Driving Down the Cost of Running a Vehicle

Recent years have seen the world’s economy experience some fluctuation, with the resulting ‘credit crunch’ affecting millions of the UK population. This, in turn, has caused many purse strings to tighten and many individuals and families to cut down on their spending.

One regular outgoing for millions of households across the country is the cost of running a vehicle. Whether your car is being used for business purposes, for taking children to school each day, or a way of getting to and from work, a car is something many families rely on, on a daily basis. In fact, in 2006, 81 per cent of men in the UK held a driving licence, which highlights just how many people value the level of freedom and convenience it can afford.

There are some families, however, who have been forced by recent personal economic problems to cut their car use or even give up their family vehicle altogether. The resulting savings may be welcome, but the overall affect can be huge and makes life very difficult. There are, however, ways to own a car and allow it to be affordable too.

One certain way to make this happen is to down-grade your car. A car may not be a luxury item, but a luxury car certainly is. A vehicle with a large engine and huge fuel consumption will not only cost more in the first place, but will drive up insurance costs, maintenance costs and fuel expenditure. Buying a smaller, more efficient car will remedy this and means a family can use a car just as often, only with a smaller proportion of the expense.

Being thrifty day to day can also save a lot of money, and using a car more efficiently can contribute to this. Taking smaller journeys may seem cheaper, but combining more than one short journey into an individual journey of a longer duration is actually more fuel-efficient. Furthermore, from only using your car for essential trips and instead walking to your destinations that are of short distances will also help in keeping fuel costs down, whilst also extending your car’s life expectancy.

Although there are some costs of running a car that can be reduced by the right amount of thrift and intelligent thinking, some costs remain relatively fixed and are inevitable, such as car tax, parking costs or congestion charges. Finding the right car insurance, however, can help ensure that any mishaps that occur while on the road will not cost you dear in the long run.

A car can be overly relied on and easily taken for granted, but for many people it is a necessary expense in order to get from A to B. Maintaining a healthy use for your car is key and can help in keeping costs down as much as possible so that it can be utilised and enjoyed, rather than always being resented for soaking up too much of your weekly or monthly budget.

Paul McIndoe writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.