10 Ways To Save Money On Auto Expenses

Cars are expensive to purchase and maintain! However following these 10 tips can help you save thousands of dollars on car expenses over the life of your vehicle and help you obtain a higher resale value when you are ready to sell your car.

1. Keep your vehicle as long as possible
2. Buy cars that are modest or used
3. Buy fuel efficient vehicles
4. Buy reliable cars
5. Buy cars that are less expensive to repair
6. Take good care of your vehicles
7. Drive less
8. Drive conservatively
9. Limit accidents and speeding tickets to keep insurance expenses low
10. Keep your car under warranty

Driving Your Car Longer

The longer you hold onto your car, typically the more money you will save. Exceptions include if you are constantly dumping money into a problem car to keep it running.

New cars are expensive and they depreciate quickly. Did you know that the steepest depreciation happens in the first 5 years of a car’s life. Keeping your car for 10 years or more is the best way to get the most out of your money. Opt to keep your car for longer to save money on car expenses.

Buy Modestly

It is important to remember that cars are depreciating assets. Whatever money you sink into a vehicle, remember that you will lose a large percentage. Buying used and buying a less expensive vehicle are good ways to save money on car expenses.

The steepest depreciation on a vehicle is in the first 5 years that it is on the road. After those 5 years the depreciation starts to level off considerably until the car is no longer worth money. If you can buy a vehicle in one of its later years of life like when it is 8-16 years old, you will save a considerable amount on purchase price and insuring the car.

In addition, buying a car that is less expensive or comes without expensive add ons is a fantastic way to save money. Sure, the sunroof would be nice to have, but if you are paying an extra few hundred dollars try to imagine what saving and investing that money would look like.

Buy Fuel Efficient Vehicles

As gas prices rise now that the Covid 19 pandemic is winding down, people are spending more money on fuel. Some jobs are transitioning back to being in person roles and people are commuting and taking trips more frequently as social gatherings and sporting events become more prevalent again.

A smart vehicle purchase is one that meets your needs size wise, but within that you should buy as fuel efficient as you can. Saving just $10 per week on fuel can lead to over $500 in savings per year. Amplified over 10 years, you could be saving enough to buy your next vehicle.

Buy Reliable Vehicles

Cars are expensive and the best way to get your moneys worth is to buy one that will last and will be reliable. Resale value is largely tied to this as well! Mazda, Toyota, Lexus and Honda all have incredibly impressive resale value where as companies like Lincoln, Volkswagen and Mini are among the least reliable brands.

You will get the most out of your money by buying a car brand as high on this list as you can. Brands like Toyota, have vehicle’s on the road for 20+ years. Those vehicle owners are saving tons of money by squeezing every mile they can out of their cars.

Here is a list of 25 car brands ranked from most to least reliable for 2021 Toyota is the most reliable and Lincoln is the least.

The 25 Most and Least Reliable Car Brands

1. Toyota
2. Lexus
3. Buick
4. Honda
5. Hyundai
6. Ram
7. Subaru
8. Porsche
9. Dodge
10. Infiniti
11. BMW
12. Nissan
13. Audi
14. Kia
15. GMC
16. Chevrolet
17. Volvo
18. Jeep
19. Mercedes-Benz
20. Cadillac
21. Ford
22. Mini
23. Volkswagen
24. Tesla
25. Lincoln

Buy Cars That Are Cheap To Repair

Another important thing to keep in mind when buying a car is how much that car is going to cost you to repair. Luxury brands will almost always cost more to repair. Other cars to watch out for are German brands and hybrid and electric vehicles. Japanese vehicles like Toyota, and Honda are notoriously easy to work on which makes them less expensive to repair because more mechanics will service them.

If you want to save money on car expenses, do your research when buying your car. If you are deciding between vehicles, choose one that will cost you less to repair when it eventually has mechanical issues.

Take Good Care Of Your Vehicles

Maintaining a vehicle well will help it last longer and have less unnecessary repairs over time, it will also help you save money on gas. Did you know that cars that aren’t maintained properly could be burning through fuel at a much higher rate? In addition things like frequent oil changes, tire maintenance and rotation, air filter changes, and exhaust work can help keep your vehicle

Drive Less

A way to keep car expenses low is to limit how much you drive. The miles you report to your insurance agency impact how much you pay per month. Other things like saving gas, are important to. You won’t pay as much in maintenance costs and your cars will last you longer the less you drive them. To an extent! leaving a car and not driving it at all is also bad for a vehicle and you can find the car infested with rats, wasps and other pests.

Opt to drive your car once a week and if you live in an area where this is possible, choose other forms of transportation like biking, walking, or public transit like busses, subways and trains.

Carpool

If you drive to places like work, church, sporting events where you have a large social circle of people going to the same place, you can save money on car expenses by picking up your friends and having them pick you up. Carpooling is good for the environment and your wallet!

Keep Insurance Costs Low

You can decrease your insurance costs by being a safe driver. The less speeding tickets you have, the less money you will pay every month. Things like accidents drastically increase how much you pay monthly in car insurance.

Another thing that can keep insurance costs low is keeping your insurance active at all times. A lapse in insurance will cause your insurance costs to sky rocket. You can see costs go from $150 per month up to $600 or even higher just by having a hole on your insurance record.

Keep Your Car Under Warranty

A warranty is a great way to save money on car repairs. Most cars come with a warranty when they are purchased new, but most people don’t know that you can buy a warranty for your vehicle when your dealership warranty runs out. Having an extended warranty or a vehicle service contract can help you pay for car expenses that you simply can’t afford.

Car warranties are essentially an insurance policy for car repairs, you pay a monthly premium, and when your car breaks a small deductible and the rest of your car repairs under your contract are covered.

A warranty is typically meant to cover the most expensive components of the vehicle like the transmission, exhaust manifolds and engine.

Never Get Yourself Into Debt Over Car Repairs Again By Choosing Protect My Car

Car repairs can be absurdly expensive, and you can expect those unexpected repairs before too long no matter what vehicle you drive.  Car repairs are an unfortunate part of owning and operating a vehicle. Eventually something is going to break and wow can it be expensive to replace and repair these parts.

If you have to replace the engine block it could cost you more than $10,000 depending on the make and model of your vehicle. Most people don’t have a spare ten grand lying around in their bank accounts, or even an extra $2,500 if their transmission blows.

The cost of repairs will depend on your vehicle, but it can cost you thousands of dollars to make repairs to components like the transmission and suspension, which is money most Americans don’t have.

If that cost seems absurd to you, luckily you aren’t alone. We’re on a mission to make car repairs more affordable to the every day working person. With Protect My Car, you don’t have to hold your breath every time that check engine light comes on. Protect My Car is basically an insurance policy for the mechanical features in your car. If your car breaks down when you have a policy with us you pay a deductible for covered expenses and we take care of getting the car repaired and covering the cost.

A vehicle service contract from Protect My Car can help cover the cost of these excessive repairs. In fact, you could pay as little as $100 dollars for that $5,000 engine replacement.

Yes, you heard that right.

For less that the cost of a cup of coffee each day, you can get coverage for:

• Steering
• Suspension
• Engine
• Transmission
• A/C and Heating
• Navigation and Electronics
• …and so much more.

When you walk into the repair shop with a coverage plan from PMC, you can rest assured that you will never pay for these repairs listed here. You pay a $100 deductible, just like insurance and we pay the rest.

Does that sound like a fair deal to you?

If it does, just fill out the form below for a free quote, and see how great it can be to never have to pay for car repairs ever again. It couldn’t be more simple to get a quote from us and you could find yourself saving thousands of dollars per year on car repairs. Below this diagram you will find a button “click for a free quote” from there you can call us or simply get a hassle free quote online.

Protect My Car offers multiple levels of extended coverage for vehicles. The chart below outlines what those levels cover and how much the deductible will cost.