Most of us have no choice but to own an automobile. Owning a car is what enables us to get around, to commute to our workplaces, to stock up on groceries and to visit friends and relatives. Without it, we would be forced to rely on public transport, greatly limiting where and when we could travel and making every journey a lot more stressful.
And there’s nothing wrong with this! Most of us love owning a car and it can really give you a tremendous sense of freedom being able to go anywhere you want, or even just to go for a drive and to enjoy the open roads.
The only downside? Owning a car is also expensive. Very expensive.
Among the costs, you’ll have to pay for gas, servicing, repairs, parts, insurance, the car itself… it never ends!
This can leave some people to end up driving a much worse car than they might like to. Or it can mean they don’t get a car at all…
Read on then and we’ll look at how VAGCOM and a few smart choices can help you to save money while still driving a great car…
Buying the Right Car
The first way to save money is to make sure that you invest in the right vehicle. The most obvious way to do this is simply not to spend too much money when buying the car itself. Buy second hand and you’ll find that you save a fair amount of cash – especially if you buy a car that has only been used for a short amount of time and that hasn’t done too many miles. Simply taking a car away from the dealer will reduce its value, so it’s possible to get some cars that are almost new for a fraction of the cost.
Likewise, driving the right vehicle will also save you money on your insurance. Buy a car with a smaller engine and it will cost you less to insure. Likewise, a car that has a lower value will also cost you less. Remember too that the fuel efficiency of your car will also have a massive impact on your costs. Look for something that can drive further on less fuel and you’ll spend significantly less on fuelling up!
VAGCOM
VAGCOM, or VAG-COM, is a diagnostics tool that anyone can buy and use to mend their own vehicle/run basic diagnostics.
On the face of it, VAGCOM can save you a ton of money by preventing you from needing to take your vehicle in to a garage. This package uses the exact same OBD-II interface that a professional mechanic does in order to check over the vehicle so the only difference is the price and convenience – you can use this whenever you want to, completely for free!
Typically, a mechanic will charge you $250+ an hour to repair your vehicle and part of that is using a device exactly the same as the VAGCOM you can buy and use yourself at home. Why waste the cash? What’s more, is that when a mechanic does find out what’s wrong, they’ll normally then buy the replacement parts for you and charge well over the odds in order to make a profit. You could order the same parts in yourself for a fraction of the cost again, so there’s really no good reason to go to a mechanic once you have VAGCOM.
VAGCOM will even help you to run diagnostics to help ensure your vehicle is fuel efficient which can save you money too. And it can help you to spot problems early on before they get any worse!
When buying VAGCOM, make sure to buy the Total Car Diagnostics VAG-COM package. This is far more affordable than the RossTech version (for $600!), while the very cheap options from China will likely not work as advertised and cause you to waste your hard earned cash.
Insurance
Other than buying the right car, there are a number of other ways you can reduce the costs of your insurance.
One of these is to find somewhere to keep your car. If you park your car on the pavement outside your hoes, then it will be at more risk of being stolen or damaged and thus insurance costs you more. Get a garage though and you’ll pay much less.
Of course if you don’t already have a garage, then installing one will set you back quite a bit in itself. The solution then is to try a pop-up garage. These are shelters you can erect on your front drive very cheaply and easily and which will save you a ton of time.
Another thing you can do is to try and get extra tuition for your driving. This is especially important if you’re a new driver – taking a ‘Pass Plus’ for instance can do wonders for your insurance costs. So too can adding a named driver with a great track record. The logic here is that during the time they’re driving, an accident will be less likely!
Finally, make sure that you shop around and compare prices. This can make a big difference – as can checking at the end of each year before renewing your policy.
Follow these tips, invest in VAGCOM and drive safe – that way owning your car will be as cheap as it possibly can be!
