Owning A Car: How To Make It Less Expensive

The True Cost Of Owning A Car!

Owning a car is extremely expensive for most people because it drains your finances like nothing else for repairs, parking fees and insurance.

Disclaimer: I am an Amazon Associate; therefore, this post may contain affiliate links for me to earn a commission. RuralMoney.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

Repairs, parking fees, insurance, taxes and fuel – it all soon adds up. And that doesn’t even cover the costs of actually buying a vehicle in the first place. 

In this post, we take a look at some of the ways to reduce the cost of car ownership.

Check them out below: 

Don’t Use Branded Original Spares

Many drivers believe that if they want to give their cars the best service possible, they have to use branded original parts.

After all, they are made for the car. 

But that’s not actually how the market works.

Cars are actually made of a large number of generic components that many makes and models can use.

What’s more, these “OEM” products tend to be considerably cheaper because they are generic.

You can often cut your costs by 70 percent by going to third parties instead of sticking with official parts. 

Check Your Fuel Efficiency

The next step is to check your fuel efficiency.

Find out how much fuel your car is using and then monitor it to see if you can make changes to improve it. 

Many things affect fuel efficiency, including traffic conditions, driving style, and the rate at which the engine itself guzzles gas.

However, you’ll only discover what works for you after a period of experimentation.

You’ll need to find the right kind of fuel for the vehicle, and how to drive it to lower your costs.

You might even do errands at off-peak times so that you can avoid traffic throughout the day. 

Challenge Tickets

Government agencies are becoming more brazen in handing out tickets to drivers because they know that they will pay the majority of the time. Therefore, it is an easy way to generate revenue.

How much does a speeding ticket cost?

In most states, you can expect the upfront fine to set you back $150.

However, the real damage comes when you tell your insurance company.

They may ask you to spend an extra $1,000 a year to cover the cost of the increased risk of insuring you. 

Fortunately, though, you can challenge them.

There are no online services that will fight your case on your behalf and ensure that justice is done.

Traffic officers often make mistakes or hand out tickets unjustly. 

Understand Your Vehicle

Auto mechanics will often attempt to inflate the costs of their services so that their customers pay more money.

Therefore, it’s a good idea to know your vehicle. Understand which parts need changing, how much they cost, and the labor associated with them.

Then reward your mechanic by promoting them online in reviews so that they get more customers in the future. 

Choose An Aerodynamic Vehicle

Lastly, you might want to consider picking an aerodynamic vehicle.

When there is less air resistance, the car uses more fuel and you can go further on a single tank.

If you are shopping for vehicles, search for drag coefficient statistics. 

Image Source