There are a lot of money saving tips online when it comes to motoring, but quite a lot of them are nonsense. For example, I read that drivers should seek cheap fuel – not only will you use more fuel trying to find a mythical petrol station, but the chances are that the fuel you buy will do more harm than good to your vehicle. So here are more credible money-saving tips that I found.
Do Not Buy Cheap Tyres
They are cheap for a reason. Assuming that your car is in fine fettle, these will not last as long and are proven to have a less than desirable effect on handling, they will increase
your car’s stopping distance and can even increase fuel consumption. A quality tyre, sporting the EU grade rating of A – A, being the tyre that decreases energy loss through the tyre – G being the worst. Research has proven that a quality eco tyre can increase fuel economy by 2.5 MPG (Miles Per Gallon).
Check Tyre Pressures Regularly
Under inflated tyres can drastically increase the fuel consumption of your vehicle, in a similar way to that of a poor quality tyre. While you will spot a badly under inflated tyre visually, one that is a couple of PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch) lower than recommended can still cost you more in fuel over the course of a year. Most friendly garages should check your tyre pressures free of charge.
Do Not Bump Up And Down Kerbs
Lots of people do it, but it is a bad habit. Not only can it cause damage to the metal wires inside the tyre carcass, or even the wheel itself, it is also not very kind to your suspension components, accelerating wear and potentially costing more in the long run.
De-frost Your Screen Manually In The Winter
We have all done it – flick the windscreen wipers on to clear the screen of frost – do not do it. Wiper blades are becoming a relatively expensive item, sometimes costing upwards of £20.00 to replace, and will wear out very quickly on ice, if not tear off completely. Thus potentially leading to damage to the windscreen. Stick a scraper in the car and spend an extra couple of minutes on those icy mornings.
Check Your Car Before Taking It For MOT
Sounds silly, but the number of cars that fail their MOT due to not having any screen wash, or having a bulb out. It takes two minutes to top up the screen wash. While some garages might sort these minor things for free pre-test, not all garages are that nice.
By Ben Morley
