Running and maintaining your own car can be an expensive part of life. Everything from fuel to yearly NCT work can run up a massive bill. There are however plenty of ways in which you can be smart and start to save money. Here are some of our favourite ways to get you started:
Rent Your Space When You’re Not In It: All parking spaces cost something, maybe you paid for it when you bought your house or you pay a monthly rental fee to your property management company. Most cars spend over 50 hours a week sitting in traffic or outside a place of work. Renting out your parking space with Parkpnp during this time would go a long way toward offsetting the cost of running your car.
Carpool or carshare: Find a way to share your commute each day with a co-worker as this will reduce the cost of fuel each day. There are also several carsharing services that will allow you to rent your car out by the hour whenever you’re not using it, cool companies include Fleet. This is one of the only ways in which your car can earn money for you.
Driving Style: The way in which you treat your car will have a massive bearing on how much it costs you to run. Being conscious of over-revving and heavy braking while on lesser roads will help to reduce general wear and tear and the amount of mechanical work the vehicle will require over the years.
Loyalty Fuel programmes: If you’re a daily commuter, then you will no doubt be using a lot of fuel. Most garages in Ireland now offer loyalty cards or points on purchases. The benefits of these can range from free coffees to cash back on each litre you buy. These may not seem like massive incentives but the savings that you do get will all add up.
Insurance: Getting your head around the insurance market can be a bit of nightmare but there are big savings to be had if you shop around. Blue Insurance has some great deals at the moment and is worth a call especially if you’re looking to bundle with home insurance or looking for two-year cover.
Consider the switch: There are many cars now on the market with greater fuel efficiency than others. Consider making the switch to a hybrid car and it can end up costing up to 40% less to run per year. Equally by purchasing a car that holds its value well, once you do need to switch, you won’t lose out on too much of your investment.
Alan O'Donovan
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