Hi folks,
I’ve noticed that a hot topic these days as petrol prices keep going higher and higher is how does a driver save money? It’s fairly obvious to see that driving in Singapore isn’t getting any cheaper, nor will it anytime in the future. For an average joe like myself, I might have to stop using the 4 wheelers and start using the 2 footers (my unfortunate legs) very soon! Anyways, here’s my 2 cents worth and things that have worked well for me so I just thought I’d share. Please feel free to add on if you have any other ‘secret methods’ of cheapening driving costs.
Firstly and quite possibly most importantly, there’s Petrol! It just keeps going higher and higher in price. Well anyways, about 5-6 years back, I used to pump Shell’s V-Power. Those days, it was at about $1.60+ per liter. Not so bad eh! Then as prices increased, I switched to 95. Although I could feel that the car was slightly less powerful (esp during acceleration), I could live with it. Then recently I switched to SPC 92 upon my mechanic’s suggestion. I was wary at first as I felt it may spoil my car or something but he reassured me as he himself used it. Well, I tried it out and I’m happy to report that it’s been working out perfectly fine for me! Plus, with a POSB Everyday Card and an SPC Card, I get a total of 10% discount so its really a sweet deal!
Next, there is parking costs. I work in the CBD area so I have to pay for the wretched ERP as well! I guess many can agree that it sure is a real pinch! Well anyways, I found a really nice way around it and this works superbly well for people working in the Anson Road/Shenton Way area. What I do is I park at the Tanjong Pagar Railway Station which is just outside the ERP area and it’s only $1/hr and after 5pm, just $2 flat fee! And then I walk over to my office building. It does take about 10mins for me to walk but it’s worth the savings! Also, I would recommend you get this really cool Windows Vista Widget that can tell you how much does parking cost at any car park in Singapore! Doesn’t hurt to do a little research before you zoom off ya! I got this widget from
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/produc ... dgets.mspx so go check it out.
Another cost is that of motor insurance. Mine’s fairly high because I’ve got some claim history. However, recently one of my friends recommended that I check out this online motor insurance portal thingy that helps drivers find the cheapest premiums. Well, I did and true enough, I managed to save $500 on my yearly premium. I used to use NTUC Insurance as I thought it was the cheapest one but boy was I wrong! I signed up with Tenet which offers more additional free covers and it was cheaper than NTUC by $500! There were actually several other options that were cheaper than NTUC. (haha, It sure sounds like I’ve got something against NTUC eh!....lol, I don’t…it’s all about price so sorry NTUC!).
Last but not least, another factor that allows you to save money on your driving costs is the servicing. I used to go to only authorized dealers for my servicing before but then I switched to this mechanic at Queensway (Just opposite Queensway Shopping Center, lots of good mechanics there!) and it’s been costing me a lot cheaper. This is a personal preference I guess as some people may not trust the mechanics to do as good a job as the authorized dealers/workshops but quite honestly, it doesn’t make any difference! At least to me it didn’t. The guy I get it done from is towards the end of the road, called Daiha Auto. His name is Richard and he’s really good and honest. One of the first mechanics I’ve seen so far that didn’t at all try to rip me off! Hence, I think he deserves a mention (and maybe he’ll give me some discount if he reads this?).
Well, that’s all for now. Hope this helps and like I said, if you guys have any other ways please do share!
Cheers,
KrazyKar