Slashing the Cost of Your Car

With the recession and the environmental crisis, many car owners have had to rethink their use of the car. General day-to -day car costs can make your car an expensive mode of transport, and then you have the added costs of insurance, tax, repairs and MOT's. There are few methods of slashing these costs, which will help you not only keep to your tight budget but contribute towards cutting down Co2 emissions.

Although investing a new car sounds like more costs, however, in the long term it could save you money. Exchanging your old environmentally unfriendly car for a car with low carbon emissions will not only save you money on petrol, as well as save the environment, it will cut down your first year tax costs. Low carbon emission vehicles include the environmentally friendly Smart Car and the fashionable but energy efficient Mini. Prices begin from 8,000 for the Smart Car and 11,000 pounds for the Mini, making them no more expensive than a regular high fuel consumption vehicle.

Another idea is to share your car, thus spreading the costs and limiting the co2 emissions on the road. This is already a popular tactic for saving costs around central Europe, which has been recently adopted in the U.K. There are a few trusted websites out there for car sharing or car pooling as it is also known as.

Try to also use your car only when you really need it. Using your car for travelling short distances only wastes fuel and drives up your expenses. When possible, walk or cycle places, - this will not only drive down costs, but help you to keep fit. If you're not interested in cycling or walking, why not try out roller bladding, which is becoming increasingly popular in the U.K.

Plan your journey! As planning where you're going will not only aid to cut down travelling time but fuel costs. Making sure you won't get lost is by far a good way to save on fuel costs and all it requires is a little planning time. Sat-Nav systems can be useful for this; however, the lower end of the market does not consider traffic, which affects the amount of fuel you use. If you have several things to do over the weekend, also combine all the journeys in one, which will save you fuel and leave a whole day free to do what you want.

Lastly have your car serviced regularly as high fuel consumption can be caused by an underserviced engine. An engine that isn't working to its optimum efficiency will have to work much harder than an engine in mint condition. Find a cheap but reliable garage in your local area to complete any services on your car. Also look around for cheap MOT's. Many small garages have lowered their prices during the recession due to high competition with the bigger firms out there; thus these days you can pay a little less than £50 for the yearly MOT.

In times of economic and environmental crisis, it's worth spending your money wisely. Cut down costs by looking around for deals, such as servicing an MOT deals, as well as using your car sensibly.

If you're looking for a cheap MOT Coventry, or other car services, take a look at www.binleywoodsservicecentre.co.uk

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