The following post is sponsored.
Around 10 years ago, I bought a new car on finance. The feeling of driving it off the forecourt was just awesome. There’s nothing quite like that new car smell! The value of the car depreciated as soon as I drove it off the forecourt mind you, but I was ok with that, for a while at least. After a good few years of paying for the car on finance, it dawned on me that buying a new car wasn’t perhaps the best decision I’d ever made.
The novelty of having a nice new car had well and truly worn off. At first, I washed my lovely car by hand every fortnight but this treatment dwindled right down to just taking it through a car wash a few times a year. Rust spots started to appear inevitably and the monthly payments became rather annoying and at times troublesome!
Recently, I’ve managed to save money on motoring in the following ways:
1. I kept my new car until it became old!
On the plus side, I did actually keep this car until last year having paid the car finance off a few years ago. I decided to sell it on (for pittance!) because it was starting to get some serious problems and I was worried about the reliability of it.
2. I then traded my ‘old’ car for another old car (which was more economical)
At this point, there was no way the hubby and I could afford a new car again so we decided to go for a car that was almost as old as the last one but slightly larger! We used the sale of the old car to pay for most of this and managed to save up the rest. The good news was that our ‘upgraded car’ was much more fuel efficient so we ended up saving money each month in this area. With the difference we saved, we decided to upgrade our breakdown cover to the AA. Doing this was about peace of mind for me because I’d had more than one car trip previously where I got stranded by myself with my daughter! Not the ideal situation to be in and I’d rather not take any risks when it comes to my little girl.
3. We went down from a two car family to a one car family
We relocated to be closer to my husband’s work and decided to sell his car. We now share the one car and thankfully only have to pay for one MOT, car tax and insurance premium each year! The hubby bikes a lot which is great!
4. I shop around for my car insurance
With insurance comparison websites such as Insurance Panda, Compare the Market, and Go Compare, it’s easy to shop around for cheap car insurance every year. It’s definitely been worth checking that we’re getting the best insurance deal annually. I have noticed this premium decreasing each year probably due to our increasing age (sigh).
5. I now stock up on fuel vouchers
My local supermarket is Morrisons and luckily for me, they run this scheme called Morrisons Fuel Saver. In store you can buy gift cards for all sorts of retailers such as Halfords, Homebase and Toys R Us and receive fuel voucher coupons in return. This is a win win if you know you’re going to be spending in these places, particularly if you need to buy gifts for family or friends!
How are you saving money on motoring?
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I was compensated for writing this sponsored post however please note that I only ever write sponsored posts where I can share my honest opinions and believe they will be beneficial to my readers.
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Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net – Vintage Car, Volkswagen by sippakorn
4 Comments
Hey Hayley.
Some great tips on car ownership. I especially like the buying of an older car and living close to where one works in order to eliminate the need of a second vehicle.
So to answer you question “How are you saving money on motoring? ” – I save money by NOT owning a car 🙂
But if I did have to own a car it would definitely be a used vehicle and used in conjunction with public transport.
Take care and my best to all.
Lyle
lyle @ The Joy of Simple recently posted…2014 – Time To “Git ‘er Done!”
Thanks Lyle! I like your way of saving money on motoring – not owning one is a definite money saver if you can do it!
On the subject of fuel vouchers, petrol is a mega cost for motorists these day. Yet there are still a lot of aggressive speed demons out there, racing from one stop light to the next, even in heavy rush hour traffic. I always think to myself as they speed past me: Well it’s your petrol, mate! And then you just end up crawling alongside them a few moments later anyway. All those unnecessary high revs must, over the course of a year, cost them hundreds more in fuel than a conservative, slow and steady driver like me, not mention replacing worn brakes and tyres more often. They don’t call me Wealth Tortoise for nothing! 😉
Wealth Tortoise recently posted…How Would a Robot Save Money?
I agree! Likewise, I’m also a slow and steady driver! I always wonder why people speed off the lights only for us to catch them up at the next set of lights! Driving short distances around town can soon eat up your petrol.