In light of fuel prices estimated to hit £2 per summer, Peter Vardy has revealed seven quick changes you can make now to cut your car costs – including a sneaky petrol station hack so you save while fuelling your car. With rising energy prices and staggering petrol costs, it's an expensive time for drivers across the UK.
Cars are one of the biggest wallet burners you can have and research from Nerd Wallet even found that the average Brit spends £3,406.80 on their car every single year.
To help drivers cut their annual motoring costs by 40%, Peter Vardy has revealed 7 changes drivers can make now to save themselves £1,400.42
1. Filling up at a supermarket garage can save you £74.10:
Typically, supermarket forecourts are cheaper for fuel compared to branded garages. By switching to fill up your car at a supermarket garage, you can save yourself £74.10 a year.
It’s rumoured that supermarket fuel is of a ‘lower quality’ and not the same as you would buy from a branded garage, but that’s not the reality. Supermarkets sell such vast quantities that operating costs are spread over higher volumes, making it cheaper to buy from than a branded forecourt.
2. Avoid paying premium fuels for standard cars – Saving yourself £179.14 per year:
Retailers often claim that premium fuel offers performance and economy advantages and can even protect your engine.
In reality, unless you’re driving a performance vehicle, you’re unlikely to see many improvements – but you will pay an average of 10p more per litre. By sticking to standard unleaded, drivers can save themselves £138.32 per year.
3. Add someone else onto your insurance – saving £426 every year:
If you’re new to driving, naming a parent on your policy can reduce your yearly insurance by hundreds. Research conducted by Uswitch found that you can save an average of £426 by simply naming a parent on your policy.
4. Haggling can save you money on car insurance, breakdown cover and when you’re buying a car:
Haggling is an underrated art form, and one forum on Money Saving Expert revealed a £100 saving from RAC by haggling your renewal cover. According to Money Saving Expert, motorists that have haggled their cover with AA, Admiral and RAC all have had an 80% success rate at reducing their premium.
5 . Save £574 per year by performing your own car maintenance checks :
By performing your own regular car maintenance checks, spotting standard wear and tear and fixing it before it becomes a problem, you can avoid paying the average annual repair cost of £574.
6. Cashback credit cards on fuel can save you £53 per year:
Purchasing your petrol or diesel with a cashback credit card (like Santander’s 123 account) offers you 3% cashback for each fill-up. If you filled up your car biweekly, you’d get £52.68 over the full year!
7. Paying your road tax annually instead of monthly saves you up to £29:
While it may be easier to spread the cost of road tax, it ends up costing more in the long run. Saving up to pay it in one lump sum can save you £29 per year.
