Car maintenance costs money. Buying tires, servicing, transport tax, and everyday expenses for refueling and washing take away a lot of money from the owners. This is why many drivers prefer to rent a car rather than buy one.
Indeed, picking up a cheap minivan rental Chicago for a family trip looks attractive in terms of budget. Plus, you can enjoy an even lower price if you book your rental car in advance.
However, if you do have a car, how can you reduce the cost of maintaining it? Fortunately, modern applications make this possible. The main thing is to install the correct software on your smartphone.
We present you with a selection of interesting apps for drivers. This is not a rating but just six simple and convenient applications that can greatly facilitate the task of optimizing car costs!
Auto Care
Available for: Apple, Android
The best thing about Auto Care is its ease of use. Run the app and control your fuel costs, keep service records, and save reports. You won’t have any difficulties with adding, editing and deleting vehicle information.
The Auto Care app allows you to track the operation of several vehicles, which is very convenient if you manage a fleet of vehicles in a company or you need data on several vehicles at once.
Fuelly
Available for: Apple, Android
Fuelly is an application that allows you to track fuel costs by measuring real-time fuel efficiency. Typically, performance figures are slightly lower than manufacturers claim but only accurate indicators will be available to you.
This application can also record the history of car maintenance, plan future service, and remind you about it. This makes it possible not to skip wheel balancing, tire and oil change, and other service works.
AUTOsist
Available for: Apple, Android
Car maintenance planning is easy with AUTOsist. The application allows you to process the data of an unlimited number of cars – with a repair log, recording fuel consumption for each vehicle and all the necessary data to control them.
Here you can save the complete service history and share it as PDF files. Reminders will keep you from forgetting important maintenance tasks. In addition, you will be able to export your data via Excel and also create backups via the official website.
myCARFAX
Available for: Apple, Android
This application is developed by the American automotive giant Carfax. To get started, you need to enter your vehicle identification number (VIN). After that, Carfax will fill the application with a huge amount of useful information by using its database. It includes ownership history, service check data, and reviews. When you enter your vehicle data into the app, it will provide up-to-date information about the upcoming maintenance, and for example, tell you when you need to change the oil.
myCARFAX can also estimate the cost of repairs. Connect your zip code, select the type of repair, and the app will tell you how much the repair will cost. This is a great service for people who don’t understand cars properly. In addition, myCARFAX allows you to track the history of repair and maintenance of 8 vehicles at the same time. Also, the application sets an alert for timely servicing.
DIY Car Maintenance
Available for: Apple, Android
DIY Car Maintenance is different from other applications. While most of them are dedicated to accounting, maintenance forecasting, and fuel efficiency tracking, this app is for education.
Install and run it, and you have access to hundreds of easy step-by-step guides for many car servicing tasks. From oil changes and tire changes to checking the fluid level and changing the cabin filter.
Drivvo
Available on: Apple, Android
Drivvo is a car app that combines all data from fuel and maintenance to repairs. You start by entering the details of your car – make, model, license plate, fuel type, VIN, etc., and then register the expenses.
Drivvo is an excellent fuel consumption meter. It will also save all the data on the maintenance costs of your car, motorcycle, bus, or truck. In the application, you have detailed cost statistics, including the cost by category – refueling, bills, and services. Points like cost/distance, cost/year, cost/month, and cost/day make it easy to find important information. You can back up all your data to the cloud and restore it easily if necessary. Also, the application exports data to CSV and Excel formats.
DriverNotes
Available on: Apple, Android
This is a fairly usable application that is available on all mobile platforms and in the web version. The ability to register and synchronize data on all devices makes it possible to fully use all the features of the application on several devices at once.
The main screen presents the dashboard of the car, showing costs, mileage, consumption, and cost of 1 mile traveled. Among the expense, items are repair, service, washing, refueling, and tuning. Plus, you can add your own items.
In addition, the application allows you to set the frequency (by time or mileage) for individual jobs: replacing the brake pads, suspension diagnosing, changing the oil, etc. After the specified interval, the program will remind you of the need to carry out these works. The application is perfect for drivers who take care of their cars.
Car Manager
Available on: Apple, Android
At the first acquaintance with the application, you will be surprised by the “Add Income” item. That’s right: the menu item provides as many as three ways of income, including the transportation of passengers, cargo, and car rental.
Otherwise, the application is an excellent tool for maintaining comprehensive statistics on car costs and analyzing them for different periods. Among the pleasant bonuses is the ability to add random notes indicating the mileage, and create your own mini-directory of spare parts with SKUs and other necessary information. By the way, the Car Manager allows you to import and export all stored information.
