There are ways to save money on motoring that are less well-known than
the usual ones of combining auto and home insurance and having the vehicle
tuned regularly.
You shouldn't choose a fancier auto if
your retirement or debt management will suffer as a result. Experts generally
recommend that no more than 20 percent of after-tax income be spent on all a
household's vehicles, which includes not only payments for the auto, but gas,
insurance, and maintenance. You shouldn't automatically succumb to dealers'
offers of “free” gas for a year or a free cruise if you make a purchase. If
such lures are presented to you, you should evaluate exactly what benefit they
would gain you.
You can reduce the cost of car
insurance by improving your credit rating. Statistics have shown a correlation
between poor credit and speeding tickets and crashes. Another tip for insurance
is to raise the deductible, which will result in a lower monthly payment.
Every year sees lists of the most
commonly-stolen autos, and before making a purchase, it's wise to ensure that
the model you're considering doesn't feature. A study by the University of
Auckland, New Zealand, found that brown cars carried the highest risk of auto
accidents causing serious injury. Green and black cars also had higher risks.
It has been suggested that this is because lighter cars are more visible. The
chance of such an accident involving silver autos was 50 percent less.
Still on the subject of car color,
studies have demonstrated that some models and colors are more likely to be
stopped for speeding and consuming your valuable time, for instance red sports
cars. Car reviews and other
informal sources will perhaps inform you of these. In the United Kingdom, it's
said that the police play “speeding snooker” - stopping a red, then another color,
then another red, and so forth.
You'll save money if you drive your
auto for longer, which surveys have shown that more people are doing. The
vehicles of today are built to last longer, and you should test this. Some
manufacturers offer 10-year warranties.
Accessories should be purchased after
the auto itself: such things as roof racks, better wheels, alarms, and sound
systems. Dealers frequently tack considerable mark-ups to accessories, so
savings of as much as 50 percent are possible, as was the case with a portable
NA VI navigation system for a 2009 Honda CR-V LX.
Where possible, you should conduct auto
maintenance yourself. Rebuilding the engine or changing the transmission
requires much knowledge and experience, but checking tire pressure and fluid
levels, replacing lights, jump-starting a auto, and changing a tire, brake
pads, or oil doesn't. It would cost from $40 to $75 for one hour of a
mechanic's time. The savings from changing the oil yourself can be as much as
90 percent.
Hyper-milling is the adoption of
driving techniques that maximize fuel economy. The originator of the term, auto
expert, Wayne Gerdes of Clean MPG.com, said it can improve fuel efficiency by
between 15 and 20 percent, and people can be found who say the improvement is
as much as 60 percent. Some tricks are to wear lighter shoes to allow for
increased sensitivity when using pedals, following the slipstream of the auto
in front of you, parking strategically to reduce maneuvering and leaving a
parking space by freewheeling downhill. There is a community of hyper milers,
where people will be all-too-eager to share information.
No comments:
Post a Comment