9 Ways to Avoid Car Cash-Drain
Filed under: Manage Your Money — Gloria and Alpha @ 8:54 pm
Years ago, there used to be a saying, “Boys and their cars…”, but today, many women are also very car conscious.
By that I mean, they are very fond of their car and really take care of it. I say, many and not most deliberately, because all the women in my family, although we love our cars, we aren’t fanatical about them. However, it is just as important to watch the expenses you incur in looking after your car as are the expenses when grocery shopping or any other part of your financial outlays.
So here are 9 simple, effective steps to owning a car
1. The initial outlay when purchasing a car needs to be thoroughly investigated and kept within your financial circumstances
I’ve seen children of friends buy a car because, “I’ve always wanted this car”, when it was really not prudent to buy that car given their financial circumstances.
2. Pay cash. A car depreciates in value before you’ve even driven it out of the car yard. Buy within your means. You can always upgrade when you have saved for that purpose, not when you have the money, when you have saved for that purpose. There is a difference, isn’t there?
3. Watch what extras you buy. It’s not necessary to have a spoiler, hood scoop, bras, fender flares, pocket fenders, personalised license plate, fender trims and so on. Especially on the day you buy your car, be strong against sales pitches.
4. No need to buy premium petrol. There are good ‘green’ petrols available today with increasingly larger amounts of ethanol content which do the job well
5. Use engine cleaning products when you have an oil change. Not only do these products, such as Neways’ “Roil” clean out your engine, plugs, joins, etc, but you also end up using much less fuel per kilometer.
6. Check out alternative excellent car service providers and mechanics rather than the brand dealer’s facilities, you’ll find that the costs of car maintenance are substantially decreased.
7. Wash your own car. It may be easier to have someone else wash your car, but if you are trying to get yourself financially out of the mud, think of all the $20 plus you are saving when you wash and detail your car yourself
8. Make sure your log book is up-to-date so that you avoid potentially major repairs in the future
9. When a tyre needs replacing, rotate the others. There is no need to buy more than the one tyre that needs replacing at that point
Okay, just 9 simple, effective ways to keep on top of money spent looking after one of your major investments, your car, even if it is an investment that will always run at a loss, unless you own a vintage car, a collector’s item.
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