So, you feel like every time you turn around there is more maintenance required on your car.  It gets old paying for that all the time doesn’t it?  Well, lucky for us, there are some things that can help us save money on our car maintenance, we just need to start implementing them!

Curious?  Okay.  You can start to save money on car maintenance with these tips:

1. Change your oil less often.  Yes, I know we grew up thinking that we needed to change the oil in our car every 3000 miles, but the truth is most newer cars actually call for oil changes to happen less often than that.  Often around the 5000 mark.
2. Spring for the lifetime alignment.  Okay, so Firestone has this program, as I’m sure most places do, where you can pay $110 (or close to that) to get a lifetime alignment on your car.  Considering that an alignment is in the $50 dollar range (or more) this more than pays for itself after 2-3 visits.  I live in a rural area and I drive gravel all the time so this is a maintenance item I do often. You may not be the same.
3. Use quality gas.  No that doesn’t mean get the supreme, but make sure you are getting good gas from a reputable station.
4. Don’t run your tank to E or even close.  Be sure to always keep your tank closer to the full line than the empty line.  Why does it matter, you ask?  Well the closer you get to the bottom, the more sediment that could possibly get into your fuel lines, filters, etc which requires more maintenance and costs more money.
5. Use an independent mechanic.  Unless you bought at a dealership that is offering you free service, skip the dealer for the work on your car.  They tend to be priced much higher than an independent mechanic shop.

What tips do you use to save money on vehicle maintenance?