle. If your family is lucky enough to have more than one car, then your costs double or even triple. However, no one likes to spend too much money on something as basic and necessary as owning a car. Luckily for drivers, there are a few cost-cutting tips we will share with you today.
1. Pick the right car insurance
Driving with your car uninsured is hardly a smart thing to do, but with the selection of insurance companies and packages in the market making the smart choice is not as easy as it seems. You need an affordable insurance with maximum coverage in case of accidents or other damage. To choose the right insurance offer for you, don’t rush with the purchase. Instead you need to shop around, visit a few insurance offices or websites, compare the prices and the types of insurance offered by the companies, and in the end you’ll definitely make the right choice.
2. Get a fuel efficient car
Fuel can take a large part of your car budget, but it doesn’t have to. The best way to cut costs on car ownership is to get a hybrid car, where you get the opportunity to pay for fuel a lot less than before and let your car drive half of the time on electricity. If you can’t make a switch to a hybrid or a fully electric car at the moment, consider getting a more fuel efficient car instead of the one you have today. Sure, your new car might not be as powerful or impressively looking than the old one, but the amount of money you’ll save will be worth it.
3. Adjust your driving technique
Not every driver knows that changing the way you drive can help you save large amounts of money on fuel and car maintenance. For example, aggressive driving often damages your tyres and car mechanics, which causes you to pay for new tyres and repairs. Additionally, aggressive driving is not fuel efficient at all. There are a lot of driving tips that will help you save fuel. Here are some of them:
- Check your tyre pressure regularly
- Don’t drive faster than needed
- Choose the right gear when you’re driving
- Avoid suddenly starting and stopping
- Give your car regular maintenance and service
- If you can, avoid using the air conditioning
4. Car sharing
If you mostly use your car to drive to work and back, you can get a large part of your fuel and maintenance costs by driving a couple of your colleagues to work and back. Find two or three co-workers who live close to you and offer them a way to get to work every day for a small price, unless they drive their own cars. We’re sure they will be delighted with your offer and will gladly pay the money to drive to work and back comfortably. You can use that money to cover your fuel costs or to give your car better maintenance.
5. Service your car the right way
Every car owner knows the maintenance schedule for his car. For example, it’s believed that oils need to be changed every 5,000 kilometres. However, if you don’t drive too often, or if you’re a sensible driver with a good driving technique, this mark may be too frequent for your particular car. If you’ve owned your vehicle for several years, you probably feel when the next maintenance is due, so our advice is to not overpay for maintenance when you can easily go another 1000 kilometres without spending money on car service.
6. Find a mechanic you trust
A lot of car owners are skilled enough to make some of the maintenance and repair work themselves, like change brake pads or fluids. However, unless you’re a professional car repairman, there are some things you can’t do on your own, especially if they require tools or specific knowledge. This is why you need a trustworthy car mechanic, the one who will not only repair your car thoroughly and efficiently, but will also avoid overcharging you for repairs or car parts your car didn’t need. A good way to find a decent car mechanic is to ask around in your neighbourhood or find your local online community and ask that question there.
