Do you have any genuine tricks for keeping/maintaining a car that are frugal?
Could be anything from getting a deal on a car wash, or keeping the interior nice, or keeping the engine or tires or anything really in good order.
Also, are there any things you used to be able to do frugally with your car which has changed to be more expensive–maybe due to auto manufacturers changing how cars are designed?
(I’m asking this so if something used to be frugal but isn’t now, people speak up about it.)
Never drive in a hurry. Seriously what’s the rush? Don’t ever crash and you’ll save a ton of money.
Maintenance is critical for a long and drama free life for a vehicle.
Dashcam. For $80 you can fight back against your insurance company when they try to screw you out of thousands!
Since this is “frugal”, my brain immediately went, “I wonder how much a used one is?”
And for some reason the idea was unsavory, as if a used dash cam might be dirty or something. But I can’t imagine it’d be different than any other sort of used electronics.
There’s probably a good ghost or horror story in the thought though, playing on the idea of buying up used dash cams and seeing what horrible images are left behind on them…
Dash cams are often exposed to extreme heat due to their placement. I wouldn’t trust a used one not to fail due to this. Hell, I’ve had brand new ones fail after about six years because of heat damage. My car navigation is suffering the same fate. It sucks when you don’t have covered parking.
Dash cams are often exposed to extreme heat due to their placement.
To this point, anyone considering a dashcam should get one with a super capacitor and NOT an internal battery. This is especially true if you live in an area that gets extreme cold or heat throughout the year.
Stay on top of changing your fluids. Oil changes are a lot cheaper than a new engine (plus labor) or any other big component of your car, like transmission or radiator. Change your engine oil (about every 5K miles), transmission fluid, engine coolant, brake fluid (every 3-6 years), diff fluid (if you have a differential), transfer case fluid (if you have a transfer case), and power steering fluid (if it’s hydraulic based)
If you live in a salty area (i.e. a place that snows a lot), learn how to apply Fluid Film or any oil-based thin film for rust prevention under your car. It’ll keep the car going for a lot longer and fluid film is a lot cheaper than a new sub frame or structural component of your car
Service manuals from the manufacturers are available for subscription, but if you know where to find them, I’d be curious to see, because my search engine skills have gotten worse as time has progressed. I think Toyota and Honda sells their subscription for 2 days of access for $20 and you should be able to download the relevant PDFs you want
As for appearances for you car, don’t eat or really keep anything in your car, unless it is for the car and its emergency kit. So I try to take everything out of the car with me if my car doesn’t need it like clothes, groceries, or anything like that. This makes car break-ins less likely to occur, and if it does, it’s more of a bad day or two (depending on your skillset/money you have) instead of a gut-wrenching moment when you realize they stole a sentimental valuable. Don’t park under trees to avoid leaves or tree sap. Neither under power lines because of bird poo
Remember that cars are depreciating tools to get you from point A to point B. The most important part of it is that it’s mechanically sound and the safety features for it work. The next part is that it blows cold AC and hot air for heat. Anything beyond that is a bonus
It used to be economical to do my own brake pad changes, but since about 2015 getting the lines bled correctly after (on an American car) requires a special computer that isn’t available to the public.
Let’s all support better “right to repair” laws.
Edit: Don’t let my comment keep you from doing your own brake pads. As pointed out - a brake line bleed isn’t typically needed when just doing brake pads.
