Car clubs
A car club is an alternative to owning your own car. In a car club you pay for how much you use the car. It might be based on the number of miles driven or on the length of time you have the car. This makes joining a car club a financial winner for lowmileage users and a good alternative for families considering buying a second car.
Lewisham currently has several car club bays all provided by Streetcar (external website). You can also find out further information on the Car Plus site (external website).
Use less fuel
- Anticipate what your next move will be. If the traffic ahead is slowing, stop accelerating. Use the car’s momentum to move forward. Avoid heavy acceleration or braking.
- Driving in the highest gear possible is more efficient. For example, it is estimated that a speed of 37 mph in third gear uses 25 per cent more fuel than in fifth gear.
- Air conditioning and windscreen heaters use fuel, so don’t have them on unless you need them.
- Park in the shade to keep your car cool.
- Turn off the engine when it is safe to do so (e.g. while loading or unloading or when stuck in traffic for long periods).
- Check your tyre pressure. Fuel consumption can rise by one per cent if tyres are under inflated by 6 psi.
- Clear out the boot. Carrying stuff unnecessarily wastes fuel.
- Open sunroofs, windows and roofracks make the car less streamlined. Take roof racks off when they are not in use.
- Maintain your vehicle. This will help with fuel economy and help with its resale value too.
- Travel no faster than 70 mph on motorways. Not only is it illegal to go at 80–85 mph but fuel costs can go up by as much as 4p a mile for small cars. Driving too fast leads to crashes and fatalities.
- Keep an eye on your fuel consumption to ensure your car is running as efficiently as possible. Any increase is not only wastage but might indicate a mechanical problem.
Choosing a car
Choose wisely when purchasing a car, as some models consume more fuel and damage the environment significantly more than others. You might want to consider a car that runs on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) or an electric vehicle.
Vehicle Excise Duty, better known as car tax, is based on each car’s CO2 emissions. All cars now have a rating between A and G. The more fuel efficient your car, the less car tax you will pay. If your car is very economical and has an A rating, it will be exempt from the tax. It will also be exempt from the congestion charge if you wish to travel into central London.