5 Ways To Make Your Driving Less Expensive
*** Check Out Jim’s May 14 Podcast Where Today’s Blog Topic Is Discussed In More Detail Click Here
1. Shop Out Your Auto Insurance Coverage
Many people simply keep renewing their auto insurance coverage each year without considering that there may be a better deal. Rates between auto insurers can vary by as much as 25%. Shopping for auto insurance can be done in just a few minutes using the Internet, listed below are some of the most popular links for shopping auto insurance. Be sure and ask about discounts for multiple cars, safe driving record, etc…
Online Shopping Sites:
Car Insurance Rates Geico Progressive State Farm Allstate
2. Restructure Your Auto Insurance Coverage
Consider raising your deductible to $500 or even $1,000. By raising your deductible and self insuring the first few hundred dollars, you can save big. Higher deductibles can mean savings of 25% to 40%.
If you have an older vehicle with a value of less than $3,000, consider dropping your collision and comprehensive coverages. This is the portion of auto insurance that protects your vehicle in an accident. Since vehicles with values of less than $3,000 are likely to collect much on in an accident, why not just self insure if you own a vehicle with a low book value? Remember, you must always carry liability insurance even on an older vehicle (liability covers the damage to other people and their vehicles should you be the cause of an accident).
3. Easy Ways To Save Money On Gas
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Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated
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Use The Lowest Grade (octane) of Gas Recommended For Your Car
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Get A Tune Up And Boost Your Gas Mileage By 10 to 15%
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Use A Fuel Additive Every 3,000 to 5,000 Miles
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Don’t Top Off Your Gas Tank. Too Much Gas Can Cause Spillage And Evaporation In Your Gas Tank.
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Tighten Your Gas Cap. In the Warm Summer Months, You Can Lose Gas Through Evaporation
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Keep Windows Closed On The Highway For Better Gas Mileage. For City Driving, Open Windows and Shut Off Air Conditioning When Possible.
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Clean Out Your Car. Extra Weight Can Cause Lower Gas Mileage. If you are needlessly hauling around a trunk filled with tools or other heavy items, lighten your load.
4. Get A Free Car
Advertisers are paying people to drive cars wrapped with advertising. Free Wrapped Cars are designed to provide inexpensive advertising by using cars as sort of mobile billboards. See examples below:
Each company that provides wrapped cars offers different compensation, although the most common is that you get to drive the car for free but must pay for your own gas and insurance (some will pay you in addition to giving you a car to drive for free!). Being selected to get a free wrapped car involves a number of factors. The most important consideration is that you are driving a sufficient number of miles each month and in highly visible locations. So, this might be an example of being lucky to be regularly stuck in downtown traffic!
While there are many companies offering wrapped cars, don’t pay anyone for information on this! Here is a great article on the topic Click Here
There is no reason to buy a book, simply use the links below to find out about available opportunities and avoid sites trying to sell you a membership. I have done my own research and concluded that most of the sites selling memberships and e Books on this topic are really not worth relying on.
5. Should You Buy A New Car To Save Money On Gas?
I have been receiving quite a few e mails on this lately. Sure, it makes sense to get a new car that will provide you 10 miles or more per gallon, right? Maybe not. I challenge anyone running out to buy a new car to first sit down and figure out how much you will be saving per month and how long it will take to get your money back. Let’s say that your new high efficiency car is going to save you $100 per month on gas, how long will it take to recoup your investment? If your new car costs $20,000 it will take you only 16.6 years! Of course, this may be an unfair analysis since your current vehicle is unlikely to last for 16 more years, but I think you see my point here. While gas prices are high, and we should all be smart about cutting our costs, sometimes it is easy to be penny wise and pound foolish. Now, if you could sell your car and buy another more fuel efficient vehicle without having to add much to the proceeds of the sale, you would be doing something really wise. That is a hard transaction to pull off these days as everyone is dumping larger cars (especially SUV’s) on the market right now.
Agree or disagree, have your own ideas? Click on comments below.
My main website is www.ChristianMoney.com
James L. Paris
Great post on car insurance that will be definitely useful to everyone who are seeking for cheap car insurance. Thanks for the post.
Posted by: Car Insurance | May 22, 2008 at 07:33 AM