Money Saving Auto Tips that Put Money Back in Your Pocket in Reno
With the holiday weekend around the corner are you taking a last minute road trip? Here are auto tips to help you save gas while on the road.
According to an article at b.weather.com, “Road Trip Tips”
“1. Trade In and Trade Up
While many drivers would love to trade in their current vehicle for something that gets better fuel economy, it usually doesn’t make a lot of financial sense. You absolutely must do the math to figure out how much you could potentially save, given that you’ll be spending tens of thousands of dollars on a new vehicle.
For instance, let’s say you’re driving a 2008 Toyota Camry V6 that gets 22 miles per gallon combined. You’ve got your eye on a new 2012 Hyundai Sonata, which averages 28. Using a 12,000-mile annual average and assuming gas prices stay high at $4.00/gal, the most you’re going to save is about $467 a year. Considering that you’re likely really close to paying off that Camry, if you haven’t already, it’s probably best to keep it and look forward to all the extra cash you’ll have to spend on gas when you don’t have a car payment.
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But what if your car is much older? That’s when it makes more sense to go ahead and trade it in on a new model, and start plowing your savings on fuel and maintenance costs into your new monthly payment. For instance, my wife’s BMW 3-Series is now 11 years old. While there’s nothing wrong with it today, for the last year or two we’ve begun to see our repair costs go up and it seems like most visits to the dealer rapidly escalate into the four-digit territory. We’re already thinking about buying a new car to replace it, so the fuel savings would really just be icing on the cake.
The 2001 BMW 325i is rated at just 20 mpg combined, while a new 2012 328i returns 28 mpg. That works out to $685 in savings annually. But what if she had a high-mileage commute, and was putting on 50% more miles? Now the gas savings add up to over $1,000, which is like getting a nice fat incentive check from the manufacturer, every year.” To read the entire article click here.
Before any road trip auto service is the key, to schedule auto service contact Wayne’s Automotive Center at 775-525-9366 or visit WaynesAutoCenter.com.