CUT THE COST OF MOTORING
From securing the best value insurance to using technology and fuel-saving tactics, here’s how to cut your car costs
RUNNING a car is increasingly expensive thanks to rising petrol prices, eye-watering insurance premiums and costly repairs for modern vehicles. The Mail on Sunday explores how to beat, trim or offset the high cost of motoring.
REJECT RENEWAL QUOTES
ONLY a search across the whole market will throw up the best value car insurance deal. Never rely on a renewal quote from an existing insurer – and do not assume that just because discounts are included, a company’s offer will be cheaper than rival insurers.
Use a comparison website such as Gocompare, MoneySupermarket and comparethemarket – or phone at least three insurers for a quote.
Other tips to cut motor insurance premiums include paying annual premiums upfront rather than in monthly instalments – the latter can be £100 more expensive.
When buying a policy, agree to pay a bigger excess in the event of having to make a claim. But only settle on a figure that you could afford to pay if an accident occurred the next day.
Adding an experienced second driver to a policy can also save hundreds of pounds. Naming a 50year-old motorist, who has no claims or convictions, on a 17-year-old’s policy could cut annual premiums by £345, according to Gocompare.
But do not list a second driver as the main customer on the policy if they are not – this is known as ‘fronting’. It is classed as insurance fraud and will invalidate any future claim.
TIME A POLICY PURCHASE
RENEWING insurance a month in advance of your old policy lapsing, being more accurate about mileage – rather than overly generous – and paying attention to job titles can all help to lower premiums.
Research by Gocompare found that buying insurance 30 days ahead of a renewal date can result in a saving of £103 compared with buying the day before. The assumption is that the organised insurance buyer is also a more responsible driver.
On average, overestimating your expected annual mileage by 1,000 miles can add £36 to the premium.
Meanwhile, job descriptions are important too. Matt Oliver, car insurance spokesman for Gocompare, says: ‘If you are retired or a homemaker you should select these options and not say that you are unemployed or out of work.’
The research showed an unemployed customer – considered a higher risk because they may be driving their car more during the day as they look for work – can pay nearly £140 more for the same insurance policy than others.
Finally, bear in mind that ‘third party only’ cover is not always cheaper than fully comprehensive insurance, so it is worth comparing the two different policy types.
BIG BROTHER SAVES UP TO £500 A YEAR
INNOVATIVE technology is emerging that is designed to help keep down the price of car insurance, prevent accidents and ease practical concerns of maintaining a vehicle – without needing to buy a brand new car.
Motorists are encouraged to pay insurance premiums that reflect how they drive as an individual.
This is thanks to telematics or ‘black box’ technology, a device fitted to cars that relays information about driving behaviour back to an insurer.
Avoid harsh braking, sudden acceleration and dangerous roads to earn discounts. These can be as much as £500 a year for young drivers or parents paying for their policies.
This group faces average annual insurance costs of £1,257, according to comparethemarket’s Young Driver Report. Fuel and insurance price rises have added nearly £100 to motoring bills for those aged 17 to 24 in the past six months alone.
But insurers are stepping up a gear by embracing a newer, all-encompassing form of the technology that does more than just monitor how a car is driven. It comes in the form of a dongle-like gadget that plugs into a car to make it smarter, and is as simple as slotting a USB stick into a laptop.
One firm offering this style of gadget is Smart driver club, which offers its members a ‘Smartplug’. This fits into a socket normally found underneath the steering column. Motorists plug it in themselves, whereas traditional black boxes require professional installation taking up to an hour. The Smartplug works with most vehicles registered since 2010.
Customers can review their car’s ‘health’ and see how safely they are driving, such as handling a car smoothly on bends and avoiding sudden stops and starts.
Members using the device who demonstrate best practice behind the wheel will be offered a discounted insurance deal by Admiral Insurance that will be 40 per cent lower than their existing policies in some cases.
But there are other advantages, too. For example, the service offers ‘my mechanic’ – alerting a customer if there is a problem with their car and suggesting what they should do about it.
It also provides crash assistance that directs emergency services to a car’s location following an accident and there is a tracking tool in case of theft or forgetting where a car is parked – and roadside assistance in the event
of a vehicle breakdown. A detailed driving history can help a customer improve their fuel efficiency – saving money on petrol.
Smartdriverclub costs £6.60 a month, plus a one-off £25 joining fee, for a three-year contract. Alternatively, you can pay £180 upfront.
Direct Line provides a similar plug-in deal for motorists who take out its DrivePlus insurance. It gives precise details of where a car is parked and updates on the health of the vehicle’s battery.
Roadside assistance company and insurer the AA is also looking to enter the market with a trial of ‘connected car’ later this year.
The AA’s Ian Crowder says: ‘The system is primarily designed to capture information from the car and alert the user and the AA to malfunctions or poor health of the vehicle.’
He adds: ‘It will also record how economically you are driving, so it could be beneficial in reducing not just your fuel consumption but also maintenance costs.’
EARN MONEY ON IDLE CARS
RENTING out your car or drive is an effective way to offset maintenance costs. This is possible thanks to the growing popularity of the ‘sharing economy’, where strangers are encouraged to let, hire and swap items or assets with each other.
Roseanna Madahar makes about £2,000 a year by renting out her family’s second car, a Mini Cooper convertible, which would otherwise be sitting idle on the drive. She uses this income to offset running costs for both that and a Mercedes – the main household car.
The 33-year-old risk manager, who lives in North-West London with her husband Amit, 34, uses easyCar Club to advertise her car to drivers living nearby. She says: ‘We had thought about selling the car because we weren’t using it much, but now on average we rent it out about two days a week to people travelling to weddings or on business trips based outside of London.
‘The car has now become a valuable asset rather than a wasting one, and is paying for itself.’
The rental deal that easyCar Club offers includes fully comprehensive insurance for the driver, which runs alongside an owner’s existing policy. It is free to join, with the company taking ten per cent plus VAT from the rental price.
Meanwhile, drivers with no car can access vehicles parked on neighbours’ drives for a low rental fee. For example, a day’s rental of a Toyota Auris in Birmingham next Sunday could cost as little as £26.
Homeowners with space on the driveway and drivers seeking cheaper parking deals can also make use of websites like JustPark and Park On My Drive. Owners can bring in an income to be used towards running their car by renting out their drive, or drivers can cut parking charges by using one that is cheaper than a car park – with many spaces available near rail stations and airports.
DON’T ADD FUEL TO THE PRICE OF PETROL
CHANGING driving behaviours can result in a tank of petrol lasting longer. When 50 employees of the AA took part in an eco-driving experiment with Auto Express magazine they saved an average ten per cent on weekly fuel bills, while the best saving was 33 per cent.
Here are top tips from the AA for making a full tank last longer:
SERVICE a car regularly to maintain engine efficiency, use the right engine oil and check tyre pressure – especially before long journeys. Flatter tyres cause ‘rolling resistance’, increasing fuel consumption.
LIGHTEN the load by ditching unnecessary weight from the car and dismantle roof-racks to make the vehicle streamlined. Familiarise yourself with the journey ahead to avoid getting lost, combine multiple shorter trips into one and if the distance to travel is short, consider walking or cycling instead.
HANDLE a vehicle smoothly, accelerate and decelerate gently and avoid unnecessary braking. Stopping and starting uses more fuel so keep the car rolling if possible. Stick to lower speeds – driving at 70 miles per hour uses up to 15 per cent more fuel than at 50 miles per hour.
Cut down on air-conditioning at low speeds and change up a gear earlier where possible – at an engine speed of around 2,000 revolutions per minute in a diesel car or about 2,500 in a petrol car.