Easy ways to lower the cost of taking care of your car

Most of us rely very heavily on our cars. Without them, our lives would be far more difficult. Getting to work, picking up groceries and making sure the kids can get to their activities takes a lot longer when you can only use public transportation.

The only problem is that running a car costs a lot of money. But, you need to take good care of it, if you want your car to always be there for you. Fortunately, there are lots of ways you can keep the cost of maintaining your car down. Here are a few of them.

Look for discounts

Getting things at a discount is a good starting point. Modern car wash payment systems enable local car washing facilities to pull in clients at quiet times. This reduces the chances of them having staff standing around doing nothing. As a result, if you come in at those times, you will often get a significant discount. 

So, if there is a car wash in your area that offers you the chance to download their app, give it a go. The really savvy business owners use them to the full. Often, they will send out messages to customers offering them discounts if they come in at certain times of the day. If you just save $1.50 on each wash that is an extra $78 in your pocket.

Don’t be afraid to haggle

Whether you are having your car serviced or buying parts for it, ask for a discount. You will be surprised by how often you will get at least 5%, often more, off of the bill.

Use the sales and coupons

Whenever you can shop in the sales and always try to find a coupon or discount code. If you can’t and it is safe to do so, leave it for a few days, look again and buy what you need then.

Carry out some of the maintenance yourself

If you have the time, consider doing some of the maintenance yourself. You should be checking your tires, oil, lights, and other items every few weeks anyway. 

It does not take much effort, or time, to take the extra step of fixing any issues that you find. Most people can manage to top up the oil, change a bulb or a windscreen wiper.  If you are not sure how to do these things, take a look at this list of the best DIY car maintenance YouTube channels. 

Fix things as you go

Cleaning your car and fixing the little things that go wrong as you go can also helps to keep the cost down. Generally speaking, the longer you leave things the more time and money you will have to spend putting things right. A tire that is left without enough air in it for a couple of months, will wear far faster than one that is kept at the right pressure. It will also put unnecessary strain on other parts of your car, such as the suspension.

You will also be safer if you fix issues as you find them. For example, driving around with tires that are not properly pumped up is very dangerous.