The Forgotten Costs of Owning a Car
Whether they’re driving a jalopy at the age of 16 or proudly purchasing their first family automobile, car owners share one thing in common: the often high costs required to own them.
Fortunately, with the help of some strategic thinking and some modern-day tech hacks, consumers can shave costs while still keeping their cars in top shape and teched out. Read on for five common yet overlooked expenses for car owners and helpful ways to mitigate them.
1. Upkeep and Repairs
To save money on any necessary repairs or basic maintenance procedures, prevention is key. First, it’s vital to respect the scheduled maintenance period for your specific automobile to help ensure that the car doesn’t give you more (expensive!) trouble in the long run. Each make and model has its own unique needs, so refer to the recommended schedule in your owner’s manual.
Choose a qualified shop to do the work. Often people make the mistake of taking their cars to a place that would do the work for the cheapest price. This is a gamble, as even routine maintenance can be messed up by junior, unsupervised employees resulting in a costly problem that requires hundreds or thousands of dollars to fix.
Between visits to the shop, exercise regular at-home maintenance — such as washes, waxes and oil changes — to keep your car running well. Check out this helpful general service schedule guide for tips on when to check various levels and conditions in your car at home.
Drivers can also join AAA or similar car association, which offer driving-related discounts. When it’s time to get work done, these organizations offer exclusive service centers with discounts available to members.
2. Parking
Public parking costs, especially in metropolitan areas, can add up quickly. Fortunately, parking apps, such as SpotHero and ParkWhiz, are available to today’s drivers. Download one and use it to help find the best parking deals in a given area. Soon, drivers will even be able to use Google Maps to help manage parking.
Another more traditional option to cut down on parking costs is to carpool. Find a neighbor or coworker who has a similar route each day to see if you can set up a system for traveling together to and from work each day. An added perk of this method is the legal and convenient use of the carpool lane.
3. Gas
Similar to fighting the costs of high-parking, apps are available to help you determine which gas station in your area has the best prices at any given moment. Check out options like GasBuddy or Gas Guru.
Car care comes into importance here as well. Regular tire care — such as rotations when needed and proper air pressure at all times — will help your car consume less gas.
Lastly, use cruise control when possible and avoid speeding to help cut down on fuel consumption.
4. Insurance
A car ownership inevitability is auto insurance, and while this can be one of the biggest associated costs, there are some ways to save money if you apply a little effort.
Research discount options that might be available to you. Many companies offer some sort of low mileage discount for those who aren’t actually driving their car too often, and defensive driver discounts which can be offered to those who take a quick driver safety education course.
It’s also important to maintain a clean driving record unless you want to see your rates spike.
5. Driver Technology
In this day and age, built-in technology such as navigation, safety, parking aids and connected technologies like hotspots and roadside assistance are becoming increasingly desirable but out of reach for many people as they are expensive options to a new car. A good way to add this technology into your car, even if it’s older, is to look at aftermarket options. But be aware that often you need to buy several gadgets in order to get all the features you desire.
Until there is a product that combines multiple tech needs into one device, car owners should be savvy when it comes to shopping for aftermarket products. Take advantage of known technology discount periods like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and note that April has been found to be the best month to buy car accessories.
