Gails Blog

Here comes another beautiful summer weekend and you probably have a place or two to go. So pack up your car and have fun. Speaking of your car, in my experience, car-owners fall into one of two categories:

• there are the people who loooooovee their cars. They name them. They treat them like babies. They’re obsessed with polishing them and adding accessories, and
• there are the people who no nothing ’bout cars. I fall into this category. I think the dirt is fine since it’s probably holding my car together. I don’t sweat the dings and bumps. And the inside of my car always looks like I’ve just come back from a long car-trip with a band of wild children.

Sadly, both these groups of people may be wasting tons of money with their cars. Look through the following list and see if you’re doing anything wrong that you can cut out and save yourself some cash.

1. You pay to have someone wash your car. I can’t believe what a carwash costs. Every time I drive through the gas station that offers a car wash and see what they’re charging I shake my head. If you’ve got a bucket and some soap and water at home, why would you fork over $10 or more to have some machine wash your car. Why not turn it into a family affair, bathing suits and all, and have a car-washing-soap-and-water fight with the kids.

2. You never put air in your tires. Tires that need air use more gas and wear out more quickly. Don’t over-inflate though. That can be dangerous since not enough rubber hits the road to keep you safe.

3.  You buy premium gas.  Rumour has it if you use only the best gas your car will need fewer tune-ups and get better mileage. Yes, if you’re driving a high-performance vehicle, you need super-de-dooper gas. But most of us don’t, so don’t waste your money. According to them that know, the difference between 87 and 93 octane is so small that you won’t get better mileage or see lower maintenance bills.

4. You don’t bother to maintain your car or keep records. According to Natural Resources Canada Office of Energy Efficiency Auto$mart Thinking program, a well-tuned engine alone can improve fuel economy by up to 4% while a poorly maintained vehicle can increase fuel consumption by up to 50%. And if you aren’t keeping records, how will you know when someone’s trying to talk you into something you don’t need?

5. You haven’t raised your deductible on your car insurance. You wouldn’t make an insurance claim for less that $1,000 so why not raise your deductable that high and boost your emergency fund.  Make the call to your insurance company and see just how much you could save.

6. You’re a speed demon. Cars are most economical at about 100 kph. Driving faster uses up more gas.  According to one European study, rapid starts from traffic lights and hard braking consums 39% more fuel. And accelerating and braking is not only hard work on the car, it’s tougher on you as a driver. So relax, which brings me to…

7.  You’ve never turned on your cruise control. I love my cruise. It keeps my pace even, eliminates my sometimes leaden foot and makes my ride that much more comfortable. Just don’t turn it on when it’s pouring since there have been problems with cruise control causing hydroplaning.

8. You “warm up” your car. Really? You let your car sit there burning gas going nowhere. So you don’t think your mileage is crappy enough? According to Transport Canada, if every Canadian motorist reduced idling time by just five minutes a day, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 1.6 million tonnes per year. Whew!

9. You never ask for directions. I know more than a few people who fall into this category. Okay, so if you get lost and end up driving around for an extra ten minutes, you don’t think that affects how much you’re spending on gas? Hmmm.

10.  You refuse to turn on your air conditioner because it wastes gas. Yah, A/C makes extra work for the engine, increasing the amount of gas you burn. But air conditioners are very efficient so around-town driving using the A/C will reduce fuel economy by about a mile a gallon. The highway is a different kettle of fish. Since driving at higher speeds with the windows down greatly increases drag, using your A/C is the more efficient choice.

11.   You don’t plan your trips. You need milk, you jump in the car. Your kid has hockey practice, band practice, skating practice, you jump in the car. You forgot to get the gezunta that goes with the whatchumacalit, you jump in the car. Since trips of less than five kilometres don’t usually allow the engine to reach its optimum operating temperature, particularly in the colder months, you burn more gas.

12. You drive around with your trunk full of crap. For every extra 45 kg (100 lbs) you carry in your vehicle, your fuel efficiency can drop by 1-2%. If you’re not using your roof rack, take it off. Not only is there a weight factor, it affects the aerodynamic efficiency of your vehicle reducing your fuel economy by as much as 5%.

BTW: Now you can save your favorite blogs using any of the bookmarks below. Hope you like this added feature. cheers, and have a great weekend. g

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