The cost of living is affecting all of us and owning a vehicle is becoming increasing challenging and a huge financial burden to most, this along with food, mortgage and energy costs is causing some to question if we really need a second car or motorcycle or even any vehicle.

Car and bike ownership costs are soaring costs of insurance, fuel and servicing along with several other factors such as warranty and vehicle devaluation is making ownership more and more challenging.

Here is a small list of the modern motorists can save money.

• When filling up at the pump, avoid paying for premium fuel as benefits are minimal and the premium is large.
• Attempt to keep speed to a comfortable rate and try and avoid any fast breaking and acceleration.
• Consider sharing to the trip by vehicle sharing, there are many free services around.
• When purchasing a vehicle, consider buying something newer as this may reduce repair costs later on.
• Consider selling your second vehicle and make do with a single vehicle.
• In the UK some places allow a pre-MOT, this will identify any problems before you put it in for its test.
• Tyre prices can vary wildly from garage to gauge so seriously consider shopping around.

Since there has been a huge increase in the costs of vehicle ownership the knock-on effect means there has been a new boom in automotive DIY. Car part sales to the public has exploded in recent years, companies that sell these parts are having huge sales spikes, motorists who would have previously placed their vehicle in for repair are becoming more and more likely to try repairs or service on their own car, van or motorcycle.

We have compiled a list of some resources these budding DIYers are using.

Video Streaming Sites Such As YouTube

Someone once said a picture is worth a thousands words, only a short time ago the thought of someone showing you how to resolve your problem via video would be crazy, but today sites like YouTube will have someone explaining all the issues they had while repairing their vehicle, so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Vehicle Enthusiast Forums & Groups

Many vehicle models have their own dedicated fan pages forums and groups that the owner can share questions and answers, some of these are dedicated stand along forums that can be found via a google search, or by searching the groups in Facebook. These places are a wealth of knowledge for the vehicle owner, along with this its nice to chat with like-minded people.

Official Manufacturer Workshop Manuals

Gone are the days of the oily large cumbersome books that our fathers used to use, but today we can download these manuals on to our device and if need be print of the section we need. There are multiple advantages in eManuals over their predecessors, these include

• They can be downloaded so no waiting for it to be delivered.
• Usually very cost effective as they are not physical objects
• Easier /faster to search through.
• Usually consists of 10’s of thousands of pages, which would too large if it was a physical item

What are the advantages in Workshop Manuals?

Workshop manuals are the holly grail of vehicle repair, near ever possible problem you have or likely to have in the future will be documented in fine detail, every repair procedure the owner will encounter will be walked through to its resolve step by step. These very detailed manuals consist of thousands of pictures, photographs and text, along with wiring diagrams and measurement charts. There is a workshop manual for near ever make model of car, motorcycle, ATV and commercial vehicle, no matter if you drive a Model 3 Tesla, BMW K1300 or a commercial van such as a Peugeot Boxer Workshop Manual there is a manuals available for you.