TOP TIPS

TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR CAR

GET APPY

Get a smartphone app to compare prices. Avoid retailer apps as they exclude competitors. MotorMouth is good. Also look at motoring organisation apps.

FUEL UP OUT OF TOWN

Regional areas do not have city price cycles. If headed to a city at the peak, fill up first.

DON’T AUTO-RENEW

Comparing insurance offers can save hundreds a year. There is no comparison service, but sizing up three or four providers is a good idea.

BEWARE “MARKET VALUE”

CTP insurance products are almost identical, but not comprehensive cover. Some insurers try to make products look like better value by basing them on a very low market value. Know how much you’ll get if your car is written off and that your premium comparison is not skewed by a low-ball figure.

INSURANCE BOX

QBE’s Insurance Box telematic device gives you the chance to save by proving you’re a safe driver. Installed under the dash, it monitors driving behaviour. The better your driving, the lower your premium. But beware – it also checks whether you are keeping the car overnight where you said you would.

BEST TIME TO BUY

The end of months, quarters or financial years see sales staff seek to hit quotas. Make an offer rather than ask for a discount. Also, dealers are keen to sell demonstrators once they’ve been on the floor for at least 45 days.

DRIVE DOWN COSTS

Doing 110km/h uses 25 per cent more fuel than doing 90km/h. Low tyre pressure increases fuel consumption.

DO YOU NEED THAT EXTRA CAR?

John Rolfe here: I recently did the sums on our second car. Registration, insurance and maintenance were costing us $2000 a year. We drove it less than 5000km annually, but that still cost us $600 in fuel. The vehicle was worth $5000. I sold it, got the $5000 and now use Uber for the two trips a week we were using it for. So far it looks like we’ll spend less than the $2600 in car running costs.

CAR RENTAL

It’s hardly ever a good idea to take the insurance pushed so heavily by rental car companies. Insurers offer cover against hire car excess charges. We found the cost of such insurance for a week in Queensland is less than half the cost of the “collision and damage protection” cover the hire car companies offer.