Your car is probably the second most expensive purchase that most of us will ever make. It’s an expensive investment no doubt, and the costs won’t stop with you driving off your dealer’s lot – in fact, owning and operating a car is the second biggest household expense. Thus, when it comes to smart personal finance management, you have to be calculative with your car operation and maintenance. The post below offers some expert tips on how to save money on cars.
Sensible driving
This is one of the most important things to remember if you are looking to save money on your car. Hard braking, rapid acceleration, and speeding takes a toll on your fuel consumption. Aggressive driving lowers the gas mileage, by up to 5 percent around town, even more so on the highway. Aggressive driving also increase wear on your tires, causing them to need replacement more often.
No idling
If you are parked and waiting or if you are stuck in traffic a lot, you should consider turning your engine off. It’s necessary to stress here that idling wastes a quarter to a half-gallon of fuel an hour, meanwhile, only a few seconds worth of fuel is required to restart the vehicle. So, next time you are waiting in the parking lot, remember this.
Cruise Control
Gas mileage usually lowers as the speed crosses 50 mph. Hence, you have to be serious about cruise control. Think this way – every 5 mph one driving in excess of 50 mph, he ends up paying extra 20 cents/gallon.
Try to avoid AC as much as possible
AC is a must have in every car today, but do you really need the luxury all the time? Not at all, especially when you are driving at late hours, say after 8:00 p.m., the weather usually stays cool and you can always open up the windows for outside air. You might not know, but the AC facility lowers the fuel economy of a car by 25% and more. So, when you are looking for handy savings, save the AC for the hot summer days.
Inflated tires
This is another important point when it comes to enjoy savings on car maintenance. The experts always advise one to maintain inflated tires as proper pressure in tires improves the gas mileage of a vehicle by 3.3 percent. You must check the pressure of the tires every month. Moreover, properly inflated tires also reduce the risk of sudden blowouts that are both dangerous and costly.
Smarter shopping
You would need to change the car tires from time to time when you own a car and there are ways to save money here as well. Rather than directly talking to tire dealers, you can opt for the tire comparison websites online. These price comparison portals will scan local tire businesses for tire prices, making it easy to find cheap tires.
No over oiling
Mechanics might advise changing the oil after every 3,000 miles, yet you don’t need that with newer cars. This is because the latest cars take to synthetic oils which can run up to 10,000 miles without a change. This helps to reduce your maintenance costs in labor and in lubricants.
