End of the month just passed. You probably already paid off your monthly bills like water, electricity, gas, and car insurance. That’s too bad. Well, not that you paid your bills on time, but that you paid WAY too much for one of them.

The fact of the matter is most people could be saving a ton of money on their car insurance, and not by switching to any lizard/caveman auto insurance provider (although it doesn’t hurt to shop around). Here are some great bill slashing tips that most people don’t know about:

Get testy: Most states have a defensive drivers test you can take and many providers will lower your rates if you pass. Check with your state and insurance provider for specifics.

Lock it up: If you live in a city where most people park on the street, you might be able to get a discount if you park your car in a garage at night.

Up in smoke: Smoking is considered a driving hazard to some providers so they offer discounts for people who quit the habit.

Increase your discount: Time to reduce your monthly payments by increasing your deductable to the maximum amount. Sure you may have to pay a bit more if you get in an accident, but if you have been following MoneyLounge, you won’t have to pay it at all when you fix your own car!

Safety town: If you feel safe in your area, you could reduce your coverage to only cover the bare minimum and drop the collision and theft coverage. It’s a bit risky if you own a new car, but it’s great for the all clunkers out there.

Bundle up: Lots of providers insure more than just cars, so look into saving money by insuring your home, car, and life with the same company. This way you can save a ton on a bundle package.

Making the grade: Calling all scholars! When you have a grade point average over a certain amount, most providers will reward you by cutting your rates.
A little creativity goes along way when looking for deals, so call your provider and see what you are eligible for.

What is the most unique way you saved on car insurance?

Photo by:Dittaeva // CC by 2.0

Driving along you start to hear it. A clank, bang, squeal, snap, or pop and you know it’s not good. This is the sound of your wallet about to drain at the hands of a mechanic. Well it’s time to plug that drain and start saving hundreds of dollars on your car repair.

Most problems with a car turn out to be something very simple and take a mechanic under twenty minutes to fix, for the low price of three hundred bucks! Save the cash and use some of these tips to get your car running again without having to take a second job.

Look it up: Don’t just stare at the engine and wait for the solution to pop out at you, take the time to research what’s wrong. The internet is the best place to start when you hear an odd noise or something isn’t working the way it’s supposed to. Go to an online search engine and type in the year and model car you have and the problem it’s having. Most of the time, there will be a hand full of people who had the same issue and they describe what was wrong and how they fixed it. If you can’t find anything online, consult a friend who is a car guru to get their opinion. Between these two options, you are bound to find the source of your auto woes.

Parts galore: Once you find the culprit, shop around to find the best deal on the part you need to fix it. Buying the first part you find is silly, look around at different auto part stores and haggle for the best price or try going to an auto junk yard, these places are perfect for bargain parts.

Auto shop 101: Now that you have your parts it’s time to start fixing! Haynes.com is a perfect place to pick up a repair manual for around twenty five bucks that details the entire inner workings of your steel beast.

Fixin’ time: Now that you have the parts and step by step instructions, it’s time to fix her up. Even if you don’t have the tools, call a friend over who does and ask to borrow their tools or their time. Grab a pizza and make it fun and you will have your car running in no time.

Before you run to the mechanic for every little squeak, creak, or beep your car has, take the time to research the problem and you could get that mechanical monstrosity up and running for a fraction of the cost!

What is the most you had to pay in mechanical medical bills to fix your ailing vehicle?

Photo by: B-tal // CC 2.0

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Taking your car into a shop just for an oil change can be costly nowadays. Then they throw a bunch of extras, which you can replace yourself, and for a lot less than what they’re offering you. Here are a couple of quick, easy, and cheap things you can do for your car that will help you save a bundle of money:

Oil Change: The oil in your car keeps your engine and parts running smoothly. Your local mechanic might just give you an estimate of 3,000 to 5,000 miles, but learning how to do this yourself can save yourself from a pricey oil changes over the lifetime of the car. Checking the oil yourself isn’t a tough task, all you need to do is check it every 300-500 miles to see if your oil is getting dark. You can find plenty of guides online to show you how to change your oil.

Air Filter: Many places will try to get you to replace your air filter during your oil change and try to charge you top dollar for it, sometimes upwards of $30. Most air filters only cost around $5-7, and the repair itself takes 5 minutes. Check under your car’s hood and look for the air filter housing (it should look like a rectangular or circular box). Take off the top of the housing and the air filter will be sitting right there. If it looks dirty, you can swap it out.

Wiper blades: You can usually tell when your wiper blades aren’t doing their job anymore. Most auto repair places will ask if you want to change these out when they get worn down, but will charge you for each individual wiper blade. Most superstores nowadays will sell any wipers that you need, plus you can get them on sale (such as 2 for 1 deals)! Finding the right wiper blades for you will be easy, as they will have a guidebook there where you can just look up your car’s model and it will tell you which ones to buy. Replacing them takes seconds.

Lights: Another fix that’s as easy as changing a light bulb, because that’s all you’re doing! Most cars will sense when you have a blown bulb, and get your attention somehow, whether it’s a light that pops up or your turn signals blinking faster than usual. All you have to do is find the right bulb and replace it.
Fuses: Tracing the problem back to a blown fuse can be tricky, but once you’ve found that out they’re easier than replacing a light bulb. Open up the fuse box and make sure to replace it with a fuse with the right amperage.

While it might be easier to drive into an auto tune up place just to get all this stuff done for you, you can save more than pocket change by learning to do these things yourself. Are there any easy fixes that you do for your car?

During ‘Cash for Clunkers’, many people got great deals on various cars they had their eyes on. Maybe you were one of these lucky people. You’ve been driving your new car around, and something happens, it leaves a sour taste in your mouth. You may have a lemon.

A Lemon is described as: “any new vehicle that has a substantial problem that isn’t fixed within a reasonable number or attempts, or that has had a certain number of days out of service.” Don’t wait until you waste a bunch of time and money to figure out you have a lemon for sure, start documenting early and make sure you are able to switch out your lemon.

Write it All Down – Anything you discuss with your dealership or technicians about your car, you should document it. Keeping track of the date, time, contact information, and what was discussed, is a great way to safeguard your new car in case it is a potential lemon.

Keep a Copy – Make sure you’re documenting everything about your car’s repairs. Keep your purchase contract, warranty book, owner’s manual, and any repair receipts. Keeping copies of these will make sure that you know what is covered by your warranty and how much you are paying.

Time it – Keep track of the time your car is in the shop, number of times, and dates. When you do try to prove that your car is a lemon, this will help show the timeline of all your repairs.

Know Your Federal Rights – There are two Federal laws that will protect your interests in regards to a lemon. The first is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which protects you against unfair or bogus warranties. The second is the Uniform Commercial Code. This gives you the right to return a lemon for a refund or a replacement.

Know Your Local Rights – Every state will have specific laws dealing with and defining lemons. They will deal with what kinds of repairs are allowed, how many fixes before a replacement, time frame, and mileage for your lemon.

Buddy Up – Look up an attorney that deals with the Lemon Law. The dealership or service center may try to muscle you into thinking that your car is not applicable for the Lemon Law, but you shouldn’t let that keep you from presenting your case to an attorney.

If the new car you just got happens to be a lemon, don’t just sit there with a sour look on your face, get everything documented. Don’t let your lemon become a dilemma. Does your new car happen to be a lemon?

How much does your car really cost? Off the top of your head you might just think of the price that you got it for, but including all the extra costs involved to owning a car, your car could end up costing a whole lot more. Whether your car is a rust bucket or a top of the line model, the costs are there, and to keep your car on the road, you’re going to have to pay. So what are all of these costs?

Price – Buying used or new, there’s going to be a price on it, also fees for transferring title and registration. When you buy from a dealership, you will also need to account for any taxes that will be applied to the sale price.

Financing – If you paid cash for your car, you won’t need to worry about the monthly payments and the extra money spent on the financing costs. If you decided to finance, you will need to take that into account as well.

Insurance – This price varies on what kind of car you buy and what kind of class it is considered being. Insurance companies will also base their rates depending on your driving record and specific details about you.

Gas – To keep your car going, you’re going to need gas. This cost will vary depending on how much you drive. There are many tips to increase your fuel efficiency like hyper-miling or trip planning.

Maintenance – There’s tire rotation, tire replacements, oil changes, alignment, etc. It takes a lot to keep your car in good shape, you can save a lot of money if you do these yourself, but a shop will have the tools to handle any car repairs or maintenance on hand.

It’s easy to forget about these costs after you buy your car, but they’re something you need to keep in mind.

There are also handy calculators to help you estimate your car costs.

How much does it cost to keep your car running?

With all the talk in the marketplace of all these bailouts, you have to ask yourself is it really a good thing?  The financial bailout that happened less than a month ago is now pouring over into a bailout of the automotive industry.  Does this make sense for us?

A good friend of mine told me the other day that if he could, he would go ahead and buy millions of dollars of stock in GM.  A year ago I would have said the same thing, but then I learned how to read financial statements.  Just because something is cheap, doesn’t mean it’s undervalued.  Go to the grocery store and you’ll know what I mean.  You see that bread for 10 cents?  Well, you better hope you can eat it all within a few hours before it goes rotten.

The problem here is that the lawmakers aren’t looking at the automotive industry with unbiased eyes.  Instead they see GM as a pinnacle of US manufacturing and they don’t want to see that go away.  Last time I checked you’re not supposed to value a company based on emotions but instead on the value that it brings to its shareholders.  Here we have a company that has been dragged down by poor management and terrible inefficiencies.  Is this a company that I want to reflect as a cornerstone of American ingenuity?  Hell no, I prefer to put that title on companies like Google and Microsoft.

How is it that the US car makers have been able to continue on this downward spiral and just as they hit bottom they get a bailout?  It makes absolutely no sense!  Granted, people will say that we can’t let this happen because more jobs will be lost in Michigan.  Well, I have a feeling that if GM went under some other automotive company (that actually makes money) might step in and save some of those jobs.  Sure it won’t be all of them, but it’s time that the Michigan economy starts doing things right!  Why keep pouring money into a business model that is flawed, it’s a proven fact!

In either case, I firmly believe that companies should be held responsible for their own financial woes.  I’ve worked at GM before; I have seen the ridiculous inefficiencies that they allow to happen it’s quite frightening! If they get a bailout today, we will see this same thing happen again in 15 years, count on it!