Five Easy Ways to Save Money When you Drive

Running a car is an expensive process. While electric cars might offer a cheaper future, most people still use traditional cars that use fossil fuels. Traditional fuels are getting more and more expensive for most drivers – along with the associated costs of owning a car, like insurance and tax. All of this means that drivers all across the country are looking for ways to save money when they drive. Here are five easy ways to save money on your driving costs.

Drive Sensibly

One of the easiest ways to save money on your car is to change how you drive. Different ways of driving use more or less fuel. Driving smoothly – not speeding up, slowing down or changing gear too quickly – is an effective way to use less fuel.

Going slower is also an easy way to use less fuel and save money. Generally, the speed limit is a good measure. While you should be sticking to the speed limit anyway, going at 70mph rather than 60mph uses 9% more fuel. Going 80mph (even on the motorway) uses 25% more fuel than going 70mph.

Care for your Car

Cars that are not maintained tend to use more fuel than those that are kept well looked after. Make sure that you service your car every year. Minor issues with engines or valves can contribute to inefficient use of fuel, and as a result, higher costs.

You should also make sure that your tyres are all in top condition. If any of your tyres have damage, an incorrect tread depth, or are incorrectly inflated, then you will have a correspondingly worse fuel efficiency. Defective or damaged tyres cost you money.

Carry Less

Everything you put on or in your car is weighing it down. Heavier cars go slower, and use more fuel. An estimated extra 50kg of fuel makes a car 1-2% less fuel efficient. This sort of weight is easy to achieve in a car. Attachments to your car that should be temporary are easy to forget about. Roof bars and cycle racks should be removed when not being used, as they are heavy.

Shop Around

Fuel costs can vary wildly between different areas, and different petrol stations. Finding the best deals in your local area is an easy way to reduce your potential driving costs. Generally, fuel from supermarkets is cheaper than from both chain and independent petrol stations. It is also often possible to get vouchers for cheaper fuel when you shop at the same supermarket.

Drive Less

Perhaps the easiest way to save money when you drive is to use your car less. This might sound counterproductive, but you should start to ask yourself if you need to drive everywhere. If you can walk or cycle to a nearby destination, you should do. Equally, if it is possible for you to split a journey with a friend or neighbour, car sharing can be a great way to save money.

Insurance from GoShorty

Temporary Car Insurance from GoShorty is perfect for saving money. If you only use a car occasionally, you don’t need to be insured for the whole year. Save money all year round by only paying for short term car insurance when you need it. If you share a car, or borrow a car from a friend or relative, you can insure yourself for between 1 hour and 28 days when you need to use it.

Get a temporary insurance quote today, and see how much you could save on your car insurance with temporary cover from GoShorty.