Your Car Doesn’t Have To Bankrupt You!

I’ve had 3 cars on finance in the past. I think I’ve now leaned my lesson and I’ll never get one on finance again!

Buying and owning a car is always going to be an expensive proposition. It doesn’t matter if you get it on finance, if you buy it outright, new, used, large, small, any car is going to end up costing you a decent amount of money. That’s something that you simply don’t have control over. What you do have control over, however, is how much money it’s going to cost you. Just because you’ve got to spend money on your car, that doesn’t mean that you’re not going to be able to minimize how much you’re spending as much as you can. Here are a few simple things that you can try in order to do just that.

Finance deals aren’t always the best idea

Financing a car can be an incredibly tempting thing to do, but the truth is that it’s not always for the best. Financing a car helps you avoid a large upfront cost, but it does this by extending the payments over a longer period of time. By paying for the car outright, you’re able to avoid a long-term financial commitment that you might not be able to manage. This does mean that buying a car may have to wait until you’ve saved up enough money to cover it, but that’s often a small price to pay for the financial freedom that you have once the car is fully paid for.

Try to keep insurance costs down

Insurance is probably the most expensive thing about owning a car in the long run. It’s something that everyone hates, and no one wants to deal with, but we all know how important it is and what a bad idea it is to go without it. However, if you do your research, you can often find the best deals possible Insurers like Elephant can offer you some great deals on your premiums. One good thing to remember is to never take the first option you’re given when it comes to insurance. Otherwise, you’re likely to end up falling into the trap of paying a lot more than you need to.   

Avoid the need for constant maintenance

If you want to avoid spending too much on your car in the long run, sometimes the best thing to do is to adjust your driving. The way that you drive can often have a huge impact on the car itself, and not in a good way. Driving too fast puts a strain on the engine while slamming on the brakes is going to wear out everything from the tires to the brake pads incredibly quickly. By driving more carefully, you’re going to be able to make your car last longer without needing expensive repairs.

One thing that you simply cannot ignore is to make sure that you’re actually in a position to deal with any financial commitments that your car causes for you. It won’t matter how much money you’ve saved; if you’re not able to afford the payments involved in owning a car, you’re going to end up in some pretty serious financial trouble further down the line.