Toyota of Dothan Wants Has Strategies to Help Survive High Gas Prices

Jul 5, 2014

With gas prices consistently on the rise, Toyota of Dothan has some helpful strategies to relieve some of the stress of this increased expense.

Consider and analyze the habits and ways that you and your family members use your vehicles. Analyzing your typical patterns and routines may help you to discover ways to lower the number of miles that you are putting on your vehicles. Getting a notebook to accurately track your mileage is helpful in determining the impact these miles actually have on your overall budget. A quick trip to the store or on an errand may not seem significant but the miles can certainly add up quickly. Consider possible ways of carpooling or combining trips such as going to the bank at the same time as going to the grocery store to lessen the back and forth. This analysis may make you realize that the gas increase doesn’t impact your budget as much as you had originally thought or it may make you aware of ways you could change some of your driving habits. If you do discover that gas usage is dramatically affecting your financial status, don’t automatically assume you need a newer, more fuel efficient vehicle. It may take longer financially to make up the difference if you choose to switch vehicles.

Sometimes fuel savings can be made simply by changing your style of driving. Calm driving has proven to be much more fuel efficient than aggressive driving. Make sure to keep up with your regular car maintenance as this helps to ensure that your car is running at optimal performance levels of efficiency. Steer clear of devices that claim to be “gas saving”. Changing your style of driving is more likely to be the best alteration to make. These devices rarely make a notable enough difference to offset the cost of the device.

Take advantage of technology and use application or websites that track gas prices in your area. These can be extremely helpful in ensuring you are getting the best possible deal in your area. Don’t, however; drive miles out of your way to get to the station with the cheapest price. You will be spending the money you would have saved in the mileage to drive there.