Tips On How To Save Money For Car Owners.

By Mathenge Maina.

If there is something that people are rushing to buy nowadays, call it a car. According to a report that was published back in 2014 after a research had been carried out, there were already 1.2 billion cars on the road. This number though, is expected to grow from 1.2 billion to 2 billion by the time we are in the year 2035.

In 2016 alone, the number of cars sold were 88.1 million. This number as compare to the previous year in 2015, had gone up by 4.8%.

For most people a car is usually taken as a sign of high status. Owning a car requires money, a lot of money in fact. There are the random car repairs that spring out of nowhere especially when your car breaks down when you are heading out to work. There are the scheduled maintenance which are not cheap at all.

But what if I told you that you can save you a tone of cashon all these car expenses and still get to drive your car?

Does that sound too good to be true? Well, it is too good but at the same time, it is also very true.

Now the question you should ask me is this: What are the tips that can assist you in saving your cash while you still drive your favorite car?

I will answer this question right now.

The Best Tips To Save You Money On Cars’ Expenses.

1. Keep your car with you for as long as possible.

Majority of people will feel the need to change their car after every few years. The only reason that these people usually provide is that they need to upgrade to the latest model. But this is a very expensive thing considering that when you sell your car, the amount of cash you get is never enough to buy the next model that you want.

What this means is that you will have to add money on top of what you got after selling your former car in order to acquire the new car. The amount of money you have to add is in the range of 40,000 to 100,000 Kenya shillings (equivalent to $400 to $1000). This is a huge chunk of money that does not have to go to waste every year.

2. When buying a car, buy the smallest model that can comfortably fit your needs.

A smaller car has several benefits when it comes to savingyou cash. The first benefit is that a small car will have low fuel consumption as compared to a huge car like an SUV. The reason behind this is very obvious. Smaller cars as compared to huge cars are way lighter. How heavy a car is influences the amount of fuel it will consume.

Also, everyone who intends to own a car already knows that they need insurance. If you decide to buy a huge car, insurance companies will charge you more money as compared to someone who owns a small car.

Simply by considering to purchase a small car you will be saving about Ksh 40,000 ($400) to Ksh 60,000 ($600) each and every year.

3. Keep your car well maintained throughout.

Did you know that a poorly maintained vehicle uses an approximate of 25% to 33% more fuel than a well-maintained vehicle?

Also, fixing a small problem is way less expensive than waiting for the problem to become too huge and then cost you thousands. The amount of cash that each and every person who keeps their car well maintained throughout the year saves is approximated to be between 5,000 Ksh to 10,000ksh ($50 to $100) every year.

4. Never use premium fuel.

Most people go for premium fuel thinking that it offers some special advantages to their cars. The fact is, it doesn’t have any special advantages over the ordinary fuel.

If your manufacturer has not recommended for you to use only premium fuel with your car, then it is about time that you stopped throwing your money down the drain. The reason why I am calling it throwing your money down the drain is that you are using extra money but there are no advantages that you are getting.

When you stop using your extra cash on premium fuel, you will be saving an approximate of Ksh 20,000 to 40,000 ($200 to $400) each and every year. This is not a small amount of cash.

5. Keep your tires inflated to the proper pressure.

When you keep your vehicle tires within the pressure rage that is acceptable, it has been proven to improve your fuel mileage by 3.3%. This percentage might appear to be very small but at the end of the year it will save you Ksh 10,000 to 25,000 ($100 to $250)

An added advantage of keeping your vehicle tires at the correct pressure is the fact that the tires will last longer. This ensures that you go for a long time before you have to replace your tires.

6. Make sure you combine your errands when driving.

When you have to do two things in town, don’t drive to town twice. Do those two things at once while you are in town. This will not only save you money in terms of fuel, it will also save you time. 

But because this article is aimed at saving you money, we will stick with the fact that it saves you 

money.

The amount of money that it saves for you is in the range of Ksh 2500 and 7500 ($25 to $75).

How does that happen?

Let’s see, if you save only 8 miles in each and every single day that is 2920 miles you save in a year. These are miles you won’t have to use any gas.

7. Shop around for insurance.

Yes, sometimes this needs to be done. You may never know for sure whether your insurance company is ripping you off until you go and talk with other insurance companies. This can save you a large amount of money.

Per year, just by finding a better insurance company, you can save up to Ksh 5,000 to 20,000 ($50 to $200).

The writer is a blogger. For more of such stuff link up with his blog via http://mathengemaina.com.