Five new car expenses your dealer won’t tell you

It kind of feels great when you own a car doesn’t it? In fact, buying a brand new car you had been waiting for a long time to launch is indeed a happy and joyful experience. This gives you probably the greatest opportunity to flaunt your ride to your friends and family members who, on the other hand, may envy you at the same time.

In addition to various reasons for you being happy, there are grounds for thinking about the EMI too. You need to consider spending on many other inclusive expenses. Below are five major points to help you have a gist of expenses you need to incur after officially holding the keys of your new car:

Adequate Insurance Cover

Insurance is one of the primary expenses you’re going to incur after buying your dream car. And, it’s is probably the biggest amount you’re going to annually spend on your car. A car insurance policy is mandatory for every car plying on the roads in India, as per the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988. The rate of the premium is subject to the model and type of the vehicle.

Over the past a few years, the variant of a car insurance policy that has become quite popular is the Zero Depreciation Cover. Although this insurance cover costs 10 to 20 percent more as compared to traditional car insurance plans, it covers almost each part of the car. Also, if you don’t make a claim in a policy year, then you’re entitled to receive No Claim Bonus (NCB) when you renew the policy, which increases after passing each claim-free year.

Frequent Maintenance

When it comes to the maintenance part, you are not allowed to cut any corner. You need to visit the service centre periodically to make sure it’s being driven safely by you. Periodic maintenance of the car not just includes outer and inner cleanings; there are a lot of other things to ensure are fit and fine, such as tyre care (balancing, rotation, and alignment etc.) Make sure you take care of the periodic maintenance of your car, as doing this keeps your car in a good shape.

As you know that the tyres are the essential parts of your car. They’re the only part of your car, which keeps in direct contact with the ground. You need to ensure that the tyre pressure is okay too, each time you need to go on a drive.

Not-so-frequent Maintenance

Although you don’t have to worry about this no-so-frequent maintenance, all you have to do is take your care to the service centre at every 5000km. drive. Since everything that needs to be checked and fixed during these services is fixed by the manufacturer. You can check the service manual of your car for more information about what goes on during these maintenance sessions at the authorized service centres.

Parts Replacement

Each tiny part of your car is essential for you to drive it safely, and thus, you need to pay adequate attention to your own safety. In recent points, we discussed balancing and alignment of tyres as among the key things, we also need to consider changing those of your fortune wheels (not one or two but all four tyres at the same time).

You must get the tyre changed when you see the thread depth has gone below the recommended level. Overlooking this need directly affects the performance of the brakes. So make sure you invest in a good set of tyres for your car.

Parking and Fuel Expenses

Perhaps you don’t see your fuel and parking expenses bother you much in comparison to the other expenses discussed above. However, your fuel and parking expenses have a major chunk of the dough that you spend annually on your car. Each time you visit the marker or a shopping mall, you have to pay somewhere between Rs. 50 and Rs. 100 for the parking. Also, the parking rates fluctuate between the weekdays and weekends. This makes a total of approximately Rs. 4000 to Rs. 6000 in a year, which is purely subject to the city you live in and locations you move to and fro between.

Conclusion

Cars are pure love for some people while for some they’re just another source of transportation. It’s up to you what you think of your car – a means of transportation or it’s a piece of your heart. With the increasing fuel prices and third-party insurance premium in India, you must make a wise decision about which car to buy keeping your requirement and budget in view even if you’re buying one on EMIs.