by Lori Straus
Why spend money on your car when you can save it? Follow these tips below to save money on your vehicle right now.
- In the winter, we usually turn our car on early to warm it up. However, only the first minute or two make a difference in the interior temperature of your vehicle. Run your car longer than that and you’re wasting money.
- Learn a little DIY maintenance and save yourself the cost of taking your vehicle to the garage for these simple tasks.
- Download an app to track gas prices. Then fill your tank when the prices are low.
- If possible, avoid filling the tank on Fridays, especially before long weekends. Gas prices tend to increase.
- Remove as much dirt, water, and snow from your footwear as possible when you climb into the car. This will help prevent dirt and water from penetrating the carpets and reaching into the undercarriage, where it can cause a good deal of damage and therefore pricey repairs.
- Check your oil regularly. Dirty oil can lead to a dirty engine, which then draws on more gas to run. Clean oil contributes to an efficient engine, and an efficient engine requires less gas.
- Change your driving habits: keep your speed down, accelerate and decelerate slowly, and avoid excessive idling. Being kind to your car can help you with saving on gas and avoiding costly repairs.
- Keep your car clean. Dirt, grime, water, and salt can all create havoc on your vehicle if they’re not removed on a regular basis. The better you maintain your car overall, including keeping it clean, the greater the chance it will last you a long time and require fewer repairs.
- Remove your roof rack when you don’t need it. A roof rack increases your car’s drag coefficient, which means your car has to work harder to drive, drawing on more fuel and therefore your wallet.
Money-Saving Tip #10
Once you’ve adapted the above money-saving tips for drivers, apply those extra dollars to your car loan. Depending on the conditions of your loan and how much you’ve already paid off, you could save a sizable amount of interest or cut your loan down by a few months.
Saving money on your vehicle doesn’t have to involve a lot of work, just some effort to pay attention to a few details and carry out some basic maintenance on your own. As the savings grow, you’ll find more ways to save.