8 ways you can be frugal with your Car Costs

In current times, with the rising costs of bills, the cost of running a car can quite often be very expensive.

I myself run two cars (one for local use and another for longer distance commuting, which I need to do for work). It’s not very frugal, but in the meantime works out relatively well.

There are some ways you can be frugal with your car and ownership.

Here are 8 ways you can be frugal with your car costs.

1. Share your car - It maybe harder than it is but if you have a partner see if you can get by with just one car and share the costs of petrol, repairs and insurance together. It can really save you money, especially if your partner has a similar schedule.
2. Don't buy a big car - you really don't need an MPV if you have one or two children and can get by with a smaller car. Buy what you need for the environment you live in. If you live in the city, get a smaller car. It is more economical with petrol and in most cases cheaper with insurance as well.
3. Use the bus & trains - Use the bus and trains to get to work if possible. It could be much more cost-effective to use the bus and not to mention greener too.
4. Look into car shares and carpools for work - My work place runs such schemes, and you could also look to see if there are any local government run schemes.
5. Stay on top of things - Keep your car serviced, deal with small issues before they become big.
6. Research cars that last and buy them – Honda, Nissan, most Japanese cars are quite reliable and seem to run for years and years without needing any major work. Have a look at reliability ratings online on websites such as What car and Reliability index.
7. Have a car fund - set aside an amount each month into an account earmarked for the car expenditures and repairs. Then when the need arises, you already have money handy!
8. Have a car fund (for a car) - This practice also works if you want to save for a new car (it doesn’t have to be brand new and could be used).

Hopefully, you found these tips useful and if you have any tips and suggestions of your own, feel free to comment. If you enjoyed this article on how to stay frugal, please check out my previous articles I have written.