Running a car isn’t cheap. Even if you buy an economical car, the cost of fuel, tax, insurance, MOTs, etc. can soon run into the thousands.
In fact, one survey revealed that it costs on average £3406.80 a year to run a car in Britain. Or if your car is on finance, you could be forking out £5744.40 a year. [1] But little changes can equal big savings.
So we have put together 5 Tips for Cheaper Motoring, see if you can put any of these in place to save some cash.
Did you know?
Over a third of cars fail their MOT first time! But there are easy checks, outlined below, you can do to avoid the most common failures.
How can I save?
-
Avoid an obvious MOT fail by checking for the three most common faults below:
- Are all your bulbs working? These are easy to change, and a lot of shops where you buy motor bulbs will do this for you if you ask.
- Check your tyres, are they inflated to the correct pressure? And are the treads legal? You can find some useful guidance on the standards they need to meet here.
- Are your lights clean? Buff them before you send your vehicle to the garage, as this can be a fail.
- Are your windscreen wipers working properly? Again, they can be easily replaced at a motor shops.
-
Don’t assume third party insurance is cheapest.
Traditionally, third party insurance (or third party, fire, and theft) always used to be the cheapest way to insure your car. But bizarrely, this isn’t always the case: in a lot of circumstances someone who insures their car fully comp is considered a better risk. Our tip – next time you are insuring take a look at both options and decide which is best for your needs.
-
Earn cashback on petrol and diesel.
Fuel in your car is one of the biggest household monthly expenses after a mortgage and food shopping. So it makes sense to pay for this on a debit or credit card that gives you cashback. There are a lot of well known websites which highlight the best deals. Our tip – remember always pay the balance back in full or the interest will offset any cashback you might earn!
-
Don’t risk losing your car, tax it!
Since the tax disc was abolished, the number of cars that are untaxed has tripled to over 750,000 [2]. Whether this is people forgetting as they don’t have the permanent reminder in the windscreen, or just not paying, it’s a £1,000 fine. Our tip – make sure you use the DVLA website and not a third party, which looks the similar but can charge up to £100 to do the same thing.
-
Putting premium fuel in a standard car? Forget it!
You’ve seen it at the pump, high performance or cleaner fuel, which is slightly more expensive. Unless you have a high performance or a sports car where this type of fuel is recommended, forget it. Even the AA says that pricey fuel is not needed for your standard family saloon. Our tip – ditch it. If you do feel you need it, just fill up with performance fuel every 4th or 5th tank to maintain the savings.
If you are trying to save money, why not get a quote from us here at Vavista and see if you can save?
References:
[1] What Is The Cost Of Owning A Car In The UK? (nerdwallet.com) [2] Tax disc: Car tax evasion triples after paper version scrapped – BBC News
