Top Gas and Fuel Saving Tips

Selling Used Trucks & SUVs to Save on Gas?

With today’s ever rising fuel costs, it’s easy to see why many people are switching from trucks and SUVs into smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles like compact cars, mid-sized sedans, and hybrids. Gas prices have reached a record high of over $2.00 per liter in Metro Vancouver and even out in the Fraser Valley, where gas has always been notoriously cheaper than in the GVRD, the cost per liter is close to $2.00 as well.

We Buy Used SUVs, Minivans, & Trucks in the Lower Mainland

The used car buying market right now is booming as many people are finding the sticker prices of brand-new cars to be further out of reach than it was pre-covid. Inflation, pandemic, floods, mudslides, forest fires, protests, wars; the list of reasons why everything is getting more and more expensive, including cars, is never ending it seems. People are choosing to buy used cars nowadays instead of new, as it is turning out to be more cost effective. So, if you’re looking to sell a used truck, minivan, or SUV and get into something better on gas and easily affordable, you should call us before visiting a dealership.

We can usually offer more cash for used cars than any dealership is willing to give you as a trade in towards a new vehicle. This means you can take our cash payment and use it towards a new-to-you vehicle that will help balance your budget by using much less petrol.

With this in mind, we thought we’d share some fuel saving tips that, with regular practice and a little bit of mindfulness, will help to keep a little more cash in your wallet, and less being shelled out at the pump.

The 5 Best Ways to Save Fuel While Driving

1. Keep The Car Moving

That’s right! Just keep moving. It’s basic physics; an object in motion will stay in motion. So, instead of racing up to the next red light (we know there are a lot of them in the city), only to have to hammer on the brakes, take your foot off of the gas and allow your vehicle to slow down naturally up to the light. By doing this you’ll find that many times the light will change to green again before you get to it, which means you’ll use less gas to get the vehicle back up to speed again.

A big part of all this is looking further ahead while driving too. Instead of looking at the road lines, or traffic, or your phone, or whatever that guy next to you is doing in his car, keeps your eyes up, aim high in your steering, and you’ll be able to see not just the light ahead of you that

just turned yellow, but the light after it that is currently red. This will help you to plan on how to adjust your speed accordingly so that you burn less fuel.

2. Keep Off the Brake

We touched on this a bit in the previous fuel economy tip, but allow us to reiterate, with this being our focus. Avoid unnecessary braking as much as you can. We know that Vancouver rush hour can be a real pain in the you-know-what, especially after you spend 45 mins in stop-and-go traffic just to drive 8 city blocks, but if you want to cut down your monthly fuel bill, you’ve got to stay off the brakes.

Some people like to ride the brake gently up to the light, but even this is impacting your fuel economy. How? When you apply the brakes, they do exactly what brakes are supposed to do; they apply drag to the car. Drag = less mileage, less momentum, less saving money on gas. Keep your car moving, stay off the brakes. Tips #1 & #2 go hand in hand.

3. Make Sure You’ve Got Properly Inflated Tires

You can’t allow your vehicle to stay in momentum if you don’t have the right amount of air in your tires, right? Again, it’s basic science. Different vehicles have different tires, and different tires require a different PSI. So, be sure to check your manual to make sure you’ve got the right amount of air in your tires so that your vehicle drives with the least amount of resistance as possible.

Another thing to consider is if the weather temperatures has changed drastically recently. Vancouver is famous for ever changing weather, but when you shift from fall to winter, or winter to spring, the temperature changes can impact your tire pressure. It’s a good idea to give you tires a kick at the end or start of each season, to make sure your tires are 100% road worthy.

4. It’s Not a Race

Gone are the days where we could virtually drag race another fellow commuter off the line at a red light, just for kicks. When gas is double the price of what it was 10 years ago, you can’t afford to be doing that. Also, when you’ve been stuck in traffic on a long weekend and all you want to do is get home, it’s easy to let your temper get the better of you. We’ve all done it; angrily pass the “slow pokes” on the freeway, by hammering the gas pedal and shifting into passing gear. While this may feel good in the moment, it’s a major gas suck. When you’re stuck in slow moving traffic, try to shift your focus to better driving habits that harbour fuel savings, rather than how you can get to where you are going the fastest. It’s not good for your car, it’s not good for your gas mileage, and it’s not good for you. All you’re doing is adding stress to yourself and your vehicle, so slow everything down and just go with the flow.

5. Avoid Air Conditioning When You Can

This one sounds like a no-brainer, but it’s hard to contain yourself when you’re sitting in traffic and it’s 40 degrees Celsius outside, isn’t it? Use you’re A/C when you got to, but just be mindful that it does increase your gas consumption, so you don’t need to be able to see your breath inside your car just because it’s the middle of August and you’re on your way home from a day at Jericho beach in Vancouver.

A recent study showed that using air conditioning at lower speeds increased gas consumption in most vehicles, while using it on the freeway or at high speeds was no different than driving with your windows open. Having your windows open adds drag to your vehicle, but it’s minimal, so the impact on your gas mileage is less. This is the same when you are highway driving on a hot day with the A/C on. If you are going to bask in your arctic glory inside your car, try to do it when you’re driving on the freeway where there are no traffic lights, so you have steady momentum, and you use less gas on average.

Sell Your Used Vehicle for Cash Today

We all read the manual, or at least listen to the salesmen at the dealership when he talks about fuel economy. But did you know that as your car ages, the fuel economy gets less and less? It’s true. As the engine and transmission age, things don’t move the way they did when you first drove it off the lot. Cars are kind of like humans in that way. As the years press on, it takes more gas to get from point A to point B. So, one of the best things you can do is to keep up with regular maintenance. Getting your oil changes done regularly, getting tune-ups, and keeping your tires inflated and in good condition, are little things you can do to keep your used vehicle running as fuel efficient as possible.

However, if you’re finding none of these make much difference anymore, or you’re wanting to switch into something more practical like a hybrid, call Cash For Cars BC to find out how much we’ll buy your used vehicle for. We’ve been in the industry since 1998, we come to you, we offer same day vehicle pick up, and NOBODY pays more cash for cars than we do!