In the past, owning a car wasn’t too expensive. Sure, it ate into your wealth, but for most people, it was manageable.
The same is not true today. With inflation soaring and taxes rising, bringing down the cost of driving a car is virtually impossible.
Or is it? In this post, we take a look at some of the things that you can do to keep the cost of motoring to a minimum.
1. Refuel At The Supermarket
Fuel is the biggest cost you’re likely to face as a driver, particularly now that the price of oil is skyrocketing due to strong demand and lack of supply. Therefore, where you fill up makes a big difference.
The best place to go is the supermarket. These tend to be able to negotiate lower prices with suppliers, passing on savings to customers. You’ll often notice that superstore prices are a couple of percentage points cheaper than conventional filling stations.
2. Buy More Economical Tyres
Your choice of tyres can impact your mileage. Some increase rolling resistance too much, reducing efficiency.
When tyre shopping, look for economical tyres. The EU rates these from A to G, with A being tyres that don’t lose much energy as they roll, and G being those that lose a lot.
3. Avoid New Cars
While buying new cars feels good, it’s not a way to save money. In fact, it is one of the best ways to damage your wealth.
It’s a different story for used cars. With these, the lion’s share of depreciation has already occurred so you preserve your capital without significantly shortening the length of the vehicle’s life.
Photo by Jaromír Kavan on Unsplash
4. Avoid Paying More For Premium Fuel
While premium fuel offers advantages for some performance engines, most cars don’t benefit from it. While it might contain various additives or a higher percentage of octane, your vehicle should perform well on regular petrol.
5. Lease Instead Of Buying
If you must have a brand-new vehicle, consider leasing instead of buying. With leasing, you pay fixed monthly payments without having to worry about depreciation. Then, at the end of the contract, you simply switch to a new vehicle and continue with payments.
The cost of electric and hybrid cars, on a monthly basis, is the same as diesel and petrol in many cases. Because of this, you can preserve even more of your hard-earned capital.
6. Drive Gently, Particularly When Your Car Is Cold
Cars are less efficient when they are cold and take a couple of miles to warm up. That’s why their exhaust tends to smell strong when you first turn the key in the ignition, not after an hour-long journey.
To reduce wasted fuel and protect your engine, drive gently. Avoid mashing the accelerator pedal.
7. Avoid Idling
You should also avoid idling your vehicle before you set off. Car makers make today’s models start up and drive immediately, so there’s no need to wait. If you’re parked up, turn your engine off.
Also, remember to switch off heated seats and mirrors as these require a lot of energy to run.
Title photo: by Jenny Ueberberg on Unsplash