About

Fuel consumption

For the cheapest cars to run see here for petrol and here for diesel. According to the RAC's annual Motoring Index Report, the average motorist clocks up 12,000 miles each year. The average family car does about 10 miles to the litre, and average petrol prices are around 90p per litre. So average annual fuel costs for an average car come in around £1000. But the range of fuel consumption rates amongst car makes and models varies from mpg 10 to mpg 70. Switching to a more economical vehicle could typically save you £500 a year.

Typical saving £500

Speed

If your driving unavoidably involves high motorway mileage then be aware that if you drive at 70mph rather than 80mph it will typically save one litre of petrol for every 20 miles. If you do 10,000 motorway miles a year, that's a saving of nearly £450.

£450

Car Club

Own a car that only gets occasional use, such as to the supermarket, or just at weekends? Or live in a city centre where parking is restricted and costly? Either way, joining a car club instead could save you between £1000 and £1500 a year. How it works: pay a monthly fee (in some instances), book a car in advance for the time/days you need it, pick it up from a designated bay not more than 10 minutes walk from your house and access it by a smart card. There are rural car clubs as well as city ones, though they are more rare. There is a saving to the environment as well, as the Bristol Car Club has calculated that every car in the club has replaced at least 4.5 cars in the Bristol area.

£1250 plus benefit to the environment

Cutting Fuel Consumption

it's possible to cut your car's fuel consumption by up to 50%, doing the following:

Chipping (or engine remapping): have a specialist compnay such as Econotune tinker with your car's onboard computer software to coax extra power and increased fuel economy out of it - this can save up to 16% in fuel consumption.

Keep your tyres correctly inflated (3% saving), turn off the air con (8%), take your roof rack off when not in use (2%) and de-junk the boot and interior to travel lighter (2%).

Drive more efficiently by slowing naturally rather than breaking, accelerating gradually without over-revving and driving in the correct gear (up to 20%).

Use fuel comparison website, PetrolPrices, to locate your cheapest local or commute-route petrol station, then use it as often as is practically possible. Based on the typical motorist consumption of 21 litres of fuel per week, the average saving from doing this is £54 annually.

Keep Moving is a site that lets you check the traffic and avoid the jams before you set off on a route, and also indicates where to find the cheapest fuel all the way along the route. Call in on the site before you leave on a long journey and you should save both time and money.

Cut fuel consumption costs by up to 50%

Car Ads

Drive round with adverts on your car through Ads On Cars. You will be paid (up to £200) or offered free petrol for every full month you have an Ad on your car. Details here. They assess eligibility on a case by case basis - you don't need to be up and down the motorways each week.

Another such site has sprung up in Comm-Motion, which will pay you up to £220 per month for a full car advert wrap, or less for a partial wrap (e.g. just doors). You need to sign up and give details of your car and the trips that you typically make in it. They will then try to match you with an advertiser who wishes to promote in the area that you drive.

To qualify you need to have a reasonably new car in good condition and be prepared to wash it every fortnight once sporting an advert. As for the routes you usually drive, advertisers will be looking for good visibility for their advert, so using your car on a daily city commute will attract more 'work' than using it only for occasional trips in a rural area.

 Make up to £220 per month

Breakdown Cover

Save up to £75 

Car tax

You may claim exemption from vehicle excise duty (car tax) if you're getting one of the following: the higher rate mobility component of the Disability Living Allowance or the War Pensioner's Mobility Supplement. In addition. all vehicles, except buses and lorries used commercially, that were constructed before 1 January 1973 are exempt from the tax. Electrically propelled vehicles and electrically assisted pedal cycles are also exempt. For common private / light goods vehicles registered between 1973 and 2001, those over 1549cc engine size are charged at £180 per year whereas those under 1549cc are only liable for £115. But for vehicles registered since 2001, the tax is applied in a sliding scale based on CO2 emissions. The cheapest therefore include the Toyota Prius (£40 tax), Citroen C1 and Toyota Aygo (£40 tax for petrol versions, £50 tax for diesel). Full list of tax rates here.

Save £180 by going pre-1973 or electric, or save £140 by going green.

Servicing & MOT

Save money by using an independent garage rather than a dealership, but seek out a personal recommendation to ensure you don't pay inflated prices, particularly if your automotive knowledge is thin. The cost of servicing a car at a main franchised dealers' is almost double that of the price for the same work at an independent garage, according to research by Motor Warranty Direct. The standard MOT price is £50.35 which covers most vehicles but the full list is here. An MOT test is required every year on every active road-going vehicle that is more than 3 years old - though electrically assisted pedal cycles are exempt.. 

 Cut your servicing costs in two

Lift-share

Lift-share and reduce your transport costs by up to £1000 a year. If there is no travel-with-others scheme at work or in your local community then try the liftshare website.

Save up to £1000