This third and final post, commenting on the MSN.com article 20 ways you waste money on your car, will focus on the money-wasters that have nothing directly to do with the performance of your vehicle. (Plus a couple of my own!)
First, there's the financial stuff related to insurance and the like:
- Not complaining when your warranty claim is rejected. If it's a known defect, then you have a better case for getting it fixed, even outside the warranty period. The article has links to two websites for finding possible recalls and defects.
- Not keeping records. Accurate records help you remember repairs, monitor performance, and demand more money at resale.
- Buying an extended warranty. It's probably not worth it, and in a lot of cases you can wait until the original warranty is about to expire.
- Overinsuring. Collision on a junker isn't worth the extra premium — if it's totaled, you won't get that much for it after the deductible. The article suggests dropping collision if the yearly premium, plus collision deductible, is more than half of the wholesale value of your vehicle.
Then there's the extra stuff you buy for your car:
- Premium gas instead of regular. It isn't better for your vehicle unless the manual says so. It actually could burn dirtier than the lower-octane blend.
- Most gas additives. Most of them just don't help, and may hurt your vehicle. There's an article here about this.
- Car bling. I might catch some flak for this one, but $1,000 wheels, 3″ exhausts, subwoofers that you can feel three cars back, and truck suspension jobs are ridiculous wastes of money. (My wife and I were snickering as we pulled up next to some guy who had this little cheap car with a blaring sound system that shook the entire frame. It was like the whole car was humming with the music. He turned it off!)
I think having collision on a old car is one of the most common mistakes. I know I did this for awhile until I sat down and realized how much money I was wasting.