Car Repair: Ways You Can and Can’t Save on Gas

Experts and laymen alike have spent a lot of time looking at ways they can use car repair and special fixes to help them get the most gas mileage possible. After all, gasoline is on the rise. Sometimes, this rise is stark and surprising. This is when people get up in arms, worthless boycott ideas hit Facebook, and everyone at the pumps is grumbling to themselves and everyone that will listen about the exorbitant price. But then there are valleys, where people trick themselves into thinking that things aren’t so bad after all. Of course, those valleys get shallower and shallower every time, while the peaks get higher and higher. The fact is that gas prices are heading up, and almost no one thinks this trend is soon to change. Here are some ways to get the most out of a full tank of gas.

First things first: what won’t work? Some car repair shops will try to push solutions on you that have proven not only to be unhelpful in protecting your gas mileage, but some have even been shown to damage a vehicle. Some of these products include fuel line products, oil additives, and fuel injection fluids. Not all of them are completely without worth, but before you put anything in your vehicle that you’re not sure about, do your research. You could save money by skipping it altogether and, in some cases, you could be preventing unnecessary wear and tear on your car. Even if you trust your mechanic, insist that he not add any of these devices or products until you’ve done your own independent research. He could be passing on what he’s been told, without any real experience or knowledge to back it up.

One of the best ways to improve your gas mileage is to get a tune-up. This will ensure that everything that powers your vehicle is working at its maximum efficiency. You may be surprised at how much efficiency can be lost through time and driving. Ignoring this fact can not only lead to problematic car repair bills, but it could take a serious toll on how much gas you go through in the average month. Find a good mechanic you can trust and give most of your work to him, when possible. Don’t be afraid to avoid the local garages and hit up the big chains. There’s nothing wrong with supporting small business, but the truth is that you’re much more likely to get scammed when you go local.

Don’t ignore your tires, either, when it comes to saving money on gas. There are few things you can get from a car repair shop that will compare to keeping your tires properly inflated. This reduces the friction between the rubber and the road. You may lose a bit of traction, but no one is advocating filling them beyond specification. You should see an immediate improvement in how far you can go on that very expensive tank of unleaded.