Slash Your #Auto Costs

Running a car is just about the most expensive thing that most people do - other than pay the rent, of course. And so with that said, there are a thousand and one reasons to want to save on your auto costs. Saving money when it comes to cars, however, is difficult. The solutions aren’t always obvious. Here we’re going to look at some of the ways that you can save money on motoring and be a little better off come the end of the month.

Conduct A Preemptive Service

Sometimes it’s a good idea to look at the ways that industry tries to save money and then apply the same principles to your car. One of the things that industry does is something called “preemptive maintenance.” They do this because they know if they leave a machine to ear out naturally, the cost of repairing it will be much higher than if they just swap out the defective part before it breaks. The same applies to cars. Replacing a part which is about to wear out is often a lot more cost effective than just leaving it until it breaks.

Take air conditioning units for instance. Air conditioning units need to be “degassed” to keep them working in the long term. If they’re not, then they can fail, and it can cost thousands of dollars to replace them.

Scout The Market For The Lowest Interest Rate

If you’re in the business of saving money, then you’ll know that the best place to look for a car is on the second-hand market. However, the used car loan interest rate you choose can have a significant impact on the ultimate price that you pay. Auto loan prices vary dramatically from one lender to another, and so it’s worth having a look to see who offers the best deals. Often you can save hundreds of dollars just by switching to a lower interest rate. #

Remove The Roof Rack

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Keeping the roof rack on every time you travel might be convenient, but it costs you in the long run. The reason for this is that roof racks aren’t usually very aerodynamic. As a result, they create drag which forces you to burn more petrol getting from one destination to another. Take the roof rack off the car except for journeys where you need it.

Stick To A Cruising Speed

The amount of air resistance your car experiences as it travels is proportional to the square of the speed. Doubling your speed quadruples the resistance, meaning that you have to burn four times as much gas to achieve the same velocity.Some experts in the industry, like Bo Saulsbury, have calculated that for every 5 mph you travel above 50 mph, you end up spending an extra 20 cents on a gallon of gas. He recommends, therefore, that anybody who wants to save money on their car bills stick to 50 mph.

Stop Idling

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Finally, try to stop idling your car. According to researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory, idling the car using a quarter of a gallon of fuel per hour.