Cutting the Cost of Car Ownership in 2020
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You need your car to get to work, ferry the kids around, do the shopping and um ferry the kids around some more so you could be forgiven for thinking that you’re stuck with the expense of the thing, but you’d be wrong. You may need to keep your car up and running, but there are a number of things you can do to cut the cost of car ownership right now…
Shop around
If you’re buying a new car, it makes sense to shop around and look for the best possible deals. For instance, you can almost certainly buy a new Ford on finance from ChooseMyCar cheaper than the local dealership or you can find cheaper cars for sale locally by visiting ever dealership, and checking out every private seller in the area. Sure, it takes a bit more time and effort, but the savings can be huge.
Reduce your insurance premiums
Yes, really! There are lots of things you can do to reduce your car insurance premiums from having a black box that tracks your movements fitted to taking advantage of affinity discount schemes or adding a named driver with an impeccable driving history. See what’s out there and make as many changes as you can. Oh, and be sure to check out insurance comparison sites annually to ensure that you always get the best deals, tool.
Improve your fuel efficiency
Fuel is likely to be one of your biggest expenses as a car owner. Most cars guzzle more petrol than Homer Simpson does beer, so it makes sense to do what you can to minimise fuel consumption. There are a number of things you can do to this end, including taking out extra and unnecessary weight from your car, ensuring that your tyres are optimally inflated, and taking it easy on the breaks. The more carefully you drive, the more money you’ll have left in your pocket at the end of the month.
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Collect points
Various shops and supermarkets offer loyalty cards which enable you to collect points on any purchases you make, enabling you to stretch your money further. Many of these loyalty schemes enable you to use those points towards your fuel costs, which means that you can cut the cost of car ownership simply by doing your normal week’s shopping.
Prevention is better than cure
When it comes to taking care of your car, it’s a far better idea to take care of small issues when they appear instead of leaving them and hoping for the best. The sooner you fix that tiny hole, the less likely it is to become a big problem or the faster you fix that balding tyre, the less likely it is to a blowout on your next motorway trip. Yes, repairs— even the simple ones — aren’t cheap but they’ll cost you a lot less early on, so be proactive.
There’s no getting around the fact that cars are costly, but if you put the ideas above into action, you should see your costs come down at least a little.