When it comes to car ownership, you may think that once you have paid out the big cost for buying the thing that the biggest financial impact ends there.Yes there is the day to day running costs, such as fuel, but that’s surely it, right? Wrong! There are some surprising costs involved when it comes to car ownership, some obvious, some beneficial, and some that will leave a sting in your tail. With that in mind here are some of the ones that could cost you and you can save some money if you are faced with them.
Insurance costs spiralling out of control
We all know that to have a vehicle legally on the road there needs to be insurance taken out on the vehicle. This can be one of those things that you just accept and move on with, but car insurance quotes can vary, and often just accepting the first offer means you pay out more than is necessary. A great tip to save money is to ensure that you get the facts right with things such as mileage, the type of driving you do and where the car is parked overnight. You can also add things like a tracker that can corroborate your driving style to ensure that you keep the insurance costs as low as can be.
Paying for regular maintenance and out of warranty items
It may sound obvious, but often people can forget that your vehicle does need to have regular maintenance checks and sometimes these can be quite costly, depending on the work that needs doing. They will also highlight if things need replacing, and often, whether you have a warranty or not, you may find that you need to foot the bill. These bills always come when you least expect it, so try and have a little pot of money saved for the worst case scenario.
Damage you did not cause
You could be driving along and then, BAM, someone drives into you and damage is caused to your vehicle that isn’t your fault. Car accidents are a regular occurrence and while the damage of your car should be taken care of by insurance companies, the damage to you may be a whole different story. Time off work, legal costs when claiming, they can all mount up. Damage can also be caused while your car is parked, through dents and scratches being obtained. It is always a good idea to get these sorted sooner rather than later to avoid further damage being caused.
Damage that you did cause
Of course, there can be incidents when the damage is caused by yourself. You may start to find that curbs might not always be your friend when it comes to your car. The damage that can be caused to an alloy wheel because of the curb can be astronomical. Not having them repaired properly can also cause you harm when it comes to the value of your vehicle when it comes to selling or part exchanging.
Let’s hope that highlighting some of these costs will have you more aware of some of the other costs involved in car ownership.