Owning a car is neccessary in today's world, especially when you have a family - but it can be unneccesarily expensive. Here's some great advice for parents, and some great inside tips on how to save money through the family car.

There are many ways in which you can save real money when running your family car. These can be placed into three main areas: actual running expense, minimizing serving costs, and reducing the slide in value as the car gets older.

Cutting down on unneccesary expensidure in each of these areas will provide a huge boost to your finances.

Actual running expenses: how to save on day-to-day running costs

• Maintenance: keep the tyres at the correct pressure. If they look to be wearing unevenly, get them checked. Get a wheel alignment done at least once a year.
• When driving: accelerate slowly, and brake slowly. This is just a case of thinking ahead: if you're alert enough, and thinking about these two things, you'll save a lot on fuel, and cause less brake pad wear.
• Petrol: plan in advance where you should be refuelling your car - don't just go for the nearest service station. Look up prices on the internet and locate the closest store to you with the best price.
• Tyre replacements: again, it pays to shop around. You can get a little information on the internet, but it really helps to call garages in person. You'll get an immediate answer, and you may even be able to negotiate a deal.
• Eliminate unneccessary oil changes. Manufacturers suggest that you change your oil every 5000 miles or 7500 miles; some recommend even longer intervals. There's a reason for this: normal driving requires a lower interval and hard usage requires a higher. If you live in a cold climate, take mostly very short trips, tow a trailer or have a high-revving, high-performance engine, use the more aggressive schedule. If you seldom drive your car, go by the calendar rather than your odometer. At any rate, biannual changes are the minimum.

• Keep an eye out for anomalies around your car. Check the space around it on the pavement or garage floor every day, where you might find oil stains if there is a leak. If there is, don't let it go unrepaired, as this will cost you much more money in the long run.
• Do it yourself. If you take a little time to learn (from a friend or mechanic) basic maintenance procedures - such as oil change and greasing - you should save a lot of time and money. These aren't particularly arduous jobs: changing the oil, oil filter and greasing should take about 30 minutes in total.
• Other great ways to save money by performing maintenance yourself are: changing the car's air filter yourself and replacing wiper fluid yourself.
• Keep an eye out for loss of any fluids: this is often an unnoticed cause of large maintenance costs. Check regularly to ensure the radiator water level, engine oil level, brake fluid level, automatic gearbox oil level, power steering oil and/or clutch fluid levels are all close to, or at, the 'full' mark.
• Bargain hunt. If your car requires some specialized servicing or repair, shop around. Get competing quotes, and see if you can get a lower price from one.

Minimizing the Value Slide - get the most for your car when you sell

• Keep the car clean inside and out from the start: you won't have any hard-to-shift dirt later on, it will smell inviting, and you'll probably be inclined to treat it better.
• Get the car polished at least once a year - twice a year is better. Keeping it at a high level of polish like this will protect the paint from fading and strengthen it from scratches. You could do this yourself if you know how, but it pays to use a good brand of polish.
• Look for rust spots. These can occur around the windscreen, under the doors, in the door sills and other parts of the body. If you notice any, treat them immediately with a good brand rust killer. If you feel unqualified, get a specialist to fix it right away.
• If you see stone chips, treat them right away. These can turn into rust spots if not cared for. You could either use a auto paint spray can of the same color or touch it up with a small paint brush and touch up paint.
• Keep a log book of all monies spent on the car and at what mileage/kilometers they were done. Keep the receipts. This will help you get the best price when you sell if prospective buyers can see you looked after the car well.

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