Save to the Future

Recently, I ran to an article in USA TODAY that caught my eye. Especially because it had to do with the new car selling business. The article talks about Chrysler’s new sales campaign called “Let’s Refuel America” that will give buyers of most of their vehicles a card good for the purchases of gasoline or diesel fuel that locks in the price of $2.99 a gallon for three years. Anything over this price, Chrysler will pay for it.

I’m a big proponent of buying used vehicles rather than new. So when I see promotions such as “no money down”, “no interest for the first year”, and “cash back” they really don’t get my attention. But this one did catch my eye. With gas prices being near or at $4 a gallon and with experts saying that we might be paying almost double in a year or so, this deal is surely enticing.

While Chrysler does have some fuel efficient cars, they are better known for their big powerful engines. Their car lineup includes five models under $20,000 that get 28 miles per gallon or better in highway driving. It also rolled out a lifetime engine and transmission warranty last summer. Chrysler is desperately trying to become a contender in the car market with sales dropping continuously with customers switching over to other companies that offer better fuel efficient cars.

The deal does sound great. But I still think that after crunching some numbers to try and figure out how much you can save, you are still better off paying cash for a reliable used car that is in good condition.

So what are your thoughts on Chrysler’s new program? Is it really worth the money? Are you still better off just paying cash for a used vehicle?

While driving home from work, I looked down on my dashboard and realized I have reached 160,000 miles.  I started to think about it, and I realized how important our mechanic has been in assuring that my car has continued working for 10 years.  More importantly, he saved me some big bucks on the way.

So what are some of the things we should look for when choosing a mechanic?  How can we find them?  Here are some basic information that can help you get started:

• Use word of mouth to find a mechanic.  This is similar to when looking for a doctor.  Ask friends and family if they have anybody they recommend and what is their experiences with them.
• Use the  service center at a car dealership.  While this will probably the most expensive place to take the car to get repaired, you will know that the shop will be familiar with your car model and that they have access to the authorized parts for it.  A mechanic working at a dealership will also be updated with any problems that have been known to be common in your particular car model.
• Make sure that they are certified.  Any legitimate car mechanic should be certified to be able to work on cars.  Having a certification does not guarantee expertise or experience.  What it does show is that they have taken classes to learn and understand their craft.  Also check to see if they are recommended by the BBB (Better Business Bureau).
• Make sure that they speak English and not Car Jargon.  A good mechanic should be able to explain what’s the diagnosis for your car without intimidating or scaring you into repairs.  They should also give you a list of options you can take rather than just giving you the most expensive one.
• Choose a mechanic that works on clock time and not repair manual’s estimate.  Car  Dealerships tend to charge labor fees on what is in an industry standard book.  This manuals take into account the time it takes to complete the repair.  The problem with this is that most of the repairs take almost half the time to complete, which means you are overspending on repairs.

I can’t stress the importance of having a trustworthy, reliable car mechanic to ensure that your car stays on the road.  Your mechanic can also save you $1000’s of dollars as well.  I remember having some car problems about five years ago.  The engine light came on so I feared for the worst.  I really didn’t have a clue how to repair it myself so I took it to our mechanic.  Luckily, it was just a fuse that had burned out that need it replacing.  Total cost=$5.  Now he could of used all type of car jargon and told me that my car was going to fall appart-and I would have probably believed him.  His honesty and quick service has made me a customer of his for more than 8 years(Thankfully, I haven’t had to see him too much).

Happy Driving!

Last year, I took a position with a company where I had to drive 55 miles one way from home to work. Many people had suggested to me that I should move or look for a job closer to where I’m living. I didn’t want to do that because it would take me away from my family and fiancee, which are the most important things to me. Plus, I was excited about the job so I wasn’t even putting attention to the negatives that the position had. More importantly… the drive.

The first couple of weeks, everything was fine. The traffic and long drive was not bothering me, but I did notice that I would get home late every night, and wouldn’t have time to do anything else because I had to get some sleep, to wake up early, to get to work on time the next day. And so the cycle began.

After the first month, I noticed my energy level being less and less. I wasn’t eating healthy and I started to loose weight. I have always been thin, but I had a healthy body weight. My face looked thinner and in general, I just looked skinnier. I have always been into sports. The moment I took this job, I basically said goodbye to them. I didn’t have the energy to go and work out or to play a pickup game of basketball. I started to see my friends less and less and my overall happyness began to go down.

My relationship with my fiancee was starting to strain. Before I took this position, I was seeing her and spending some qualitiy time, 3-4 days of the week. After taking this position, I was lucky to see her more than once a week. When I did see her, I was always tired and not up to doing anything. It almost felt like the commute was sucking the energy out of me.

By the third month, I really felt unhappy. No matter what, I was working a minimum of 12 hours (9 at work and 3 commuting). I didn’t have time to exercise, see my family, or even to sit down and read a book. I felt zombie like. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore so I decided to let my boss know that the moment a position opened up closer to home, I would be interested it in taking in it. I knew that there was a possibility that I would have to take a paycut but I was willing to do it in exchange for more social time, more energy, and less stress.

Luckily, on February a positioned opened up about 4 miles from my house and I was given the offer to take it. I think I didn’t even let my boss finish the sentence with me already saying yes. The good thing, was that I kept my salary so the loss of income was not something I had to worry about. In the end, it was the best decision I could of made. I’m saving over $200 on gas a month, spending 10-12 hours extra a week at home, I’m starting to work out again, and more importantly, my fiancee and I are spending much more time together (yest that’s a good thing).

While writing this post, I found an article in The Washington Post talking about the consequences long commutes can cause to your body and mind. I highly suggest taking a look at it specially if you are thinking about doing a commute longer than an hour.

So what are your thoughts on commuting to work? I’m specially interested in hearing your experiences with it and how you dealt with it or are currently dealing with it .

Yesterday, I pulled up to one of the major gasoline chains by my house to fill up my car. My jaw dropped when I saw how much it cost me to fill my little 1999 Cavalier. $40.20!!! This got me thinking about how can one save money on gasoline. Here are some time tested methods one can use to save on gas:

• Shop around: Just remember that if you have to drive too far for just a couple of cents less, it is actually more expensive.

• Avoid running your gas to close to empty: My frugal mind would tell me to use every little drop of gas that I have. However, this actually causes you to use more gas because your car is running less efficiently when accelerating.

• Keep your car up-to-date with it’s tune up: You can increase your mileage by 5% by having a well tuned engine. This also includes changing the car’s oil when the time is due.

• Change your air filter: Studies by FuelEconomy suggest that changing your air filter on a regular basis can help you improve mileage by more than 10 percent.

• Keep your tires properly inflated and rotated: By having your tires in good shape, your car doesn’t have to exceed as much force when driving thus saving on gas.

• Service your car in the winter: I’ll be honest with you guys. I live in Texas so this concept is foreign to me. After doing some research, having your car serviced before winter comes, specially in places where snow is common, has a great impact on your gas mileage.

• Combine trips: Instead of doing multiple errands from your house and back, try combining doing as many as you can with one trip. Many small trips can consume almost double the amount of gasoline. Combining the trips will save you money and time.

Clearly there are more ways to save on gas such as commuting or using public transportation. I just wanted to point out that we can still save money on gas even though we can’t control the price of it. Gas is not going to get any cheaper any time soon lets try and use the tools we have to our advantage to keep driving ahead. I would love to hear the creative ways you guys save money on gasoline as well.