How to Save Gas
Summer is coming and vacations are getting closer, time to start calculating how much Gas you’re spending on that drive! Higher gas prices have hit most of our wallets. If increased fuel expenses are consuming a larger percentage of your budget, you might find yourself considering sacrificing in other areas, like scheduled maintenance.
According to industry studies, you are not the only one. Ninety percent of personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn’t been addressed, even though some of these items are serious safety concerns.
In the area of delayed maintenance, we can learn from fleet owners and operators like trucking companies and delivery services. Their livelihood depends on properly running vehicles and they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science. The last thing they skimp on is regular maintenance.
Why is that? One thing they know is routine maintenance prevents expensive repairs on costly breakdowns. They also know that a well-maintained vehicle consumes less fuel. For some a small decrease in fuel economy could result in a loss of profits.
Here are some services that could potentially save you some gas:
Is there anything on this list that you have been putting off?
Let’s assume you chose to spend some money to get caught up on some of these services and the service improves your fuel economy by fifteen percent. What would that mean to your pocketbook?
The average vehicle is driven about twelve thousand miles a year. If you get twenty miles per gallon, over the course of one year you would pay for a hundred and fifty dollars’ worth of service and save an additional hundred and sixty five dollars if gas is at three dollars and fifty cents. If gas is four fifty, you would save two hundred and fifty-five dollars. And you’d rack up savings of three hundred and forty five dollars with gas at five and a half bucks.
From this you can see that the more fuel costs, the more it pays to take care of your car.
Some of us drive trucks for work or recreation and others want a large SUV. A fifteen percent improvement in fuel economy can generate huge savings – six hundred and sixty dollars a year if gas is four fifty a gallon. Take a look at this table to see where your savings could lie.
So catch up on those services you’ve declined or differed. Talk with your NAPA AutoCare Service Center Advisor about your vehicle’s needs. There is a good chance you will save a lot of money on fuel this year – and a lot more on repairs in years to come.
Posted
June 5th, 2014