7 Ways You’re Utterly Wasting Money on Your Car

Car spending doesn’t end at the dealership. Once the car keys have been bestowed to you, the responsibility for the car’s upkeep--which include fuel, change oils, tire replacements, car wash, and more--falls upon your shoulders. Considering that your car won’t be new forever, it’s important to pay attention to how much you are spending on its maintenance. With that in mind, here’s a list of seven ways you could be wasting money on your car right now. Learn to navigate around these unnecessary expenses so you won't have to regret the money you spend on them.

1. Using premium gas – unless you own a high performance car, stick to the lower octanes and save your cash

2. Driving on flat tires – underinflated tires put more stress on the engine, so you end up consuming more fuel.

3. Ignoring check engine warning lights – those lights tell you that there’s a problem with your car, and ignoring them will only lead to more extensive and expensive issues down the line.

4. Ignoring your vehicle’s service schedule – many manufacturers require you to stick to a maintenance schedule. The benefit of this is two-fold: it keeps your car in tiptop shape and its warranty active. Forgetting to adhere to these regular services puts you at risk of paying many times more than the preventative cost.

5. Using synthetic oils – similar to premium gas, the benefits of synthetic oils can only be enjoyed by engines built for high performance. If you own a daily driver, the only thing synthetic oils are good for is making you spend more.

6. Paying for car wash – professional car washes are only recommended for perpetually busy people with plenty of disposable income. Otherwise, just set aside 30 minutes of your weekend to cleaning your car on your own.

7. Leaving every maintenance task to a mechanic – there are plenty of low-risk car maintenance tasks that you can do by yourself, such as replacing air filters and wiper blades, fluid top-ups, etc. Purchase the parts yourself and try to get your hands dirty from time to time. You could get more enjoyment out of your car ownership for doing so.