Running costs | Royal Bank of Scotland

It’s a good idea to have a simple savings account to squirrel away money for upcoming car expenses as well as for any unexpected bills that may crop up.
 

Many of your car expenses will come around at the same time each year, so it’s easy to plan ahead for them. Road tax and MOT tests are annual expenses, and for most cars, servicing is annual as well.
 

You can set up a standing order to transfer some money into your car account each month, and add extra to it if you know you have some big bills coming up.

If you drive your car regularly, then you should keep an eye on fuel prices every day and fill up whenever you spot a cheap price, rather than waiting for the fuel light to come on.
 

If you are going on a longer journey, fill up at a local station before you get going, rather than stopping at motorway services. If you are on a motorway and you know that you are going to need to stop before you reach your destination, look for an exit for a village or town and fill up there instead. Motorway services are about the most expensive places in the world for fuel or food, so a few minutes to avoid them altogether will be worth it.
 

When it comes to wear and tear items like tyres, you are far better off replacing them a bit earlier if there is a sale on at the tyre shop, rather than waiting a few months longer until they really are worn down to the legal limit and potentially paying much more.

It’s not unusual to find that your insurance or roadside assistance cover increases at renewal. The best way to deal with this is to go online and pull up some offers from rival providers, then conctact your current provider and ask that they match it or at least offer something comparable. If they can’t do that, take your business elsewhere.
 

Changing your insurance provider won’t mean you lose any of your no-claims bonus, but you will probably need to show your new insurer evidence of your bonus.