Save money on motoring: 6 money saving tips for students
Running a car is expensive, even a barely running old banger: Here are 6 money saving motoring tips to running a car on the cheap at University.
Save cash on parking
Learn how to park for free – while avoiding fines – to to save money. Assuming your University doesn’t have a free car park, top tips include making use of free supermarket and retail park
spaces, while taking advantage of on street restrictions.
> How to save money parking at University
Get an extra month on your MOT
You can get your MOT completed from a month before the current test result expires, but the new expiry date will be twelve months from the date of the old certificate. As a result, your MOT will run for 13 months.
Fix things yourself
You don’t need to be a mechanic to make basic fixes to your car such as replacing blown light blubs, checking and updating type pressures and changing number plates. Don’t pay for it! Your car’s handbook should provide easy guides but if they don’t, the web will almost certainly have one or even a step by step video.
As an extra tip, you should also do these checks and fixes just before your MOT to avoid it failing over a trivial issue.
Maintain your car to avoid breakdowns
Keep your car well maintained to avoid expensive and unnecessary break downs. Make sure your water and oil levels don’t get low, keep a check on your tire pressures and tread to avoid dangerous conditions and possible blow outs.
Don’t get fined
Make sure you’re up to scratch on relevant road laws and know your highway code to avoid getting fined by the Police or local councils (parking). There’s the obviously things like speeding but more recently the Police have been given powers to issue on the spot £100 fines for things like lane hogging, tail gating and failing to give way.
Save on petrol by driving economically
Stop speeding not only to avoid fines but also to be kinder on your car. Drive more economically in general to avoid having to make expensive top ups to your tank regularly.
> Save Money on petrol: Five ways to spend less when filling up
You should also shop around when it comes to petrol prices, using websites like PetrolPrices.com to compare location garages in your area to find the cheapest.
Learn how to get cheap car insurance
The biggest motoring expense for a student isn’t actually the the car but the insurance. While it’s never going to be cheap for a young and new driver, there’s a lot you can do to cut it down to at least a slightly reasonable price with our guide below!
