During these tough financial times, we are all looking at ways we can save ourselves money each month. Reducing essential bills is never that easy, but through shopping around for the best quotes or changing your insurance provider, car insurance might just be the place to start.

If we calculated what we spend per month, the majority of it is necessary but leaves us with little cash leftover to enjoy ourselves. Car insurance is essential, but we might be paying more for it than we actually need to.

It has never been so simple to reduce our motor cover either. Comparison sites dominate the internet and these will work out the best deals for your particular needs. All you have to do is put your details in to the website, click a button and hundreds of competitive quotes from a vast array of insurance companies will be there for you to look through. It can take just a few minutes to save you loads of money.

If your premium goes up or you are displeased with the service you are receiving from your current insurer, look into what other providers can offer. Car insurance is a big expense each year, so make sure you are getting the best deal out there.
The rates for motor cover can be quite changeable so comparing regularly is important. If you have recently bought a new car, moved house or got married/divorced, now is the time to act.

More motorists are driving around in new year-10 plate vehicles as new car sales for 2010 have already surpassed the poor figures during the whole of 2009, thanks mainly to the Governments car scrappage scheme.

However, a new publication called ‘The Bangernomics Bible’ informs a person that driving around in a 10-year-old banger also has its benefits.

The book is full of useful tips for running an older car for next to nothing. Author James Ruppert, a motoring journalist and former car salesperson said, “There has been a growing trend for car buyers to convince themselves that it is a matter of urgency to replace their cars every three years or sometimes less, with another new car.”

The theory behind the book is trying to encourage people to buy and run an older vehicle, even if they can afford a new one, or keep the car they have for as long as possible.

The logic behind this is that after being on the road for five years or more, the vehicle has already lost the vast majority of its value and it is close to hitting the bottom of its depreciation in value ‘curve’. According to Rupperts theory, it means the car will not lose anything close to the depreciation value as a new or nearly new car would.

The managing director of a car fleet provider said of the concept, “For my last three cars I have tried to buy it new and turn it around every year, which cost about €2,000 each time. However, the last new car I bought, in 2007, was a Range Rover Sport and it absolutely nose-dived. I am three years in now. I have about €45,000 outstanding on it and its now worth about €35,000 in the market. It is an interesting concept but it assumes that the motivation behind buying a car is purely financial. There is a lot of other emotional stuff that goes with buying a new car.”

One motorist from Portlaoise owns a 1996 Nissan Micra that was bought in 2002 for €3,500 with almost 40,000 miles on the clock. Eights years on and with 134,000 miles behind it, the car is still running smoothly, only being serviced once a year.

The car owner estimates that is costs less than €600 a year to run in tax, servicing and motor insurance and has no plans to trade it in, despite the scrappage deals that have been on offer. They said, “The way I look at it, it runs perfectly, does what it needs to and is worth very little to anyone else. That whole concept of ‘why fix it if it is not broken’, kind of fits the situation.”

Families in Ireland wishing to save money could consider reducing the number of cars they own, which cuts the amount spent on motor insurance.

Homes with working adults and teens tend to appreciate the freedom and independence that owning vehicles brings. However, depending on the age of those living on the property, cars and their associated costs often proves to be a large expense that some struggle to pay. For example, if you are a younger driver, or are responsible for them, you are likely to be very aware of the higher price paid for motor insurance.

Premiums for both male and female teens are significantly higher than adults who are several years older than them, with men from this age group much more likely to own expensive policies. This is due to the increased number of accidents that young people experience, so firms raise premiums to reflect these statistics. Consequently, household bills will rocket if they take into account car costs associated with teen drivers.

On the other hand, you may also share your home with older drivers who are also required to pay a little more towards their policies once they reach a certain age. Also, if you have been issued with penalty points or other fines, it is likely that your premium will rise accordingly, which can lead to soaring outgoings. There are steps that can be taken to reduce the effect that these instances have on household expenses.

Although teens value their independence, it may be worthwhile to put them on to a parent’s policy rather than buy them their first car straight away. Some insurance firms allow policyholders who have younger drivers to do this, although it may prevent them from building up a no claims bonus as they are not registered as the named motorist. If the younger driver has some experience as a named policyholder and has made no claims, they could find that a different company offers them a discount on their premium for their clean driving record, which is another way to save costs should they go ahead and purchase their own vehicle.

Meanwhile, mature drivers ought to look for policies that reward them for building up a no claims bonus. After several years of motoring without any claims, bonuses can be protected meaning if a collision occurs, you can continue to pay your premiums at the same rate as before the event took place. Experienced car owners who have received fines may like to shop around for their ideal policy. In this instance, you may find that monthly payments towards your premiums are better suited to your finances, as you are able to pay them gradually over the course of a year.

Car insurance policies that offer benefits to the owners of new vehicles are a wise choice for Irish drivers who are investing in cars that have come straight from the production line.

If you have just made a purchase of this type, you may have put great thought into the decision to opt for a new model of vehicle. Although they are generally more expensive than pre-owned motors, they tend to feature state-of-the-art technology and mechanisms to make driving safer. As well as costing more to buy, motor insurance policies for vehicles of this type are usually more expensive.

When insurers give you a premium, it is based on different factors that consider the risk that your motor may be stolen and the likelihood of you being involved in a collision. Other important factors that are taken into account are the age and model of the car you drive. This is because a company needs to have an idea how much your garage bills will come to if it requires repairing at some stage.

Newer vehicles generally mean more advanced parts and paint, which can lead to higher premium prices than those allocated to slightly older cars. When it comes to buying policies, there are several different types available, but some tend to be more suited to the drivers of cars that have come from the production line. Third Party Fire and Theft may seem like the more affordable option as it provides a good level of protection from some events, such as supplying you with funds if your motor is stolen.

However, these policies do not provide financing to fix damage to your motor that has occurred during a collision that you are responsible for; meaning costly garage bills for your vehicle are self-funded. To get more coverage, you may like to opt for comprehensive insurance as this pays out to pay repair fees for your car and the one you hit. Hidden in the small print of some policies is an additional benefit for new vehicle owners called new car replacement.

When offered by firms, this is usually included as a part of Comprehensive and Third Party Fire and Theft policies, but you can inquire whether it is featured in your potential policy before buying. Once you have bought a policy with this benefit, you have peace of mind that if your vehicle is stolen without being located, it will be replaced by a similar new model. In addition, if there has been extensive damage to your vehicle then this benefit can see you also receiving a replacement vehicle.

You don’t want to breakdown at any time of year, but especially not in winter. So now is as good a time as any to do a bit of maintenance on your car, even if it is only doing basic checks, you never know what you might stumble across. You don’t have to be a whizz with cars either as this video explains simple ways to do checks.

Here to help are some car maintenance tips from a couple of mechanics. So when you get a spare half an hour get your bonnet up and have a look around.

Castrol have launched the first advertising billboard campaign which tells you which is the right oil for your car. There was a video on YouTube showing it in action on motoring journalist Quentin Willsons lovely Jag XJ – however the video has since been removed!

Basically, a camera clocks your numberplate to find out the make/model/year of your car and then shows up the right oil for your vehicle. I can see some people not liking it, the ‘big brother’ effect if you like, but it is important to have the right oil in your engine.

Oil is an important part of your car, so it is certainly not to be ignored. Here is another video which is still available (at the time of writing) to watch on the topic.

Formula 1 is a sport renowned as a proving ground for cutting-edge technology, so it may come as no surprise that an innovation in tyre inflation on the racetrack has great potential for the average road user. That innovation is nitrogen inflation, which can have important benefits both for your bank balance and the environment.

Quite simply, using nitrogen rather than compressed air improves the pressure retention of your tyres and reduces wear. Most people are aware that over a period of time a tyre will lose pressure, which is caused by the permeation of oxygen and water vapour through the porous structure of a tyre. The fact is, compressed air is not suitable for tyre inflation but until now there has been no cost effective alternative.

However, nitrogen will not permeate through a tyre at the same speed as oxygen. The inflation technology that has been used so reliably in Formula 1 is now available for everyday use, and can help maintain the correct pressures for up to 10 times longer than when using compressed air.

When you consider the increased wear on a tyre that driving with incorrect pressures can bring, you start to see the benefit of using nitrogen. Independent figures from Michelin state that under inflation by just 10%, equivalent to just 3psi on a tyre inflated to 30psi, can lead to a potential loss of tyre life of 13%. Furthermore, there will be a 2% increase in fuel consumption.

Using nitrogen inflation will help to avoid these problems, saving money you would otherwise spend on fuel and replacement tyres. Let’s look at the sums involved.

For ease, we will assume a fuel cost of £1 per litre, or £4.54 per gallon. The average car will run at 30 mpg with an average mileage of 12,000 miles per year. Based on this, the 2% reduction in fuel consumption gained from using nitrogen inflation will result in a saving of £36.32 per year. Further, there is the saving in tyre wear. The average cost of a new 205/55 R16 tyre is £80, with a life expectancy of 3 years. The average saving in tyre life from nitrogen inflation is 13%, which of £80 is £10.40 over the tyres life. For four tyres, the annual saving would be £13.88.

Putting these figures together results in an annual saving of £50.20 – not to be sniffed at! Of course, there is also the environmental advantage of tyres being replaced less often and therefore fewer tyres needing to be disposed of.

Uniflate has supplied nitrogen inflation to Formula 1 for many years, and through exclusive supplier Tyre Bay Direct is now available for the retail market too. Leigh Stote, managing director of Tyre Bay Direct, comments: “We are delighted that the replacement tyre market is now embracing nitrogen inflation. The Uniflate system is the only inflation medium developed solely for the use of pneumatic tyre inflation – it’s tried and tested and is proven to deliver financial and performance related benefits to the user with better road holding and handling, increased tyre life and reduced fuel consumption.”

http://www.uniflate.com/

The effect we’re having on our environment is a big issue with terms like climate change and carbon footprint becoming part of our everyday vocabulary. One industry that seems to have come under fire from the environmentalists is the motor industry; people have been urged to buy more economical cars and to cut back on their usage wherever possible.

Hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius have paved the way for a new way of powering our cars. Until recent years we’ve been accustomed to two types of fuel at the petrol stations: unleaded and diesel, with both having their advantages and disadvantages. Now there is a new fuel available named Liquefied Petroleum Gas (known as LPG).

There are even some cars like the Tesla Roadster which run solely on electricity! So with all these fuels which one is the cleanest? Which one is the cheapest? And more importantly, which one’s best for you?

Unleaded

Unleaded is the most common and popular choice for many motorists, it’s cheaper and in more abundance than any other fuels. Cars that run on unleaded tend to have quieter and smoother running engines; they do however produce the most CO2 emissions (10% more than diesel) but also pump out less harmful emissions than diesel at the same time.

Diesel

Diesel engines are generally more economical than petrol and so you won’t necessarily be visiting the pumps as often. However it is slightly more expensive and is expected to rise in price over time. Whilst it emits less CO2 than petrol, there are more particles in the emissions – which is the sooty smoke that comes out of the back end of buses and lorries. Some cars have a trap that helps prevent these particles being emitted.

LPG

Liquefied Petroleum Gas is a recent addition to some petrol station forecourts. Many cars can be converted to run on LPG and this is quite popular with cost-cutting consumers as the fuel has lower duty tax. However, LPG is generally less economical than petrol or diesel, meaning that you’ll be making more trips to the pump for your money and with LPG not being provided by all refuelling stations you could end up caught out with no way to fill up. In order to convert your existing car to accept LPG you need to consider how much the cost of conversion will be and whether the savings made as a result outweigh the initial costs.

So which option would be best considering the rising cost of motoring? Well depending on your usage and your finances you may want to make fewer trips to the pumps, also emissions based taxation has been introduced and so when you’re selecting your car you may want to make sure it is a good performer.

If LPG is something you want to consider there are some cars that are made “dual-fuel” where they run primarily on LPG but will also use petrol as a backup.

Related topics include Car Finance, motoring and fuel types.

Continuing on our series of pages about reducing the cost of driving via other methods (rather than saving fuel) we have now completed the Best Car Insurance page. It talks about how you should shop around to get good quotes, but you shouldn’t just go for the cheapest plan, you should go for the one which is best for you.

If you are looking to lower the cost of your car insurace we recommend the following insurers: Pru, MoreThan and CompareTheMarket – they are all well established highly reputable companies so you can get yourself a great price!

The 16th tip has now been added to the main website, it is about remapping (or chipping) your engine. This needs to be done by a professional and isn’t cheap, a quote on my 1.4l Fiesta came back as £299 so you need to invest in order to save money in the future.

Having your engine remapped will improve your fuel efficiency but also improve your cars performance significantly so you need to avoid stepping on the right peddle too hard otherwise you will end up spending more than you did before!

To save me repeating everything again check out the page on the website: Chip Your Engine.