Looking to avoid that big car repair bill in the future? Hoping to save $100 on gas without going out and buying a hybrid? Here are some car maintenance tips that I use with my vehicles that will help you extend the life of your car, cut your maintenance costs, and and save you some serious money.

1. Inflate Your Car Tires each Month:

Make sure they are at the proper tire pressure. Low tire pressure burns 3.3% more gas. For two cars that could run $150 a year! But who wants to do it at the gas station? Head to Amazon and buy yourself a Viair Portable Compressor for about $40. It makes for a good and cost-effective present for your hubby and cuts down on the need to drive to a gas station.

2. Replace the Brakes Before You Hear Them:

I see this all the time. Waiting an extra month to get the brakes done ends up costing you another $150 because the rotors need to be resurfaced. Make the time and take them in early. A good mechanic will check your brakes for free when you are getting other service done.

3. Measure your Car Mileage:

Your trip meter can set off an early alarm that something is terribly wrong. When my car was new, I was getting 450 miles per tank, which isn't bad for an 18 gallon fill. As a vehicle gets older, it's normal to see a slight decline in fuel efficiency. But as my car approached its eighth birthday, the mileage spiked down 50 miles per tank for no apparent reason. It turned out to be a combination of things including the kind of oil I was using.

4. Use Manufacturers' Recommended Oil:

This is an easy one but it can save you about 2% of your driving expenses or a $100 a year. Stocking up on a great sale of motor oil might seem like a great idea - but if it's not the manufacturer's recommended weight, the drop in fuel efficiency might end up costing you three times of whatever you saved.

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catbo  - good article but dump the nutty 'co2 is pollution' |2011-05-30 04:41:14 good tips overall but no need to be politically correct in saying 'carbon emissions won't be dumped into the atmosphere.' carbon monoxide is pollution and shouldn't be put into the atmosphere, but for the last 40 years our catalytic converters have taken care of about 95% of it (cold starting accounts for the remainder). carbon dioxide is not pollution. warm oceans and the earthscape release 98% (measured in gross) of all planetary carbon dioxide emissions and cold oceans and greenery constantly reabsorb it, with an average lifespan of 5 years. The mathematical relationship to warming is inverse logarithmic, not a runaway positive feedback loop. The establishment elites call the 3% man-made CO2 emissions pollution and not the other 97% because the former is taxable while the latter is not. They engage in bait and switch journalism by implying CO2 is CO, but the level of CO in the atmosphere is close to nil (go buy a digital CO detector and the levels won't register). They are lying to you in implying a majority scientific consensus. For example, a recent poll used a subset of a subset of a subset of scientists (75 out of 77, with 8,000+ initially contacted) to erroneously imply a overwhelming belief by the whole. Simply not true. Let's quit being duped by bait and switch journalism. Let's not be tools of the elites. Reply 1 0

laser pointer pen |2011-05-12 19:09:03 Well done, I got some useful information from this article.By the way, have you ever tried a link:http://www.lasersman.com/? I need you some information about it. Reply 0 0

laser pointer pen  - laser pointer pen |2011-05-12 19:08:37 Well done, I got some useful information from this article. By the way, have you ever tried a laser pointer pen? I need you some information about it. Reply 0 0

Car Audio Electronics  - Great content |2010-08-12 05:20:08 Those tips are really necessary. Transportation is becoming more and more expensive, if you take care of your car and done properly, it can be very rewarding. Reply 0 0

lauren |2010-06-29 12:12:02 Another great way to start saving money is doing some research on what you are paying for your monthly payments, are there ways to cut those payments down? I'm all about saving money so I thought I'd also share how I saved money on my auto payments. I read a blog post on AOL's walletpop the other day about a company called MoneyAisle. It does the online research for the consumer and has banks bid on us online, where we receive the top 3 rates to choose from for auto refinancing. I went through the process and ended up saving $75 a month on my payment, which basically pays off my insurance. Right now the search process for the best rates is such a pain and dealers try to get the highest dollar amount, so this is a super awesome tool. I def suggest taking a stab at going through the process, you will be shocked when you see what you get as a rate compared to what you are currently paying or what you are given by other banks/dealers. Hope this also helps! Reply 1 0

Reggie78 |2010-07-21 10:49:45 @Lauren - cool advice on the car refinance. I didn't know you could do that. Reply 0 0

haverwench |2010-06-26 20:33:11 I'm not sure I see the point of buying a $40 air compressor when the gas station only charges 50 cents. You'd have to inflate your tires 80 times to pay for the thing. If you add air six times a year, that will take over 13 years, which might be longer than you keep the car. Also, to clarify point #4: it's *only* the weight of the oil that matters, not the brand. Click and Clack, of Car Talk fame, report that all brands are pretty much the same (except for petroleum vs. synthetic). Reply 0 0

Detailed Reader  - Item #6... |2010-06-25 03:46:40 Barometers measure atmospheric pressure and not temperature, which is measured using a thermometer. Good article, though! Reply 0 0

thirdculturekid  - Great Advice! |2009-10-19 21:33:12 Thanks for the great advice! Reply 0 0

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