September 17 2008
According to the RAC the cost of motoring is actually going down. "In real terms it is 18% cheaper to buy and run a car, including fuel costs, in 2008 than 1988," claimed a recent report from the motoring organisation.
That may be so, but said same report also admits some aspects of running a car are now much more expensive. Fuel, for example, has gone up by 200% in real terms over the past two decades.
The cost of owning and running a car is on average £5,627 a year, says the RAC. Half of that is depreciation, nearly £1,200 is fuel, and the rest is tax, interest payments, insurance, maintenance, and breakdown membership. So what can you do to reduce these costs?
1. Drive like a saint
Smoother driving leads to a big saving in fuel, and a big cash saving too. Over 10,000 miles you might save £500 by driving efficiently, according to a recent test done by the Driving Standards Agency.
If you pull away from traffic lights without revving, don't rev while idle, don't use fuel-hungry air-conditioning and don't sit there with the engine running you can cut fuel use by between 10% and a third, the AA claims.
And slow down - according to the Department for Transport, driving at 70mph uses up to 9% more fuel than driving at 60mph, and up to 15% more fuel than driving at 50mph. Read the whole article...
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