How To Keep Car Costs Down In 2017

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There’s a New Year just around the corner and for motorists, it’s another year of costs and wondering how to shave a bit of money off the bill. If you’ve been watching the Grand Tour, of course, you’ll no doubt have the driving bug and want to keep hitting the roads over the next 12 months.

So how do you keep costs to a minimum? There are a number of nifty ways to lower the cost of driving whilst ensuring you have the maximum amount of fun behind the wheel. This is a compendium from the research I undertook for this piece, but if you have any ideas feel free to add them in the comments section. This moneysavingexpert.com guide is a good place to turn to for advice after reading this article.

Consider the depreciation of your car

In short, your car depreciates in value the older it gets. Is it time to sell it whilst the going is good? To minimise depreciation you can keep your vehicle in good working order (i.e. update problems, don’t just least them), keep your mileage as low as possible, and have your car serviced regularly.

Order new tyres online

Order your tyres online with a mobile tyre fitting service. This is a fantastic value for money way to save money. Most modern services will fit your tyres for free so there’s no waiting around in a garage so you’ll save time as well as cash. It’s a win-win situation as the fitters drive directly to you.

Keep your tyre pressures right

Buy a tyre pressure gauge and make sure you tyres aren’t over or under inflated. Stick to the manufacturer’s guidelines and you’ll save an enormous amount of petrol each year as your tyres will be performing at their absolute best.

Switch to diesel or LPG

Petrol tends to be the most expensive fuel, so a switch to diesel or even LPG will eventually pay off.

Liftshare

If someone at work can easily take you to and from the place, why not lift share? The liftshare service is a brilliant way to pass on occasional journeys, get more cars off the road, and ensure your journey is at least full of conversation.

Drive slower

Some drivers won’t want to hear it, but the slower you drive the more money you’ll save on fuel costs throughout any given year. Efficient driving is where it’s at in order to save money, so instead of flooring it and averaging 40mph to get to the local supermarket, consider dropping to 30mph to stick to the legal limit and to save some money.

Purchase breakdown cover

Ultimately this can save you money in the long run. With breakdown cover, you’re literally covered for all eventualities, from a crash to a puncture your company will take care of everything for you. You can use a service such as moneysupermarket.com to compare the market and find the real deal for your circumstances.

Keep an eye on petrol prices

Petrol is the ongoing major cost for most drivers. At some point, you simply have to stop to top up, otherwise you’ll coast to a miserable halt. Services such as PetrolPrices help to find the best prices around, however, which is a brilliant way to save on money in the long run of 2017.

Play video games!

Heck, miss the thrill of driving? Take to your video game console, or PC, of choice and hit Forza, Mario Kart 8, F1 2016, Gran Turismo, or any other title in your collection. You can get your adrenaline kicks from these whilst saving on petrol! Here’s a list of 7 racing games to add to your list.

Finally…

Need any more ideas? These 23 ways to slash your car expenses will help you along towards a brilliant 2017. Stay safe and save a lot of money!