How to Save Money on Your Car

It is essential for you to know how to manage your budget and not be a hostage to excessive costs, when it comes to saving money while working towards the maintenance of your car.

Probably second only to your home mortgage or rent payment, it isn’t just the car purchase that you have to pay, either. There are multiple periodic expenses such as gas, car maintenance, and car insurance.

However, just because it is a large expense, doesn’t mean you can’t exercise some control over just how big your car expenses get.

Two primary points to control your car expenses:

The first is when you purchase a car. Your decisions at this point will determine the size of your actual car payment, if you choose to finance.

The second is how to save money on maintaining your car over time.

Buying a new car is the prime time to save some money. The decisions you make during the process will have huge impacts on your finances for some time, whether you choose to finance monthly or purchase outright.

Most cars have several models. Some have more sophisticated features or offer better fuel mileage. When you choose your new car, pick the one that is smaller in size.

This means that the car weighs less than other models. It will be better on gas than other models. Don't forget about car insurance too.

You don’t need a brand-new car every couple of years. When the newness wears off, stick it out for a couple more years. Cars typically depreciate very quickly and yet the cost of buying a new car goes up every single year.

So, if you are trading in your vehicle every couple of years, you can be losing a lot of money every time you do.

There are several new car features having direct impact on potential fuel mileage. For example, an automatic transmission vehicle gets just about 5 miles per gallon less than one having a manual transmission.

A car with a six-cylinder engine is like to get a few miles less per gallon, about 4 or 5 less, than an engine that runs on four-cylinders.

There are some car features that you should consider when using your car on a daily basis. For example, on hot days, you want to use the air conditioner instead of rolling the windows down.

But, you will use several miles per gallon with the air conditioner. If you want to save money, bear with open windows instead.

The dealership may be keen on trying to sell you extra things on top of your car purchase. Most of the products being peddled are either entirely unnecessary or significantly overpriced, despite how they sound when they’re presented to you.

The products are typically more expensive than they would be if bought through employer or an individual policy.

Also, when you buy these through dealership, they are lumped into your car loan, if you are financing, which means you pay interest on them every month.

These sound attractive when you buy a new car and want to ensure your new investment is protected. However, a lot of the warranties offer less coverage and can be more expensive than bought elsewhere.

Once you buy a car, you may have wiped out your savings if you purchased outright, or would have added a new expense to your budget. You now have to pay for fuel and maintenance. Here are some ways to lessen the blow of high car maintenance bills.

Change the oil on time. This could save you significant money in the long run. While most cars need the oil change every 3,000 miles, some now go for up to 5,000 or even more before the oil change.

Whatever the time frame, follow your car’s schedule. It is vital to extend the life of car engine.

Get regular tune-ups. When your car needs a tune-up, it saves so much money in the long run to just pay for the tune-up. If you don’t, you just end up spending a lot more in fuel costs.

A car that isn’t properly tuned can use anywhere from 25% to 33% more gas every year.

This might seem counter-intuitive, but it isn’t. You need to make sure you are using the gas that is highlighted in your owner’s manual.

Most of the time, premium gas doesn’t do a thing for your car, unless needed. So, you could just be spending more at the pump and receiving no benefit.