How do I spend less on running my car?

Three pages in this library are about what a car costs once you own it: the insurance bill, the fuel, and the air in the tyres (tires in the US). None of them gives you a figure for your own car; each says what it checked and where it stops. The insurance page comes first because its safety line is about driving without insurance.

Before you cut any car insurance cover to save money, get quotes for the same cover from other insurers, and look up what your car would sell for today. Before you cut your car insurance, get quotes for the same policy elsewhere starts with its safety line: keep your current policy running until a new one has started, because driving during a gap is driving without insurance. In the UK, GOV.UK says: “It’s illegal to drive a vehicle on a road or in a public place without at least 3rd party insurance.” It says the police could give a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points, a court could give an unlimited fine and a driving ban, and the police can seize a vehicle driven uninsured and in some cases destroy it; it says there are different rules for vehicle insurance in Northern Ireland. In the US, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which brings together the state insurance regulators, says: “Most states require that you purchase some kind of insurance coverage to drive legally in the state.” The rules differ by state, so check yours with your state insurance department.

Some people say that changing insurer and keeping the same cover can save more than cutting cover with the insurer you have, and some suggest asking for new quotes at every renewal instead of letting the policy renew by itself, because prices for the same driver and car can differ a lot between insurers. For a fair comparison every insurer needs the same facts and the same cover; the NAIC says “it is crucial that you provide the same information to each agent or company”. It also says every state insurance department has staff to answer questions about auto insurance, and that many publish premium comparisons. In the UK, GOV.UK says you may want to use an insurance broker, and one person says a broker who works with several insurers can compare more options than an agent who sells for one company. The UK Financial Conduct Authority has had a rule in its Handbook (ICOBS 6B.2.1R) since 1 January 2022: “A firm must not set a renewal price that is higher than the equivalent new business price.” That compares your insurer with its own price for a new customer buying the same way you first bought, and it covers home and motor insurance; another insurer can still be cheaper. Some people say they overpaid for a while because the details on the policy were out of date, such as how many miles they drive in a year, so tell your insurer when something real changes, and give true figures.

A payout is not what you paid for the car. The NAIC says: “The company is required to pay you what your vehicle was actually worth (as a used car) the moment before the crash,” and “It’s a good idea for you to independently research the value of your car too.” In the UK, the Financial Ombudsman Service says that if your vehicle is written off, your insurer will usually pay out its market value, the amount it would have been worth just before it was stolen or damaged. Some people warn that “the car isn’t worth much” is a thought that can mislead, so before you decide a car is not worth insuring, look up what cars like yours are selling for near you today.

The cut people discuss is to keep the part the law requires and drop the part that pays for your own car. In the US, the NAIC says collision cover “is optional and not required by law” but “may be required by your lending institution or lessor”, and that you are not required by law to carry comprehensive cover; in the UK, GOV.UK says “Third party insurance is the legal minimum” and “does not cover any other costs like repair to your own vehicle.” The page does not make the choice for you. Some people say that on a car worth little, damage cover can cost more over the years than it would pay out; some say they regretted dropping it after an accident; some say to drop it only when you own the car outright and could buy a replacement from savings straight away. To see the real saving, ask for two quotes, one with damage cover and one without, giving the same facts each time. The page does not suggest lowering your liability cover for any reason: the NAIC says that if a court judgment or settlement is more than your policy limits, “you will have to pay the difference.” Do not give an insurer false or incomplete answers to get a lower price. The Financial Ombudsman Service says: “Always provide accurate information about who will be driving, where the car will be kept, and any driving convictions. Failing to be truthful could mean your policy is invalid and claims may not be paid.” In the UK, naming an older driver as the main driver when a younger person mainly drives the car is called “fronting”, and the Insurance Fraud Bureau says it is fraudulent and illegal and carries the same consequences as any uninsured driving: the car seized and possibly crushed, a driving ban and an unlimited fine. If you are not sure what a question means, ask the insurer or a broker before you buy. If you cannot afford the bill at all, do not drive if the policy lapses; the Insurance Fraud Bureau says to speak to your insurer about other payment options if you are struggling with costs, and MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice in the UK, and a nonprofit credit counselor or 211 in the US, can help you look at the whole budget.

To save fuel when you slow down, take your foot off the accelerator early and keep the car in gear for as long as you can; do not coast in neutral or with the clutch pressed down. Stay in gear when you slow down to save fuel is for petrol (gasoline in the US) and diesel cars; if yours is electric or a hybrid, check its owner’s manual, because the page does not cover them. Its safety lines come first. The UK Highway Code, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales, describes coasting in rule 122 as “a vehicle travelling in neutral or with the clutch pressed down”, and says it can reduce driver control: engine braking is eliminated, vehicle speed downhill will increase quickly, increased use of the footbrake can reduce its effectiveness, steering response will be affected, particularly on bends and corners, and it may be more difficult to select the appropriate gear when needed. Washington State law (RCW 46.61.630, whose history note dates it to 1965) says that the driver of any motor vehicle on a down grade shall not coast with the gears in neutral, and that the driver of a commercial motor vehicle on a down grade shall not coast with the clutch disengaged; the page read only that state’s law. A vehicle maker’s owner’s manual supplement for one model, published on the US NHTSA website, says that except in an emergency you should not shift to N (neutral) while driving, and that coasting in N may cause serious damage to the transmission. Your own owner’s manual says what applies to your car, and your state’s motor vehicle agency can say what the law is where you drive.

On fuel, the UK Vehicle Certification Agency, a government agency, says to slow down or go downhill by taking your foot off the accelerator as early as you can and staying in gear; it says that in most situations and for most vehicles this activates the fuel cut-off switch, which reduces fuel flow to virtually zero. A 2019 article on the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency’s blog gives the reason: in neutral the engine is still burning fuel to keep itself idling. The same article names an exception: at low revs, such as in stop-start traffic, it says the fuel cut-off does not operate, and neutral or clutch down is then more efficient. So in a crawling queue the article’s fuel advice and the Highway Code’s control warning pull in different directions, and at normal road speeds staying in gear is the advice on both. One person says that holding a gear can take slightly more fuel than idling in neutral, though the difference is small. The page found no US government source that says whether coasting in neutral saves or wastes fuel, and no source it read says how much coasting in gear saves.

What else does save fuel, on that page: the US fuel economy site says aggressive driving, meaning speeding, rapid acceleration and braking, can lower gas mileage by roughly 15% to 30% at highway speeds and 10% to 40% in stop-and-go traffic, and the UK agency says harsh acceleration is particularly bad for fuel consumption and that watching the traffic as far ahead as you can helps you avoid unnecessary acceleration and braking. That site says each vehicle reaches its best fuel economy at a different speed and that gas mileage usually decreases rapidly above 50 mph, and the UK agency says that driving at 75 mph instead of 60 mph uses around 18% more fuel. Do not follow close behind a truck to save fuel: the Highway Code says tailgating, a gap to the vehicle in front that is too small for you to stop safely if it suddenly brakes, is dangerous, intimidating and can cause collisions (rule 126). Some people warn that driving far below the speed of other traffic raises the risk of a crash; Washington State law (RCW 46.61.425) says no one shall drive so slowly as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, except when a reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law, and in England, Scotland and Wales rule 169 says not to hold up a long queue of traffic and, if necessary, to pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass.

Fill your tyres to the number on the sticker in the driver’s door jamb or in the owner’s manual, not the number on the tyre, and check the spare’s air at the same time. Check the spare, and fill to the door sticker is a page about safety and cost together. The US Department of Energy’s fuel economy site says that keeping tyres at the proper pressure can improve gas mileage by 0.6% on average, up to 3% in some cases, and says not to use the maximum pressure printed on the tyre’s sidewall; a vehicle maker’s owner’s manual says under-inflation also causes excessive wear, poor handling and worse fuel economy. Its safety line is the part to keep: tyres can fail while you fill them. Some people say that if you hear a sound like a zipper while you inflate a tyre, you should stop at once and move away from it. One person warns that a tyre driven flat for long enough to damage its inside can burst when it is pumped up, and says it belongs in a safety cage for inflating; if you have driven on one flat, do not pump it up yourself, take it to a tyre shop. A vehicle maker’s owner’s manual says a tyre that is badly under-inflated, by about 10 psi (70 kPa) or more, risks heat build-up, a blowout and its tread coming apart. And do not change a tyre in or near a lane of traffic: a US state transport department says it is better to ruin a tyre than to risk being hit, and the UK Highway Code says not to attempt repairs on a motorway. The manual says to check when the tyres are cold, and that warm tyres normally read 4 to 6 psi higher than the cold figure, so you should not let air out of warm tyres to bring the reading down. Many people say a spare slowly loses air and can be flat by the time you need it, and one manual says to check the spare’s pressure each time you check the others; the spare may not use the same number, so check its own, on its label or in your manual.

Who this is not for. The insurance page is not for someone with no car insurance now, because driving uninsured is against the law in the UK and, the NAIC says, in most US states, so an insurer or a broker is the first call; if you owe money on the car or lease it, check with your lender before you change anything; and if your problem is a claim that was refused or a payout that looks too low rather than the price, in the UK you complain to the insurer first, and the Financial Ombudsman Service (0800 023 4567) says that if you get no final response within eight weeks, or you are unhappy with it, it takes complaints, and a state insurance department does in the US. The fuel page is not for an electric car, a hybrid, or a very old car with a carburettor (carburetor in the US), and it says not everyone can drive less to cut the fuel bill. The tyre page is not for someone at the roadside with a flat right now, who should not stay in or near a lane of traffic, or for a car with no spare, where the spare half does not apply (look now, in the boot or trunk or under the floor, to see what your car has). If you tow, carry heavy loads, or have fitted wheels and tyres that are not the size the car came with, the page says the sticker may not be the whole answer, and if a warning light is on, your owner’s manual says what it means. None of the three says what your own car will save, and none covers repairs, loans or choosing a car; the answer on buying a used car is the place for the yearly sum, and the one on car jobs is the place for what a garage should do.