Have astronomical auto expenses? It’s unbelievable just how much money your car needs each month. You dread your monthly auto insurance payment and loathe going to the gas station to fill your tank.
Money is an especially valuable resource for college students, so the more you can save, the better. Luckily, there are dozens of simple ways to cut your car expenses that don’t require much time, effort, or money.
Keep Up With Maintenance
You don’t have to visit the auto shop very often. But when you do have to visit? That’s an insanely expensive bill. The best way to avoid repair-related expenses is to stop breakdowns and failures before they start by performing regular preventative maintenance on your vehicle.
The most essential maintenance tasks for your car include changing the fluids (motor oil, transmission fluid, coolant) and replacing the air and fuel filter at regular intervals. You should change motor oil every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, while you should change transmission fluid and coolant every 30,000 to 60,000 miles. Change the filters every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. Your car has two air filters—a primary and secondary—that you should replace at the same time.
Optimize Fuel Economy
Do most of your monthly auto expenses come from buying fuel? The worse your car’s fuel economy, the more often you’ll have to visit the gas station to fill your tank. And the more often you have to fill the tank, the more you spend.
Poor fuel economy can result from a lot of things. Maybe a crucial component is worn-down or broken. Maybe your car wasn’t equipped with the most fuel-efficient parts. If you suspect your car is broken, take it to an auto shop for inspection and repair. The repair bill won’t be cheap, but it’ll be a lot cheaper than spending hundreds on fuel each month. If your car is just run-down, consider beefing it up with some performance and fuel-economy mods, such as a turbocharger or module.
Drive Carefully
The next simple way to cut your car expenses is to drive carefully. Being a cautious driver has two benefits. To start, non-aggressive drivers waste less gas than aggressive drivers. That’s because rapid acceleration and constant high-speed driving puts a huge amount of strain on your vehicle and forces it to use more fuel.
Careful drivers are also less likely to get into an accident. Accidents are expensive. You face medical fees, repair fees, and legal fees. Getting into an accident can also raise your insurance premiums. Avoiding accidents, on the other hand, can lower them.
