It’s estimated that just maintaining your car can cost a driver over $10,000 a year, and that’s on top of purchase price or monthly loan instalments and insurance.
So it’s no big surprise that many of us are looking for ways to cut down the costs in any ways we can.
Fortunately, there are many savings that can be made to try to get that figure down.
Keep you car in good condition
They say that prevention is better than cure - and this is just as true for cars as it is for humans. Where your vehicle’s concerned this means keeping the fluids like coolant and oil topped up to the correct levels as well as keeping tires pumped up to the correct pressure.
Choosing the right fuel as well as using additives may well also add to greater efficiency and fewer mechanical failures by keeping your engine cleaner.
Regularly washing your car, paying particular attention to the underside, will also inhibit corrosion over time.
Never ignore warning signs
Too many drivers are blasé when a warning light pops up on the dash. Often they keep going for a few miles and, as long as there’s no catastrophic breakdown, decide to ignore it.
But in most cases a warning sign is there to tell you that something’s either gone wrong or is about to. Ignoring it will only make the problem get worse, and potentially harder and more expensive to put right.
So the next time one of those little red icons pops into life get yourself down to the local shop to get the experts to investigate. It might cost a few dollars – but not as much as if you wait till there’s a real problem.
Go for budget tires
Although fitting new tires to rims isn’t sometyhing you can do without specialist equipment buying low-cost replacements is.
Budget tires have come on leaps and bounds in recent years. So much so that they are often just as good as the more expensive alternatives, especially for general-purpose driving. Great examples are all-season Fuzion tires which are Bridgestone’s budget range and come with all the reassurance that the name brings. As long as you’re not planning to fit them to your Lamborghini or take them on a trans-Sahara trek they’ll do the job – and go on doing it for a good long while for you.
Tackle the jobs that you can
There are lots of minor maintenance jobs that pretty much anyone can take on. Keeping the coolant and oil topped up and tire pressures correct that we’ve already mentioned are just three of them.
If you’re more anbitious still then an operation like replacing a blowing muffler is probably also well within your ability. To give you even more confidence take a look at any of the step-by-step tutorials that are online, sometimes even presented by people who were once in your novice position.
Avoid main dealerships
When you book your car into a big name dealer for service or repair, expect big name prices. Not only will they be fitting over-priced genuine parts, the labor costs are certain to be much higher than your local independent shop.
So it’s well worth building a relationship with one you can trust with your car. They might not have all the bells, whistles and complimentary coffee of a main dealership, but you’ll know that you’re getting a good job done at a value-for-money price.
Claim discounts from your insurers
It’s also well worth looking into any discounts that you qualify for by giving your business to your car insurer. Often they’ve struck deals with third parties to save on car accessories and the like that can mean good savings for you.
So take good care of your car and it’s going to take good care of you – as well as being a little less draining on your bank balance.
