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Most of us want a car of our own as it’s not easy or that comfortable to get around on public transport.
However, the cost of vehicle ownership and running a vehicle is expensive in the UK.
Most of us have to do all we can to hold down those costs, to purchase a nicer vehicle, and afford to use it more often.
Here are 5 tips for managing the costs of vehicle ownership better:
1. Lower your insurance costs
With insurance premiums, they’re funny things. People often believe that the main choice is between fully comprehensive or third party, fire and theft coverage. However, there’s more to consider than just this.
If your vehicle has a modern alarm system or an immobiliser to stop it being driven away, this provides greater security that often reduces the premium. With no claims over a few years, costs tend to reduce for safer driving too.
There’s also the value of your vehicle. Vehicles drop in value post-purchase by up to 30%+ instantly and lose value steadily from thereon. The existing market value of your vehicle is often lower than you think. Because of this, you could be insuring your car for too much.
Lastly, yes, if the vehicle is worth under £1,500, then you probably would save money on third party, fire and theft insurance because the vehicle isn’t worth enough to warrant the fully comprehensive insurance.
2. Drive smarter to increase fuel economy
Being a boy or girl racer has a higher price on fuel economy. If you’re trying to save money on fuel economy, then driving differently can really add to your savings.
Here are some suggestions about improving fuel economy:
- Speeding around burns through more fuel than driving at the speed limit and taking turns carefully. Driving smoothly without too much speeding up and quick braking manoeuvres also increases fuel efficiency. Your tyres will thank you too.
- If you have a roof rack that you only use for trips, remove it. The extra weight is hurting your cost per mile.
- Using air conditioning demands more energy and consumes more petrol to deliver the extra energy required. If the air is clean enough outside, wind down a window instead.
- Don’t skip a service. The engine tuning gets more out of the fuel than when it’s not tuned up.
3. Cut petrol costs locally
The cost of petrol isn’t something we think too much about when the tank is running low and we head to the nearest petrol station.
However, whether driving around Macclesfield or taking a longer journey around Cheshire or beyond, saving a few pounds off the cost of filling up a tank really adds up by the end of the year.
One of the better ways to find a local station to fill up is by using the Petrol Prices website which confirms prices at local petrol stations.
This way, you can plan your fill ups based on the best pricing; you don’t have to leave it until you’re driving on fumes and are forced to pick the nearest one you can find.
4. Buy second-hand and skip the rapid depreciation
If you care more about having a reliable vehicle than selecting all the features and add-ons for a new car, it’s cheaper to pick one up that’s a year or two old.
Buying second-hand cars without many miles on them removes about half the depreciation of its value that happens soon after the purchase. Buying a car that’s only a year or two old is like buying new but at half the price!
Also, if you find that you don’t like the car and have changed your mind, you won’t take much of a hit reselling it and buying a different make and model either.
This is an option that’ll be super expensive when buying new and having buyer’s remorse later.
5. Scrap disused vehicles and get paid
Buying a car and using it until the end of its useful life is a frugal thing to do.
When it’s no longer drivable, you can scrap your car without paying a penalty for having a disused vehicle lying around.
You can scrap your car in places like Macclesfield and get a reasonable amount for its scrap value.
Finding out the scrap value is as simple as entering the number plate on a website like the Macclesfield-based one linked above. This site confirms what sort of amount would be offered.
A recovery service to pick up a scrap vehicle is also provided, so it’s easy to arrange when the car is no longer roadworthy. You can then put the money towards the price of your next vehicle.
Think about the price of a car and its running costs as the total cost of ownership. That includes vehicle acquisition, future resale or scrap value, along with operating costs during your ownership period.
All these costs matter.
