Alain Guillot

Life, Leadership, and Money Matters

Used car

How to Prevent Your Vehicle From Becoming a Money Pit

The world is arranged in such a way that you really can’t get by without a vehicle. It’s an essential part of living life to the fullest; after all, without the keys to a car, you’d spend far too much time going to work, getting groceries, and visiting friends and family members. Alas, there is a cost for having such convenience, and it’s often an expense that is a lot higher than many of us would like — or, indeed, that many of us can afford. 

While you can’t eliminate the costs of driving completely, there are things you can do that’ll help to keep your expenses to a minimum. In this post, we’ll run through some tried and tested methods for helping to keep your car-related bills to a minimum. 

Buy a Reliable Vehicle 

Sometimes, you have to spend money to save money. If you’ve got a car that is well past its best, then it’s possible that you’re spending significant sums of cash just keeping it on the road — and you’re probably not getting very good gas mileage, either. If you’re in that scenario, then look at investing in a modern and reliable vehicle. You can find reliable cars second-hand that won’t break the bank.

Share the Expenses

You might like driving around on your own, but that can also be considered a luxury. One way to help reduce your bills is to share your expenses with other people. For instance, let’s say you’re driving to and from work each day. Could you also take your coworkers with you, and have them contribute to the cost? As well as helping you save money, this will also give you a chance to become closer friends with the people you work with.

Learn to do Repair Tasks Yourself

You’ll encounter problems with your vehicle from time to time, and that can end up costing you a lot of money — but only if you have to hire someone to do the work for you. The other option is to do the repairs yourself. If you have a Chevrolet Colorado parts diagram and YouTube tutorial videos, you’ll likely find that you can fix your car’s troubles yourself without much difficulty. While there are some jobs that will very much require a professional’s expertise, common, everyday tasks can be done yourself. 

Shop Around for Insurance

Most people find insurance once, and then just let the policy auto renew each year. But if you’re doing that, then it’s unlikely that you’re getting the best deal on your insurance. In fact, that’s where insurance companies want you to be; they can slowly increase your rate each year because they know that you’re unlikely to do anything about it. When it comes to renewing, shop around to find the best deal. If you don’t want to switch companies, you can always ask your current insurance company to match the prices that you’ve been offered by other insurers. You might just find that you can save significant sums of cash.