Owning an imported or performance car can be a very enjoyable pastime, but with the continuing rise in the cost of car ownership, many of us are starting to feel the pinch when it comes to our yearly running costs.
Car insurance premiums are rising by an average of 44p a day and fuel has hit the £6 a gallon mark, with only a 1p per litre reduction announced in the 2011 budget, which hardly scrapes the surface.
So what can you do to bring the running costs of your car down?
- Shop around: It might seem obvious but, shopping around for your car insurance renewal can literally save you hundreds off your annual premium.
Many car owners fall into the trap of letting their policy auto-renew with their current provider, costing UK drivers billions in unnecessary overpayments every year.
Aim to use a couple of comparison websites to do the legwork for you and also visit direct only insurers to make sure you get a good spread of quotes.
- Look for cheaper fuel: You’d be surprised how much the price for a litre of fuel can vary within your local area (by as much as 6-8p in some cases) and it soon adds up if you wrack up the mileage.
Use a website such as petrolprices.com to help you stay up to date with the cheapest filling station in your area.
- Service your car regularly: It’s likely that you look after your pride and joy well, but how often do you service it?
It might sound counter productive when you’re trying to save money on running your car but, carrying out regular oil changes, oil and air filter renewal, etc, will ensure your car runs at its peak efficiency.
- Lift Share: If you live near a work colleague then why not share a lift and cut your fuel bill in half, or, better still; if you live close to your place of work, why not bike in and get fit in the process.
- Keep your tyres inflated: make sure you check your tyre pressure regularly to ensure you don’t decrease your fuel economy by running with under-inflated tyres (you’ll also increase the wear on them as having under-inflated tyres increases contact with the road surface).
- Improve security: It’s worth taking a look at your current security measures and trying to improve them where possible.
If your car doesn’t have an alarm or immobiliser then look at adding these and let your insurer know when you come to renew. Try to aim for a Thatcham approved alarm system as this should secure a decent discount off your annual premium.
If you have a garage then make sure you use it for your car as this can further help to drive down your insurance premium (the same applies if you have a driveway and don’t use it either).
- Lower your mileage: It’s important to make sure you report your annual mileage accurately to an insurer, as over-estimating by 2-3,000 miles can add money on to your premium for the extra risk you’d be incurring.
It would be equally as easy to report an artificially low mileage, but this is a false economy as, should your insurer find out, they will more often than not void your policy.
What's brought people to this page?
- Civic EK Meeting
